Furiosa: A Mad Max saga is a terrific odyssey that not only serves as a great companion piece to Mad Max: Fury Road, but is also an exhilarating experience in its own right. Wonderful performances, state-of-the-art stunt work and an unconventional audiovisual storytelling style make this one of the best theatre experiences of the year.
Furiosa adopts an episodic storytelling approach, spanning nearly 20 years over the course of 5 chapters. A particularly bold choice was focusing the first 2 chapters (that amount to nearly half the runtime) on a younger version of Furiosa(played by Alyla Browne), with Anya-Taylor Joy being introduced only towards the end of the first half. This does make the chapters feel a bit disjointed and incoherent, but is integral to the development of the lead character.
Another bold choice was the adoption of a more subtle compared to Fury Road, with a greater emphasis on character-building moments compared to action set-pieces. While some may find this disappointing, I found the balance between action and drama to be just right. That being said, the action scenes in this film are a work of art. The stunt work mesmerising, the visual effects are gorgeous and the raw, guttural sound design(with a subtle use of the background score) adds to the tension.
Anya-Taylor Joy does a fabulous job of replacing Charlize Theron as Furiosa, perfectly portraying the emotional torment that her character endures over the course of the film. Alyla Browne delivers one of the best child performances of recent times, and Chris Hemsworth steals the show as Dementus. He is funny, psychotic and completely relentless, which is exactly what you'd expect from someone named Dementus. Tom Burke is also brilliant as Praetorian Jack, whose relationship with Furiosa deepens the emotional core of the film.
While Furiosa: A Mad Max saga may not answer all the questions about Fury Road, it is a really good character study and an enriching prequel that has the great blend of action, drama and emotion. It is truly a privilege to see George Miller's enduring passion and dedication towards his signature franchise.
Furiosa adopts an episodic storytelling approach, spanning nearly 20 years over the course of 5 chapters. A particularly bold choice was focusing the first 2 chapters (that amount to nearly half the runtime) on a younger version of Furiosa(played by Alyla Browne), with Anya-Taylor Joy being introduced only towards the end of the first half. This does make the chapters feel a bit disjointed and incoherent, but is integral to the development of the lead character.
Another bold choice was the adoption of a more subtle compared to Fury Road, with a greater emphasis on character-building moments compared to action set-pieces. While some may find this disappointing, I found the balance between action and drama to be just right. That being said, the action scenes in this film are a work of art. The stunt work mesmerising, the visual effects are gorgeous and the raw, guttural sound design(with a subtle use of the background score) adds to the tension.
Anya-Taylor Joy does a fabulous job of replacing Charlize Theron as Furiosa, perfectly portraying the emotional torment that her character endures over the course of the film. Alyla Browne delivers one of the best child performances of recent times, and Chris Hemsworth steals the show as Dementus. He is funny, psychotic and completely relentless, which is exactly what you'd expect from someone named Dementus. Tom Burke is also brilliant as Praetorian Jack, whose relationship with Furiosa deepens the emotional core of the film.
While Furiosa: A Mad Max saga may not answer all the questions about Fury Road, it is a really good character study and an enriching prequel that has the great blend of action, drama and emotion. It is truly a privilege to see George Miller's enduring passion and dedication towards his signature franchise.
Tell Your Friends