Movie Breakdown: Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga
Pre-Screening Stance:
I’m pretty sure people are expecting too much from Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga. I mean, I get it – since its release in 2015, Mad Max: Fury Road has cemented itself as one of the greatest action films of all-time and this prequel looks like more of the same, but that’s likely a bar too high to reach. I’ll definitely be walking into the theater with a bit of a side-eye going.
Post-Screening Ramble:
I found Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga to be fine, but I think it’s likely going to be a love it or hate it type experience for most. The action in it is, of course, awesome (come on, it’s George Miller), but there are chunks of the film that don’t quite register as necessary or compelling. Have you ever watched Mad Max: Fury Road and wondered what Gastown or the Bulletfarm looks like? Of course not, because those names tell you everything you need to know about them. This a lot of Furiosa – a real “in the weeds” expansion of Fury Road lore that rarely feels warranted. The film’s story also works against itself because you’ve already seen Fury Road and know how Furiosa’s story ends. I really think the plot here would have carried more of a hook had it just been about how she came to be where she is in Fury Road, but it’s more about why she is the way she is in that movie. This means Furiosa covers a ton of ground (from her childhood on up) across its five chapters, and again, given that you know her future, it can be hard to connect to these stories. Furthermore, where Fury Road is essentially one big chase scene and thus carries a driving pace, Furiosa starts and stops a lot, which in turn makes what is already a long film at 2.5 hours feel even longer.
Does all of this mean it’s not worth watching? No, it is. To reiterate, I thought the film was solid. It absolutely has some great things going for it (in particular the action and Hemsworth’s scene chewing), but I don’t want you rolling into it thinking that it’s another Fury Road, because it isn’t. Furiosa is an entirely different experience that requires some patience and a much deeper buy-in to a world that you probably didn’t even give much thought to in Fury Road. So, properly set your expectations and go into it knowing that your mileage may vary. The film hits theaters this Friday, May 24.
One Last Thought:
Why are there CG dogs in this movie? They don’t do anything strenuous, so I can’t for the life of me figure out why real dogs weren’t used.
