It’s been 45 years since the first “Mad Max” was released, and writer/director George Miller and his team have yet to run out of creativity.
The post-apocalyptic and dystopian action film series set in the Australian outback has gone through an incredible journey starting out as a low-budget independent film to two of the sequels — “The Road Warrior” and “Fury Road” — becoming some of the greatest action movies of all time.
Now, nine years after “Fury Road,” a prequel following the stand-out character from that last film, Imperator Furiosa, is in theaters and bringing fans back to the Wasteland and the world is as big, insane and creative as ever.
But what sets “Furiosa” apart from the main series is a bigger focus on personal character moments and explorations of how the world works and less so on the actual action and violence. Don’t get me wrong, there’s still plenty of it, but this isn’t quite the “Mad Max” story audiences may be expecting, and that’s A-OK.
Taking place many years before the events of “Fury Road,” a young Furiosa (Anya Taylor-Joy) falls into the hands of a great biker horde led by the warlord Dementus (Chris Hemsworth) after being snatched from the Green Place of Many Mothers.
Sweeping through the Wasteland, they come across the Citadel, presided over by Immortan Joe. As the two tyrants fight for dominance, Furiosa soon finds herself in a nonstop battle to make her way home.
Being a prequel set in the same world as one of the most inventive and influential films of the 2010s, “Furiosa” had an uphill battle from the start. “Fury Road” was such a surprise that revisiting its Wasteland setting and several pre-established characters doesn’t have the same impact as their introduction nearly a decade ago.
However, these films’ descriptor “from mastermind George Miller” is still as accurate as ever when building and exploring this world. Every shot has some deliciously creative element — random pieces of the old world Frankensteined together in a way I would never have thought of but makes perfect sense in this new world.
From random personal accessories like a gas mask and hose being used as a warlord’s belt to societal functions such as the History Man whose body is covered in tattoos on history, science and technology to the weapons Dementus and Joe’s followers use — everything has been thought through and its production and implementation is cared for.
In the titular role, Taylor-Joy is essentially this movie’s Max — she rarely talks but is brutal in exacting her revenge — but the thing is Max is never the most interesting part of his movies. He often only sits and watches and reacts after the fact to get out of a sticky situation. Here, Furiosa is constantly planning and being proactive and driving much of the plot, which has mixed results from scene to scene.
Thankfully, Hemsworth as Furiosa’s antagonist is the true highlight here. Dementus is the opposite of Immortan Joe in almost every way, making him a different villain but still super scary. Yes, the calm, controlling Joe is still scarier, but Dementus being a wild card, a loose cannon and infectiously charismatic makes him a terror in a refreshing way. You don’t know what heinous act Joe will do because he keeps his cards close to his chest, but you don’t know what Dementus will do because he’s laid every card on the table and could do anything.
Because “Fury Road” is almost one big two-hour action sequence, “Furiosa” excels in taking its time, allowing both physical and auditory space into its scenes and helping the audience breathe and take in the world. The Wasteland has so much interesting history and political workings, and naturally learning how this society (or lack thereof) functions is endlessly entertaining.
With the fifth main “Max” story hopefully coming out in a few years, Miller still has more story to tell. And with an installment like this — a different, personal exploration of that world — that next movie can’t come soon enough.
