Some franchises are better off not continuing. But when every film has Miller involved, maybe he should’ve let Fury Road be the high-note to end at. Instead of offering prequel tales a la The Clone Wars, which is what this latest felt like, just offer a miniseries to flesh out those characters whom audiences love.
That includes Furiosa Jabassa (her full name); I would’ve welcomed an episodic series over what was done here. It could’ve been copied from Amazon’s Fallout even, and I wouldn’t care. I’m sure his idea was to give this character (Anya Taylor-Joy) a lot more bite and background to her reason for being, but I found nothing that was worthwhile to explain why she’s developed into that way. She’s no mythical Erinye just yet; had Miller shifted gears to turn her into that figure from Greek myth, than I’d say we have a film to adore.
Instead, what’s not spoken says very little. After an intro that sees her forcibly exiting the Garden of Eden (known as the Green Place of Many Mothers) to face reality, her gets mother killed by these abductors. To witness mom get crucified felt like a missed opportunity to truly connect with religion. When the people lost their faith ages ago, very little is said whether a new hope is possible. As for whether an individual can find that burning bush representing God’s existence, I doubt Miller wants to show us Moses, whom I think Max represents.
Even though this film has Dementus (Chris Hemsworth, who once played The Mighty Thor), not even his presence is a genuine delight. His people are more afraid of him than anything else. Conversely, Immortan Joe (Lachy Hulme) is more god-like. I believe he takes after the Ancient Egyptian Pharaoh, Seti. In this world, these kings have to be more than a warlord, but also represent a conduct to the afterlife.
When Dementus traded Furiosa to Joe to gain favour, he became less of a man. I chuckled when Joe had her tossed into a harem. Thankfully, she quickly escapes and realises it’s easier to hide under this enemy’s nose than to flee. As years pass, she gains some valuable intel and insight into how the War Boys operate. When they are one of seven factions who are fighting over control of the Wasteland, there’s a bit of world building going on to like.
If only this movie started here, I feel it would’ve made for a better film. A few intertitle cards would be needed to explain what the Mad Max films are truly about, and I’d be good to watch a film somewhat similar to the previous one. Furiosa would be a trophy
To dispense with the bits about how Max (or Jabassa in this case) got caught in the middle of this desert war makes more sense because if we’ve seen any other film in this franchise, we’ll know this detail. Let’s just start in medias res. Thankfully, the finale offers the best moments where Dementus gets his just deserts; what happens to him is very symbolic.
Although this work lacks a lot of character development, the only time I woke up fast enough was to watch when this young lady lopped off her chops. To finally see her come of age, and to be Charlize Theron is a moment. Also, Taylor-Joy’s performance is not as hot as the original. While she was great in The Last Night in Soho, she’ll need some desert storm survival training to harden her up before I can say she’s ready to take over.
3 Stars out of 5
Furiosa Movie Trailer
