Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga
By Joanna Langfield
I’m all for origin stories that make sense intellectually, and this one does. But shouldn’t it make sense emotionally, too? Because for all the impressive parts in this chapter, it just doesn’t feel anywhere near as furiously awesome as its Fury Road predecessor.
Creator George Miller pulls out all the technical tricks in a grand, non stop action picture. There is a story: we find out how Furiosa (played by Alyala Browne as a young girl, Anya Taylor-Joy as an older teen) was taken away from her home, how she suffered, both physically and mentally, and, the most fun for me, what the deal is with that Teddy Bear strapped to the front of her truck later in life. But, even though those plot points are addressed, they feel almost like an obligation, interruptions in what is a very long (two and a half hour) onslaught of bloody fury.
There are plenty of people who are going to like that. And, not to get too heady about it, what does that say about us, the audience? But, at its soul, and yes, the series does have one, this is a story about the end of civilization and what those left are willing to do to survive. It may be fun for some to watch, but it sure aint pretty.
What does provide some light in the darkness are the constant, notable action sequences, and an intriguing bit from actor Tom Burke, who gives us hints of real leading man potential.
The actual leading man is Chris Hemsworth and I pretty much loved him as the quite demented Dementus. He’s having a blast and is happy to share all that with us. But it’s not so much fun watching Anya Taylor-Joy, a good actress, who does all the right things but feels miscast. We never believe she could grow up to become what Charlize Theron gave us before. And that, unfortunately, is part of the job. And the movie.
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Thank you for sharing thiis
From the beginning of this movie I thought that a woman having sex with a 12 year old boy was…
How articulate you are. Sounds great.
Yes, Dan. Thanks.
It will be interesting to see if they get in touch.
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