Director: George Miller
Stars: Anya Taylor-Joy, Chris Hemsworth, Tom Burke
The desert hath no fury like an Anya scorned
Fury Road cemented itself as one of the best action movies of all time with it’s relentless kinetic energy and unbelievable practical stuntwork. Somehow, Furiosa manages to surpass this by not only matching and possibly bettering all of the action sequences but by pairing them with a more involving narrative and even bigger characters.
Let’s face it, Max has never been interesting. Mel Gibson wasn’t interesting in the originals and Tom Hardy wasn’t interesting in the reboot. He’s just there serving as the strong, silent hero driving the limited story along.
Thankfully, George Miller seems to have realised this too and completely sacked Max off for the much more interesting Furiosa. Charlize Theron’s shaved-headed, one-armed enigma from Fury Road who was also the star of the show.
This film really gives her character the time to shine though by giving her a detailed and satisfying backstory with brutal revenge at its heart. It also builds upon the characters and ideas presented in Fury Road, providing a more generous and well-rounded experience.
I suppose a lot of it is just an excuse for some gas-guzzling car chases and explosions but you’re not going to find any finer sequences than here. It’s a tremendous and spectacular thrill ride which left me asking “how the hell did they film that?” Everything from the camerawork and stuntwork is heart-pounding to watch. I have no idea how this was directed by a man approaching 80? I think most 80 year-olds would have some sort of heart palpitations just watching it.
Of course that wonderful immersive world that George has created is all there and even more expanded, a bit like Shrek 2. I just love all of the loopy characters and how alive they feel thanks to terrific costume design and make-up effects. The production design is also off the scale too.
It’s a shame it’s tanking at the box office, I found it much more enjoyable than Dune 2 and I think it still feels as creative with its bleak and violent vision of a dystopian future. It definitely needs to be experienced at the cinema as it’s a full-on immersive overload for eyes and ears.
It’s just all monstrously entertaining stuff! At two and half hours, I still didn’t want it to end. In fact, this would now create an exhausting double bill with Fury Road. Whereas, that felt like a starter and pudding all rolled into one, Furiosa feels like the main meaty course.
Movies Plus Madness 