Film Journal 2024: Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga
Directed by George Miller
A different kind of movie than Fury Road in the way the story is structured and in the way the film is shot. However, these differences exist as the perfect compliment to a more complete experience and fleshed out narrative.
The fever pitch nature of Fury Road is traded for something not necessarily less intense and less energized, but more character driven and fleshed out. It fills in those parts of the world and story that were never explained in Fury Road while building out it’s own ideas at the same time. In this sense Furiosa is more of an investment than an experience, which is what allows it to make Fury Road an even better film.than it already is.
You can feel this in the way Furiosa is structured around chapter breaks and clearly drawn arcs that build as the story of Furiosa goes forward. It’s designed to bring us into the story of the characters rather than just allowing us to experience the madness of this post apocalyptic world. If there was one point of criticism, and I don’t know that it ultimately is one, it is that this investment in character and story does lead Miller to utilize CGI more than the outright practical set pieces that we find in Fury Road. It’s not distracting so much as it tames some of that fever pitch nature, funneling our attention to a more studied development. In truth, this choice works for the kind of film that Furiosa is.
The performances here are all top notch, with Hemsworth giving a career performance and Joy doing some amazing work in bringing together the nuances of Theron in Fury Road with her own developing persona. Not to be left out would be the performance of the even younger Furiosa, played by Alyla Browne, whom we get a surprising amount of and is doing amazing work of her own.
Does it succeed in matching or beating Fury Road? I don’t think thats the right question. The question is, does it belong and enhance the collection of films and does it prove necessary to the larger story. Without a doubt it does, and it does this in some surprising ways.
The Stories of my Life 