I don't think this is a controversial opinion, but "Mad Max: Fury Road" is one the best action movies of all time and George Miller is still one of the most innovative and fearless filmmakers at 79 years of age. Just look at the breadth of his filmography going back to 1979.
1979: "Mad Max"
1981: "Mad Max 2: The Road Warrior"
1983: "Nightmare at 20,000 Feet" segment of "The Twilight Zone Movie"
1985: "Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome"
1987: "The Witches of Eastwick"
1992: "Lorenzo's Oil"
1996: Wrote and produced "Babe"
1998: "Babe: A Pig in the City"
2006: "Happy Feet"
2011: "Happy Feet Two"
2015: "Mad Max: Fury Road"
2022: "Three Thousand Years of Longing"
2024: "Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga"
Yeah, the same filmmaker who made the "Mad Max" Quadrilogy also did "Babe" and "Happy Feet." He's not incredibly prolific, but the films he makes are such joyous things to behold that it's hard not to be amazed by his gifts as a storyteller.
"Mad Max: Fury Road:" did something that I'm not sure anyone saw coming: he made an almost wordless action movie — basically an almost two-hour long chase scene that didn't skimp on character, performance and heart. I defy anyone to say they didn't care about Furiosa, Max, Nux the War Boy and The Wives by the time the final credits rolled. It's one of the few movies that delivers genuine emotion along with non-stop spectacle.
"Furiosa" is in an unenviable position. So many things are going against it that, in many ways, it hardly stands a chance. For one, it's a prequel to "Fury Road," with Anya Taylor-Joy and Alyla Browne both portraying younger versions of Furiosa (played so iconically by Charlize Theron originally). Also, since it's a prequel, we know she's going to survive the film, which robs the story of quite a bit of tension. Plus, we don't have Mad Max in this one, so your enjoyment will be related to how much you care about the world of the Wasteland and the character of Furiosa.
Luckily, George Miller is an actual genius, so "Furiosa" is still a pretty fantastic movie. Honestly, my only real complaint is that the special effects are, somehow, worse than in "Fury Road." So much of "Fury Road" was practical, with fearless stuntmen driving, vaulting, exploding and flying through the air in ways we haven't seen since the heyday of Chaplin and Keaton. Here, a lot of it feels like the kind of mayhem we could see in a "Fast and the Furious" movie.
The CGI in "Fury Road" is used lightly to bolster the astonishing stunt work and help with adding depth to the post-apocalyptic landscape. In "Furiosa," a lot of the stunts appear to be on a green screen, and a lot of the explosions (and people) look to be computer generated. It's a mild complaint, but I was so blown away by the look and authenticity of "Fury Road" that I was surprised so much of a movie made almost nine years later doesn't look as, well, realistic. It's like how "The Hobbit" movies don't look quite as impressive as "The Lord of the Rings" ones do.
Still, Taylor-Joy and Browne are powerhouses as Furiosa, and Chris Hemsworth is a mustache-twirlingly evil villain who dances between goofball charisma and genuine menace with an expert touch. The story is a truly epic one and more of a revenge thriller than the chase film of "Fury Road," but if we're lucky enough to get another Miller-directed "Mad Max" movie, I hope it's set after "Fury Road," and we're allowed to see Theron and Tom Hardy return as Furiosa and Max.
I love the world and characters Miller has created here, even if "Furiosa" didn't quite live up to "Fury Road" or "Road Warrior." I think it's a movie that is a victim of my own expectations and will only improve on future viewings once I get used to the different visual style and less stunt-driven narrative. Regardless, "Furiosa" is still a work of unbridled genius and limitless imagination, drunk on the possibilities of cinema and the art of the motion picture. It might not be perfect, but it's still a visionary look at what movies can achieve.
