Furiosa - A Gonzo Ride Through the Wasteland
💫🌟 Greetings All🌟💫
George Miller, the maestro behind Fury Road and the delightfully incongruous Happy Feet, has unleashed yet another epic apocalyptic action thriller upon us. Furiosa takes place in a future wasteland after humanity has done what it does best: destroy the world. The titular character, played by the incandescent Anya Taylor-Joy (The Queen’s Gambit, The Menu, another brilliant movie), is a child from a protected enclave who is abducted and molded into a high-ranking warrior for the brutal and feared war lord, Immortan Joe. Enter Red Dementus (Chris Hemsworth, Thor, Men in Black: International), another war lord and leader of the rogue scavengers who originally abducted Furiosa. He throws a metaphorical wrench (pun very much intended) into her plans by staging a coup against Immortan Joe’s forces, leaving Furiosa caught in a brutal struggle between fighting for the past she yearns for and the life she is barely clinging to.
This movie is hard to wrap one’s thoughts around, thanks to its singular nature. It stands apart from the previous Mad Max films while still emanating the same overall vibe as Fury Road. The absolute gonzo stunt ideas and next-level absurdities that twist the human ability to feel both horrified and on the verge of hilarity simultaneously are the film’s crowning achievements.
Perhaps the best way to dissect this cinematic beast is to compare it to its progenitor, Fury Road. These two films are more their own entities than faithful continuations of the original series, so there’s no need to delve into the entire franchise here.
Unlike Fury Road, the action scenes in Furiosa take a backseat to the main premise and storyline. This is not to say that these scenes lack any of George Miller’s signature audacity; they simply serve as punctuation to the story that truly propels the movie forward: Furiosa’s origin and ascent to the rank of Imperator. In a delightful twist, Furiosa leads directly into the opening scene of Fury Road. Die-hard fans may even spot a moment that seems to tease an interweaving between the two movies, but far be it from me to spoil that here.
The wasteland inhabited by these characters is the same one we traversed in Fury Road, providing a sense of comfortable familiarity for viewers of both films, though I hesitate to use the term “comfortable” to describe anything in the Mad Max universe. Many of the characters from Fury Road make appearances, including the Organic Mechanic, Rictus Erectus, and, of course, Immortan Joe himself. New characters are also introduced, most notably Immortan Joe’s other son, Scrotus, played by Josh Helman (who, fun fact, portrayed a different character named Slit in Fury Road). This choice of names showcases Miller’s bravery in tackling the horrific and weighty themes of the movie while also acknowledging and embracing the absurdity that often accompanies atrocity, a hallmark of these two movies.
Many of the filming styles, sets, and technology from Fury Road are present in Furiosa, but this is where the movie takes a turn. It’s difficult to pinpoint a single thing that make them different, but a significant factor is how the story is driven by the characters themselves rather than their reactions to external events. One could argue that the same could be said about Max and Furiosa in Fury Road—after all, Furiosa’s unbreakable desire to return to the Green Place is the driving force (pun absolutely intended) behind the entire movie. However, Fury Road ultimately boils down to the chase from Immortan Joe’s Citadel to the Green Place.
In contrast, Furiosa spans the titular character’s life from the age of about eight to her mid-twenties, presented in a series of chapters that illuminate the struggles and hardships she faces as a character who is more sheer will than human. Anya Taylor-Joy, a demigoddess in my eyes, encapsulates the character splendidly. While Charlize Theron was the perfect Furiosa for Fury Road, I believe Anya Taylor-Joy, who embodies a bit more vulnerability and fragility, was the absolute right choice for this role.
Speaking of characters, it would be an understatement to say that Chris Hemsworth has never shone brighter. The character he portrays, Red Dementus, is the fever dream psychopath love child of Socrates and Harley Quinn. I would never have imagined Hemsworth capable of embodying such a brilliant and freakish persona, but he does so with his signature understated panache and a touch of quirk that makes Furiosa’s villain ten times more interesting than any movie villain since Hannibal Lecter.
Lastly, Tom Holkenborg, who composed the score for Fury Road, returns to lend his divine talents to Furiosa. The music adds the perfect amount of tension, urgency, and despondency in all the right places.
While I can’t say I loved Furiosa in the same way I did Fury Road, I wholeheartedly recommend it to anyone who appreciates George Miller’s unique storytelling style and the characters of Fury Road. It will not disappoint, even if it leaves you feeling like you’ve been through a meat grinder inside a sandstorm.
Just a quick update on my own storytelling exploits:
Having been in the throes of renovating, buying, and selling three houses, moving across states, and helping family through Covid and other hardships, I haven’t been writing for a few months. But fear not! Otherworld Outlaws 5 is still in the hopper. Look for it in early 2025!