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"Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga" (2024) is a prequel to the movie "Mad Max: Fury Road" (2015). It is directed by George Miller and produced by Doug Mitchell. The intention behind this film is to portray how young Furiosa came to be what she is today. To dive deeper into the film, I am dividing the film into four topics: the sound design, the performance of the actors, the director's approach, and the viewer's perspective.
It needs to be said that the review is a little biased as Anya is the protagonist. I have been crushing on her since "The Queen's Gambit". Consequently, whatever she does is the best to my standards.
In this day and age, a movie would be boring without sounds. a great sound design is the key to making a great movie. Tom Holkernborg aka Junkie XL was in charge of the sound designs. The music was sufficiently suspenseful and was in sync with Mad Max: Fury Road (as one would expect it to be), but I wouldn't say it is Junkie XL's (Tom Holkenborg) best work. I am unfamiliar with his work other than Mad Max: Fury Road. But sufficient to say expectations were met. There was no dull moment. Specifically, the crucifixion scene will stick with me for some time. The scene was good as it is, the sounds hit me twice as hard. No doubt great sound design is in place, it is up to the actors to bring the story in front of our eyes.
Let's talk about background actors, to begin with. The background actors from time to time went overboard. Maybe it's just me. The exemplary comparison I am making for this decision is when Dementus (Chris) stood in the middle of The Citadel, negotiating with Immortant Joe. A negotiation of this severity in "Mad Max: Fury Road" would include chaos as if hell was let loose; whereas, it was rather quiet. Especially, in front of a crowd of civilians and kamikazes waiting to be witnessed before departing to Valhalla. But to make up for it, Thor came to the rescue.
Chris Hemsworth, who was cast as Dementus, blew my mind. Considering his best is Thor and his worst is "Poman Dao" (Extraction 2), I would say it's 4.5/5. He portrays himself as a greedy leader who would do anything to get what he wants. The Chris who played Thor was not present in him. I believe this is what actors call getting into the character. He did a bloody good job at that. There is another antagonist in this movie, which is Immortan Joe. He is present in the movie "Mad Max: Fury Road". So I will not talk about him here. But I will, however, talk about the other side of the coin. This coin has Dementus, Immortan Joe as its tail. You guessed it right— it's Furiosa, the one and only Furiosa.
The protagonist of this movie, Furiosa, is played by Anya-Josephine Marie Taylor-Joy. She is the perfect fit for the role. I would argue that there would have been better options to fit the younger Furiosa with the older one, but it is pretty negligible. Her adaptation to the role was seamless. Her facial expressions were fantastic. her actions were crazy good. I also get a female-empowerment vibe when she enters the screen. She upholds what I would imagine Furiosa to be. I wonder if Brian Stableford (the writer of the novels) would agree. But what I know for sure is George Miller agrees.
Since the sequel was directed by George Miller, he is the right guy to direct this movie.
Both movies are in the same universe. Hats off to George Miller for the graceful incorporation. The perspectives were a bit vague when Furiosa was taken as a slave. But he ended strong. There was a subtle hint in the middle too. I wasn't too sure if it was Max, but after the climax, I was sure. Overall, he did a splendid work of portraying the story. However, casting the same actress may have worked better since Immortan Joe is the same, and so is Max (at least his figure is similar to Tom Hardy). But casting Anya was a great decision too. It adds a new spice to the dish. Sometimes small changes can bring up a huge difference. In this case, it was all for the good.
Lastly, the film was very entertaining. It managed to give a smooth sailing through the whole movie. It's packed with action, sentiments, and thrill. Moments like Furiosa Hanging over a single chain gave me chills running down my spine. It didn't stop there. It kept giving me emotional rides like the separation of a mother and daughter, her sacrifice, Furiosa's ripping her limb to escape, losing her mentor etc. I said it before and I will say it again— Never a dull moment.
Some topics weren't considered such as the post-production and VFX, colour theory, previous Mad Max movies (from the 80s) etc. since I do not have enough information and/or knowledge to comment on them.
8.5/10
Witness Furiosa, The Angel That Can't Be Sent To The Valhalla
Witness Furiosa, The Angel That Can't Be Sent To The Valhalla
"Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga" (2024) is a prequel to the movie "Mad Max: Fury Road" (2015). It is directed by George Miller and produced by Doug Mitchell. The intention behind this film is to portray how young Furiosa came to be what she is today. To dive deeper into the film, I am dividing the film into four topics: the sound design, the performance of the actors, the director's approach, and the viewer's perspective.
It needs to be said that the review is a little biased as Anya is the protagonist. I have been crushing on her since "The Queen's Gambit". Consequently, whatever she does is the best to my standards.
In this day and age, a movie would be boring without sounds. a great sound design is the key to making a great movie. Tom Holkernborg aka Junkie XL was in charge of the sound designs. The music was sufficiently suspenseful and was in sync with Mad Max: Fury Road (as one would expect it to be), but I wouldn't say it is Junkie XL's (Tom Holkenborg) best work. I am unfamiliar with his work other than Mad Max: Fury Road. But sufficient to say expectations were met. There was no dull moment. Specifically, the crucifixion scene will stick with me for some time. The scene was good as it is, the sounds hit me twice as hard. No doubt great sound design is in place, it is up to the actors to bring the story in front of our eyes.
Let's talk about background actors, to begin with. The background actors from time to time went overboard. Maybe it's just me. The exemplary comparison I am making for this decision is when Dementus (Chris) stood in the middle of The Citadel, negotiating with Immortant Joe. A negotiation of this severity in "Mad Max: Fury Road" would include chaos as if hell was let loose; whereas, it was rather quiet. Especially, in front of a crowd of civilians and kamikazes waiting to be witnessed before departing to Valhalla. But to make up for it, Thor came to the rescue.
Chris Hemsworth, who was cast as Dementus, blew my mind. Considering his best is Thor and his worst is "Poman Dao" (Extraction 2), I would say it's 4.5/5. He portrays himself as a greedy leader who would do anything to get what he wants. The Chris who played Thor was not present in him. I believe this is what actors call getting into the character. He did a bloody good job at that. There is another antagonist in this movie, which is Immortan Joe. He is present in the movie "Mad Max: Fury Road". So I will not talk about him here. But I will, however, talk about the other side of the coin. This coin has Dementus, Immortan Joe as its tail. You guessed it right— it's Furiosa, the one and only Furiosa.
The protagonist of this movie, Furiosa, is played by Anya-Josephine Marie Taylor-Joy. She is the perfect fit for the role. I would argue that there would have been better options to fit the younger Furiosa with the older one, but it is pretty negligible. Her adaptation to the role was seamless. Her facial expressions were fantastic. her actions were crazy good. I also get a female-empowerment vibe when she enters the screen. She upholds what I would imagine Furiosa to be. I wonder if Brian Stableford (the writer of the novels) would agree. But what I know for sure is George Miller agrees.
Since the sequel was directed by George Miller, he is the right guy to direct this movie.
Both movies are in the same universe. Hats off to George Miller for the graceful incorporation. The perspectives were a bit vague when Furiosa was taken as a slave. But he ended strong. There was a subtle hint in the middle too. I wasn't too sure if it was Max, but after the climax, I was sure. Overall, he did a splendid work of portraying the story. However, casting the same actress may have worked better since Immortan Joe is the same, and so is Max (at least his figure is similar to Tom Hardy). But casting Anya was a great decision too. It adds a new spice to the dish. Sometimes small changes can bring up a huge difference. In this case, it was all for the good.
Lastly, the film was very entertaining. It managed to give a smooth sailing through the whole movie. It's packed with action, sentiments, and thrill. Moments like Furiosa Hanging over a single chain gave me chills running down my spine. It didn't stop there. It kept giving me emotional rides like the separation of a mother and daughter, her sacrifice, Furiosa's ripping her limb to escape, losing her mentor etc. I said it before and I will say it again— Never a dull moment.
Some topics weren't considered such as the post-production and VFX, colour theory, previous Mad Max movies (from the 80s) etc. since I do not have enough information and/or knowledge to comment on them.