George Miller's return to the Wasteland screams into cinemas
Taken from her home by marauders led by a warlord named Dementus (Chris Hemsworth), Furiosa (Anya Taylor-Joy) soon becomes a feared road warrior when she's paired with Praetorian Jack (Tom Burke) and ordered to take on a perilous mission for Immortan Joe. However, Furiosa plans to find Dementus and finally take her revenge...
After 'Mad Max: Fury Road', it's a sign of intelligence and artistry that George Miller knew full well he couldn't replicate the same kind of ferocity. Instead, 'Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga' shifts gears and turns into a detailed, full-bodied character study about revenge and retribution in a world that is slowly forming again. Much like Furiosa, it's shaped by the horrors and the violence around her and becoming more and more unrecognisable as it progresses.
Anya Taylor-Joy as Furiosa is heightened by George Miller's instinct for tension and spectacle. The camera zooms right up to her eyes, catching the beads of sweat and the flames surrounding her. You can see her gaze turn from fear to steely determination as cars zoom and bullets fly with each passing action setpiece, all while building towards the character that ran away with 'Fury Road'. The script and the direction by Miller is such that we can see the layers forming and the soul of the character coming forth with each scene, all while keeping the story moving forward at a focused pace. Chris Hemsworth as Dementus gives a bravura performance, all of it bawdy swagger and with an Australian accent so broad it could reach all the way to Perth and back. Yet beyond all of that, Hemsworth really throws himself into the role, not just physically, but by eating up every bit of screentime he has with his bluster and grandstanding. When compared against Taylor-Joy's silent intensity, it's such a sharp contrast, especially when his haughtiness turns to anguished desperation towards the end.
As you'd expect from George Miller, the production design and the cinematography is terrific, all of it bathed in the burnt rust of the parched wasteland and the gleaming of war-rigs, bobby-knockers, and motorcycle chariots. Though there's more CGI utilised than in 'Fury Road', the action setpieces are still some of the exciting and visually stunning you'll see in cinema this year, particularly the extended truck battle between Furiosa, Prateorian Jack, and a horde of motorcycles that recalls the grungy thrills of 'Mad Max 2: The Road Warrior'. Indeed, if there's a complaint about 'Furiosa', it's that the action is spaced out in such a way that you're almost always left hungry for more.
Where 'Fury Road' was set over the course of days, 'Furiosa' is set over the course of years, taking in the full character arc of the title character and revealing every detail along the way and with the least amount of dialogue necessary. Action is the language in 'Furiosa'. If there's a complaint to be made, it's that it speaks it so fluently and poetically that you find yourself wishing it was more verbose.