Nonetheless,Mad Maxcreators Miller and Byron Kennedy could learn fromFuriosaserrors, as could the rest of Hollywood.
Furiosawas set just beforeMad Max: Fury RoadintheMad Maxtimeline, offering a prequel exploring Anya Taylor-Joys irrepressible Furiosa.
However, among other issues,the movie failed to deliver comprehensive character development, despite its myriad achievements.
Praetorian Jacks Cranky Black was emblematic of the romance of the road and the freedom of a bygone era.
Praetorian Jacks Cranky Black was emblematic of the romance of the road and the freedom of a bygone era.
Chris Hemsworths Dementus should be celebrated- his complex portrayal hit all the villain notes wherever it could.
Butthe movie glorified Dementus.
This hit audiences on the head with red flag and danger symbolism, but Dementus actually just looked awesome.
But the movie clearly led audiences to believe that Dementus ended his life as a tree.
A prequel to Mad Max: Fury Road, Furiosa is an action-adventure film that tells the origin story of the headstrong and fearless Furiosa. Set shortly after the beginning of the “end of the world,” Furiosa is kidnapped and brought before a powerful warlord, now forced to work for him. To find her way back home, Furiosa will adapt to the new harsh and arid world as she grows into the Furiosa she becomes known to be.
Instead,Furiosachose to follow its own path.
If it had committed to this completely, that would have made for far better storytelling.
But it seemed like it cherry-picked tonally and thematically from the comic.
Perhaps this was behind its inconsistent characterization.
This would have made him feel slightly more deserving of his fate.
Dementus was subtly coded as a likable hero when he was obviously meant to be a villain…
The movie created pathos for Dementus and offered no closure, ending him grotesquely.
Minutiae of each characters successes and failures aside, ultimately, the situation is this.
Morals arent what is missing fromFuriosa: A Mad Max Saga.
Revenge stories are allowed to justify killing.
Emotional payoff is what is missing.
This couldve been pleasantly subversive, but there were no surprises here.
Furiosa slipped into a hyper-violent comic-book stereotype, and Dementus died as the revenge narrative had suggested he would.
As such, that emotional intimacy just dissipated, leaving not emotional resonance or surprise, but indifference.
And as such,Furiosawas a missed opportunity.
Furiosa: A Mad Max Sagacouldve been the bestMad Maxmovie and unique.
Cinema is meant to teach people something new about themselves.
This is a lesson that futureMad Maxmovies, and Hollywood in general, would do well to learn.
