Neither Anya Taylor-Joy is Charlize Theron, no matter how well she does it in this film, nor Tom Burke is Tom Hardy, but George Miller is still Geroge Miller, an enormous visual director capable of creating sequences that remain forever in the viewer’s memory and that assembles with the precision of a watchmaker a puzzle that fits perfectly with ‘Mad Max: Fury Road’.
‘Furiosa’ is fundamentally a story of revenge, a plausible explanation for how a girl became a ruthless warrior of Immotan Joe. While Fury Road had a more linear story built around an escape, this time it chose to divide the film into several chapters with different timelines and narrative rhythms.
The structure has the advantage of presenting Furiosa in all its dimension, in a moral map that spans from his childhood to the point of connection with ‘Fury Road’, something that is certainly done with quite a bit of talent. On the other hand, it pays the price of the film going from less to more; with a slower initial hour and starring the child version of the Imperator (Ayla Browne) and in which the villain on duty, a funny Dementus (Chris Hemswoth) holds the tape.
Anya Taylor-Joy takes action
When the actress enters the shot, the film steps on the accelerator and does not slow it down until the end. More than an hour and a half of pure and tough action in which Miller constructs one of the most spectacular sequences in the history of cinema. They are 20 minutes in which the viewer remains amazed and in which the entire identity of the saga is condensed. It is true that there is a greater use of CGI than in its predecessor, but it is also true that the film exudes truth and one wonders how could it have done this? Has no one been injured or killed filming this shot?
A trio with two clear winners
The film is based on the trident Anya Taylor Joy (Imperator Furiosa), Chris Hemswoth (Dementus) and Tom Burke (Pretorian Jack), the first two being sensational. The actress, who has confessed that she had a really bad time filming, ensures that Charlize Theron is not missed; her character, which barely has 30 lines of dialogue, is built thanks to an enormous physical performance, although it is true that she has not yet has achieved the magnetism of the South African. As to Chris Hemsworth is probably facing the best role of his career, a villain that combines madness, humor and violence. He is by far the best villain in the series. Finally, Tom Burke, the CB Strike actor is a Mad Max substitute who loses out in any comparison with Tom Hardy or Mel Gibson. If this were a western, which in its soul it is, he is the type that you say is going to die as soon as he comes on screen for the first time. With his good-boy face he doesn’t quite fit into the hyperviolent and insane universe created by Miller.
An apocalyptic world that certainly expands, making room for new characters and locations, although it maintains the hallmarks marked by the previous installment, in such a way that the viewer has a feeling of continuity that facilitates the fit between the two films.
Without a rest
‘Furiosa’ also has a sensational montage which means that the film does not give the viewer a moment of rest. At the photography level it is one point below ‘Fury Road’although the desert landscapes are still overwhelming, the excess of luminosity does not work in their favor.
Finally, note the parade of trucks, vans, Monster trucks, motorcycles and other inventions (among them the Dementus chariot) that finish composing a picture that makes us already dream of a new installment. Let’s hope the wait is as short as the movie.
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