Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga 4K UHD Review
Maybe there is such a thing as too much of a good thing.
Written by George Miller and Nico Lathouris, “Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga” is a prequel to 2015’s “Mad Max: Fury Road.” The story begins in a post-apocalyptic Australia in one of the few places where water and grass grow (the Green Place of Many Mothers). While out picking fruit, a child from the Green Place (the titular Furiosa) is found out by a band of raiders led by Dementus of the Biker Horde. Dementus captures Furiosa while Furiosa’s mother plots a rescue mission. The mission backfires and Furiosa is forced to watch her mother die at the hands of Dementus (who brings Furiosa into the fold).
Time passes and Dementus makes a play for the Citadel (run by Immortan Joe) and Gastown. A deal is struck for Dementus to control Gastown in exchange for Furiosa and a physician. Years pass as Furiosa keeps her head down and works for Immortan Joe, but she’s secretly plotting an escape to return home with the help of Praetorian Jack. Again, this fails, but this time she has her heart set on revenge against Dementus.
A Furiosa movie without Charlize Theron and without Mad Max was always a tough and puzzling sell and “Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga” proves just that. While not without its thrills (the Bullet Farm and Rig attack sequences are the clear highlights here), ‘Furiosa’ suffers from being a bloated spectacle that contains an overload of CGI (which is bizarre for a series that prides itself on practical effects). Even as a longtime fan of George Miller’s visionary Mad Max franchise, this movie is exhausting to watch. Sure, this prequel offers up extensive world building and further explores certain elements ala the Citadel, Gastown, and Furiosa’s own backstory, but it feels like director/writer George Miller is on auto-pilot as he fills in gaps in telling the weirdly detached story.
Even though Charlize Theron is not in this movie, the notion of having Anya Taylor-Joy take on the role was certainly intriguing. Unfortunately, she doesn’t even show up until an hour in and barely utters much dialogue. For a film that was supposed to be about Furiosa, the character takes a backseat a lot of the time.
On the subject of Anya Taylor-Joy, she does an admirable job with the physically demanding role, but she’s no Charlize. Chris Hemsworth seems to be having a blast as the over-the-top villain with a fake nose named Dementus. Tom Burke is the breakout star here as Praetorian Jack who is quite similar to Solid Snake from the “Metal Gear Solid” franchise.
Video/Audio:
Presentation: 2.39:1 2160p. How does it look? A bright and perfect 4K disc.
Audio Track: Dolby Atmos. How does it sound? This is quite simply a reference level audio track.
Extras:
* Digital copy
* “Highway To Valhalla: In Pursuit Of Furiosa”- A first-rate 57 minute making of featurette with set footage, George Miller interviews, discussions about the project’s inception, an exploration of the technical aspects, the pre-production process, and the production (from the costumes to the action).
* “Darkest Angel: Anya Taylor-Joy As Furiosa” is all about the Furiosa character and Anya Taylor-Joy’s approach and experience in taking on the character.
* “Motorbike Messiah: Chris Hemsworth As Dementus”- A featurette on the villain.
* “Furiosa: Stowaway To Nowhere” covers the making of the riveting action sequence.
* “Metal Beasts And Holy Motors” revolves around the vehicles.
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