There’s something surreal about a 70-something auteur like George Miller directing films like a Red Bull-addicted teen.
Miller proved it anew with “Mad Max: Fury Road,” an overrated but dizzying display that revived the dormant franchise. That film’s prequel, “Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga,” offers even more of that visceral pop.
So much more, in fact, that you’ll be begging for the end credits. It’s numb-a-thon like few others, a crush of post-apocalyptic tropes in search of a point.
It never arrives.
The film opens with a lazy rehash of how we got here. Wars. Pollution. Greed, Yada yada yada. Even “Furiosa” seems disinterested in the post-apocalyptic details.
We’re immediately plunged into the steampunk world of Mad Max sans Max, complete with cool cars, greasepaint-clad workers and key characters from “Fury Road.”
Yes, this is Furiosa’s origin story, and the film delivers her biography in Jackson Pollock fashion. The narrative, broken into chapters, tracks her evolution from an orphaned pre-teen (Alyla Browne, excellent) to a world-weary warrior played by Anya Taylor-Joy.
Theron’s gave Furiosa a formidable presence. She wasn’t muscle-bound, but you would never mess with her. Taylor-Joy also has screen presence to burn, but she can’t conjure what Theron gave to the franchise.
Intimidation.
It doesn’t help that she’s more survivor than warrior. The story doesn’t give her enough bravura moments to show why anyone should take her seriously.
The rest is a mess, a crush of warring tribes battling over oil and weaponry. The story bumps along, veering from one confusing set piece to the next. Some individual moments stun, showing Miller’s strength in crafting loopy, one-of-a-kind action beats. Then, we’re back to the cinematic mayhem and we unplug from the storytelling mainframe.
Again and again.
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Chris Hemsworth gets a meaty role as Dementus, the story’s villain. He’s a blustery baddie with a soft spot for Furiosa. That angle is quickly discarded, and the film is all the worse for it.
Then again, why bother with such trifles as storytelling nuance? We got sand, car crashes and mayhem aplenty?
The more the story lumbers on, the less sense Dementus makes. The screenplay doesn’t know what to do with Hemsworth’s baddie, leaving a void in the story that can’t be filled. The MCU star’s decision to ham it up makes things worse.
That approach worked for Jason Momoa in “Fast X.” Not here.
Miller recently weighed in against nasty things like “dialogue,” and his angst couldn’t be any clearer on screen. The conversations here careen from perfunctory to pointless, with wit in very short supply.
We’d kill for some comic relief or just a few well-deployed yuks to make the grim business go down easier. Nothing doing.
Taylor-Joy has little to say, but previous stars have left an impression with far less dialogue. If memory serves Mel Gibson didn’t wax philosophical in the original “Mad Max” trilogy.
That’s not to say “Furiosa” lacks serious selling points.
Tom Holkenborg’s score is sublime, suggesting what Hans Zimmer might bring to the saga. The visual imagination, while cribbing liberally from past “Mad Max” tales, remains fascinating.
Production values are off the charts, and it appears practical stunts were the order of the day. It shows.
And so what? We just endured “The Fall Guy,” another big-budget yarn with cool stunts and a mindless story. Is this how Hollywood wants to revive the film industry?
Good luck.
“Furiosa’s” final moments aren’t what we expect. It’s worse, a showdown with no tension or point. The same holds for this unnecessary prequel.
HiT or Miss: Like nonstop action that never leaves an imprint in your brain? “Furiosa” is the film event of the year.
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