‘Furiosa – A Mad Max Saga’ is the latest 2024 movie from the popular ‘Mad Max’ film franchise. It narrates the origin story of rebellious female warrior Furiosa before her encounter and team-up with braveheart Mad Max.
Acclaimed writer and director George Miller from Australia created the famous ‘Mad Max’ film franchise. More than four decades ago, the first movie from the said film franchise was released. Thankfully, we have seen all of these Mad Max movies: Mad Max (1979), Mad Max 2 (1981), Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome (1985), Mad Max: Fury Road (2015), and Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga (2024). All Mad Max films have been shot in Australia, except for Fury Road (2015). It was due to the unusual rainfalls in New South Wales which led to a lush green environment. So, that 2015 film was filmed in Namibia.
“In order to tell that story cohesively, we had to know everything that happened in the time before, so we wrote a story about Furiosa from the time she was taken as a child, as she refers to in Fury Road, until she became the Imperator Furiosa. That ended up as a full screenplay, with concept art and so on. And the actors, the designers, and all the crew got the screenplay of that before shooting Fury Road.”
George Miller
(Disclosed that this film’s script was already complete before Mad Max: Fury Road was filmed)
Interestingly, "Furiosa - A Mad Max Saga" is the longest Mad Max film to date, at about 2 hours 28 minutes and/or 148 minutes.
‘Furiosa – A Mad Max Saga’ Is An Apocalyptic World Tale Told Imaginatively & Fascinatingly
Trailers: Furiosa – A Mad Max Saga (2024) Movie
Spoiler Free Review: Furiosa – A Mad Max Saga (2024) Movie
The introduction
George Miller disclosed that this ‘Furiosa’ movie is most likely set after ‘Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome’ (1985) film. He further explained that his ‘Mad Max’ movies do not adhere to a fixed continuity. But rather they function as a series of myths or legends revolving around the characters of this world. However, one thing is certain, ‘Furiosa’ is a prequel to Mad Max: Fury Road (2015) film. Therefore, this film answers quite a few questions about the origin and fate of various key characters. For instance, this film guarantees the safety of characters like Furiosa, Valkyrie, Immortan Joe, and most of his followers. However, new characters like Dementus and Praetorian Jack are open to any outcome. Even the survival of characters from the video game, such as Scabrous Scrotus and Chumbucket, remains uncertain.
George Miller initially contemplated utilizing "de-aging technology" to enable actress Charlize Theron to portray the Furiosa in the prequel. However, in 2020, it was announced that Anya Taylor-Joy would be taking on the role of Furiosa instead. Despite Charlize Theron's disappointment at not reprising her role as Furiosa, she expressed her support for Anya Taylor-Joy stepping into the role, praising her as "one of the greatest actresses" in an interview.
In the Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga (2024) film, Furiosa informs Dementus that she was abducted 15 years ago. Earlier in the Mad Max: Fury Road (2015) film, she discloses to the Vuvalini that she has been absent for a minimum of 7,000 days, which equates to over 19 years. Consequently, the occurrences in Fury Road take place roughly 4 years after Furiosa’s retribution against Dementus.
The storyline/plotline/synopsis/summary
As the world civilization crumbles, a young Furiosa (Alyla Browne) is taken from the Green Place of Many Mothers and captured by a powerful Biker Horde commanded by the Warlord Dementus (Chris Hemsworth). Roaming through the barren Wasteland, they stumble upon the Citadel ruled by The Immortan Joe (Lachy Hulme). Amidst the conflict between the two tyrants, Furiosa (Anya Taylor-Joy) faces numerous challenges as she works to gather the resources necessary to find her way back home.
Prologue (Monologue):- 45 years after the collapse, a young Furiosa is taken from her family. She will devote the rest of her life to finding her way home. This is her odyssey.
Mary Jabassa (Furiosa's mother dialogue): Whatever you do, however long it takes, promise me you'll find your way home.
About 'Imperator Furiosa (Anya Taylor-Joy) character, it is worth noting that the 'Imperator' was a commander-in-chief or emperor of the ancient Romans.
The History Man (dialogue): There will always be war. But to get home, Furiosa fought the world.
The inspirations behind Mad Max movies
Throughout the film, the prologue and narration offer more insight into the details surrounding the collapse of civilization in Mad Max’s world. Instead of a single catastrophic event, the wasteland is the outcome of various disasters, such as an oil crisis, water shortage, disease, pestilence, and nuclear war. The cataclysmic disaster film’s use of the (1953, Nevada) real nuclear test footage in the prologue further supports this, depicting the aftermath of a nuclear explosion from a test conducted there.
In addition, if one does take a closer look, then one would also find quite a few references and inspirations to Norse mythology are abundant in the ‘Mad Max’ movie franchise.
- Furiosa’s childhood friend is named Valkyrie, inspired by the female beings who lead fallen heroes to Valhalla.
- Immortan Joe also claims to be a guide to Valhalla.
- Like Odin, Immortan Joe has numerous children from different wives. Referred to as Odin the Wanderer, he would journey across the globe and depart once his purpose was fulfilled, mirroring Max’s actions in each film.
- The War Boys’ skin colour and use of mouth spray draw parallels to Odin’s berserkers, whom Odin could send into a frenzied state with a particular concoction. Many War Boys bear scars on their faces resembling those left by Loki, who had his mouth stitched shut and then ripped open, resulting in similar marks.
So, those were some of the examples of the Norse, Nordic, or Scandinavian folklore mythology,
Interestingly, the actor Chris Hemsworth plays Warlord Dementus in this film. In the past he has portrayed the Norse god Thor in the Marvel Cinematic Universe movies.
We have last seen Chris Hemsworth in the Extraction 2 (2023) movie.
What did we love about the movie?
Once again the writing and direction by George Miller are top class. One more time, he has recreated an entirely new post-apocalyptic world in an intriguing and captivating manner. The creation of the dystopian world to depict the gigantic wastelands is scary and thought-provoking. Besides, the adrenaline-pumping action sequences in the film have been shot most realistically. George has made another entertaining film.
We learnt that lead actress Anya Taylor-Joy, who played the role of protagonist Furiosa, did many of the stunts herself. Also, Anya only has about 30 lines of dialogue in it, as they wanted to make it a fast-paced action-packed movie. Chris Hemsworth portrayed the antagonist Dementus. With his beard, heavy make-up and deep voice, Chris did look unrecognizable and intimidating villain. Then, it was good to see Tom Burke, playing a friend of Furiosa and a positive character, Praetorian Jack. We also liked the performance of its ensemble cast, especially the three actors in the picture shared below. and also check out some of their dialogues in the film.
Dementus (dialogue): You fabulous thing. You crawled out of a pitiless grave, deeper than hell. Only one thing that is going to do that for you. Not hope. Hate. No shame in hate. It's one of the greatest forces of nature.
Praetorian Jack (dialogue): This place at the end of your map of secrets. Where is it?
[Furiosa pulls away from him]
Praetorian Jack (dialogue): My mother and father were soldiers. Even as the world fell, they yearned to be warriors for a virtuous cause. For them, it never happened. I wanna help you find this place, wherever it may be.
Furiosa (dialogue): Come with me.
The conclusion
Spoilers Alert – about the opening and ending scenes of this movie
- The beginning and ending scenes feature a lone woman tracking down a group of men in the Wastelands, taking them out one by one.
- At the beginning of this movie, Mary Jabassa attempts to save Furiosa, while in the final scene of the film, Furiosa is on a mission to track down Dementus. Each act started with the pursuer successfully shooting one of their targets, after which another member of the group grabbed binoculars and ventured into the sand dunes.
- Lastly, the movie starts and concludes with Furiosa picking fruit from a tree, initially as a young girl in the Green Place, and later grabbing one from the tree that sprouted from Dementus’ abdomen.
Before we conclude, we must share that we also came across a heartwarming story of Furiosa (child) actor Quaden Bayles (War Pup). His real-life news story is available on ABC News/YouTube channel. If you have yet to see any of the Mad Max films, then in that case Furiosa could be a good option to dive into this Australian movie franchise. On the other hand, if you are a Mad Max fan, then it is a must-watch adventure movie. We enjoyed watching this thrilling dystopian Sci-fi film.
Rating: Furiosa – A Mad Max Saga (2024) Movie
| FM Rating | 4.00/5 |
Posters: Furiosa – A Mad Max Saga (2024) Movie
Stephen Colbert: What does Mad Max mean to Australians?
Chris Hemsworth: Americans have Star Wars. The Brits have Harry Potter and we have Mad Max.
Chris said in an interview on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert /YouTube.
Key Details: Furiosa – A Mad Max Saga (2024) Movie
| Genre | Action, Adventure, Sci-fi, Thriller |
| Original language | English (Australian) |
| Duration | 2 hours 28 minutes |
| Writers | George Miller & Nick Lathouris |
| Director | George Miller |
| Cast | Anya Taylor-Joy (Furiosa), Chris Hemsworth (Dementus), Tom Burke (Praetorian Jack), Lachy Hulme (Immortan Joe/Rizzdale Pell), Angus Sampson (Organic Mechanic), John Howard (The People Eater), Alyla Browne (Young Furiosa), Charlee Fraser (Mary Jabassa), Elsa Pataky (Vuvalini General), Nathan Jones (Rictus Erectus), Josh Helman (Scrotus), etc. |
| Taglines | Fury Is Born. Remember her. |
| Producer/ Distributor | Warner Bros. Pictures |
The film's tagline "Remember her" alludes to Furiosa's pre-mortem one-liner ("Remember me?!") in Mad Max: Fury Road (2015).
Upcoming film:- Mad Max – The Wasteland
George Miller has also disclosed that he possesses an additional Mad Max tale, provisionally titled “The Wasteland,” all set for development, subject to the performance of the present film.
“Mainly because to tell the story of Fury Road, which happens over a very compressed amount of time, picking up all the backstory, all the exposition on the way, everybody working on the film, not only the cars, but all the designers, all the prop makers, everybody, had to understand the backstory very intimately in order for it to be coherent. So, we had to write the story of ‘Furiosa’ and the 18 years, as it turns out, before we meet her in Fury Road. We also had to write the story of the year of Max in the year before we encounter him in Fury Road. So, we have that story. We wrote that as a novella, Nico Lathouris and I, and so that’s the story we have yet to tell.”
George Miller
Much like its forerunner, it was conceived from the extensive preparations for Fury Road. Consequently, the “Mad Max: The Wasteland” movie is in the works, and its debut could be forthcoming.
Posters, Featured and Other Images of the Furiosa – A Mad Max Saga (2024) Movie are credited to Warner Bros. Pictures.