George Miller's highly anticipated prequel to Fury Road and fifth installment in the Mad Max franchise marks a novel turn in the series: the wasteland is branching out.
The film follows Furiosa (Alyla Browne and Anya Taylor-Joy) in over a decade-long odyssey through the wasteland, as she becomes intertwined in the politics between the warlord Dementus (Chris Hemsworth) and Immortan Joe (Lachy Hulme). As expected, the film is embellished with enormous car stunts, action sequences (e.g. Stowaway to Nowhere), and stunning worldbuilding. Now, how does this film work with the rest of the world of Mad Max?
Max has always ignited a special sort of spirit in us that relishes in freedom, blazing guns, and the taste of revenge. His character activates that one, primal feeling whether he's running gangs off the road, wrestling heavyweights in an elastic dome of hell, or spitting pure fuel. Now, we see his relationship with the Imperator Furiosa split off into its own film, where he appears in only one scene as he gazes into the desert. He does not know it, but his story will later collide with that of hers. This symbolic passing-of-the-torch treatment is now common to many longer franchises. Who will we see next in the series? We have no idea, but from what we saw here, we can still say that his wandering echo lives on.
At the same time, we see another large shift in the aim of Miller's direction. Fury Road and The Road Warrior have both been hailed as the greatest action movies of all time, yet it seems that action is not the only peak he is trying to reach.
According to Miller, casting Taylor-Joy involved a lot about detail. He describes her as "regal", "timeless", and "rigorous" in her work (credits to Vanity Fair). Alongside Charlize Theron in Fury Road, he is aiming to build up story and drama more than ever before with Furiosa.
Hemsworth's casting was for the same reason. Compared to Immortan Joe and his servants, Dementus is a much more humanized character. Instead of the pale, mutant look that Joe and his subordinates embrace (the bloated mayor of Gastown, for example, is fittingly named "The People Eater"), Dementus sports a sort of "mythological hero" look that, paired with his motorcycle chariot, portrays him as a fierce, yet mortal gladiator of the wasteland.
In addition, his final scene with Furiosa becomes a tragic, gut-wrenching moment of weakness and moving beyond vengeance.
Mad Max is opening its doors to new forms of story. Who knows, maybe soon we'll see the origins of Immortan Joe, the tyrant of one of the last bastions in the wasteland. Maybe there'll be a sequel to Furiosa's story. We may return to Max (likely in the form of Tom Hardy, assuming we don't see another development hell), but with a newfound perspective on narrative. Whatever it is, we can have no doubt that it'll be red hot.
Image Credits: Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga and Mad Max: Fury Road
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