Ever wondered how Furiosa lost her arm? No, me neither, but apparently we needed that backstory. However, just as George Lucas mistakenly believed that, after The Empire Strikes Back, all people wanted to know was “What happened to Luke’s lightsaber?!”, so much so that the first third of Return of the Jedi is really about introducing his new one, the human drama is actually all we care about. In fact, I didn’t even notice Furiosa had a prosthetic arm in Fury Road, until someone pointed it out to me. Still, George Miller is no George Lucas, so the above amputation is handled competently and surrounded by a well-constructed story.
I’ve been racking my brains, on and off, for nine years now, trying to work out why Fury Road doesn’t quite do it for me. Other than my being a contrarian prick, something just isn’t quite right. Finally, I figured it out recently. It’s a simple one, don’t worry. Basically, Fury Road is Mad Max without Mel Gibson, or a Mel Gibson-like actor. Don’t get me wrong, Tom Hardy is a fine performer in the right role, but filling Gibson’s charismatic boots isn’t it. Some folk complain that Charlize Theron takes over Fury Road, but, I would argue that, had an actor with Mel Gibson’s dangerous-charm been cast, we’d all be saying “Furiosa who?!” right now. I admire Fury Road, but it’ll forever be missing that special ingredient.
Just to get it out of the way three-paragraphs-up-front, I much prefer Furiosa to Fury Road. Not only is the filmmaking in Furiosa more inventive, but I actually gave a rat’s arse this time. I’m still learning about stuff that’s in Fury Road actually, as its impressive pace far exceeds the capabilities of my poor eyesight. I get the idea though, as its story is nice and simple, but much of the dialogue-free goings on are sadly lost on me.
Gosh it’s hard to write about films in present tense, but I believe that is the correct way to do it.
There was a point back when I first watched Steven Spielberg’s The Adventures of Tintin 15 years ago where, due to the exhausting pace of the stream-of-conscious action, I had to stop the disc, go to bed, and finish it the following day. I reached a similar crisis point with Furiosa, where, at the 40 minute mark, I had to press pause and potter around the flat for half-an-hour, before I could continue.
I’d say that’s a recommendation, of sorts.
Although many characters only get a pencil-sketch’s amount of development, I still felt for them. I even had to hold back on the tears as Furiosa watches her Wasteland mentor being tormented, and her brief connection to the little boy on the War Rig was very touching indeed. Sadly, Furiosa’s final confrontation with Dementus goes on just a pinch too long, just long enough for the tension to dissipate. Plus, I dunno, by that point I’d genuinely forgotten what Dementus had done to wrong Furiosa so much. See? There’s so much going on in the film that you’ll need more than one viewing to fully appreciate it. I’ll certainly be keeping my copy close by for the foreseeable future.
Even though there is an embarrassing “Begun, the Clone War has!” moment in there, but it’s fine.
I was surprised we see so much of The Citadel in this one, as I assumed it and Immortan Joe would only be teased at the very end. I suppose the War Boys have depressingly become such key icons to hyper-masculine, military-enlisting males, what with the War Boys’ well-toned bodies, the erasing of their individuality, and their willingness to die at a moment’s notice without good reason, that the film simply couldn’t exist without the place.
Yeah, I’m getting all political up in your face!
Furiosa is so full of ideas, both in terms of the visuals and the storytelling, that I’m gonna go ahead and assume that George Miller’s stack of notepads propped up the ceiling in his production office. I don’t know how that man calms down enough to sleep at night, what with his brain working the way it does. He’s probably just so tired. Apart from everything Wes Anderson does and the opening to Sam Mendes’ Spectre, I’ve been tragically bored by new films in recent years. Getting me to watch a new release takes some convincing, especially while those by-numbers Marvel movies greatly lowered the average standard. But George Miller gives me hope. There are still creative people out there with a vision, people who not only just know how to simply point and shoot, but know how to craft a set piece using the Language of Cinema.
Saying that, I’m sure we’re all baffled as to why there’s a trailer for Fury Road woven into the end credits. I mean WTF?! As if there’s a person out there who hasn’t seen that movie.
It’s a mystery.
I wonder if Charlize has watched this one. She seems like a good sport.
Do stay in touch, darlings.
Toodles!
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