‘Furiosa’ Is Here! Witness It!

'Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga'a real achievement that stops short of great

Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga 2024

George Miller's fifth Mad Max film, a prequel tracing how the girl is taken from the Green Place to the Citadel. Anya Taylor-Joy plays the older Furiosa (Charlize Theron's role in Fury Road) and Alyla Browne the child; Chris Hemsworth's talky warlord Dementus and Tom Burke's Praetorian Jack anchor a story built around four set pieces. Sean calls it 'really, really, really good' but not great: an automatic 8 out of 10 for the Gastown sniper sequence alone, though he thinks it's too iterative on Fury Road, bloated at 2 hours 25 (the longest Mad Max), and hobbled by an ending that cuts to Fury Road footage. Both agree Hemsworth's comic register deflates the movie's doom-laden stakes. Amanda's final split: nine out of ten as filmmaking, seven as a moviegoing experience.

George Miller, his cast, and his crewthe Miller-verse around 'Furiosa'

Mad Max: Fury Road 2015

The touchstone the whole episode measures against. Sean puts it in the lineage of the Jazz Singer and Lawrence of Arabia, a 'movies can do that' film and among the best of the 21st century; Furiosa is structurally and visually so similar that he can't see how anyone calls it better.

Three Thousand Years of Longing 2022

Sean's recommended key to Furiosa: the same register of affection for ancient tales and recurring myth, even if he wasn't a big fan of it.

Babe 1995

Cited as another Miller treatise on old stories that recur over time; Amanda's 'beloved' entry in his filmography.

Happy Feet 2006

Sean's example of Miller being willing to try things that shouldn't work: a movie he never expected to enjoy and did.

The Witches of Eastwick 1987

Filed under Miller's crazy-stuff-works-best tendency: 'a blast and really fun, but also kind of a mess.'

Lorenzo's Oil 1992

'Kind of beautiful, but also doesn't work at times': proof for Sean that Miller is a messy filmmaker by design.

The Fall Guy 2024

Amanda enjoyed it more than Furiosa and says the two are 'two sides of the same coin'; its deepfake plot primed her to notice the digital work on Alyla Browne's face.

Anyone But You 2023

Where Charlee Fraser (who plays Furiosa's mother chasing the abductors on a motorcycle) last turned up, as Glenn Powell's Australian ex.

The Souvenir 2019

Amanda's 'beloved' source for Tom Burke, who plays rig driver Praetorian Jack, the template for the Furiosa look.

Witness 1985

One of DP John Seale's credits invoked as an 'Amanda DP'; Seale, in his 80s, effectively retired after Fury Road, so Simon Duggan shot Furiosa instead.

The Talented Mr. Ripley 1999

Named alongside Witness and The English Patient as the John Seale résumé.

The English Patient 1996

The film that won Seale his Academy Award for cinematography.

Spiderhead 2022

The closest Hemsworth has come to a heavy before this, though Sean notes he's still doing the smug wisecracking Thor routine there.

Star Trek 2009

J.J. Abrams' reboot, where Hemsworth plays George Kirk, James T. Kirk's father; the hosts agree the first is the best of that run.

The best prequels of all timeSean made a list

The Godfather Part II 1974

The arguable American classic that's only 'sort of a prequel': a Michael Corleone continuation braided with young Vito in Italy.

The Good, the Bad and the Ugly 1966

A prequel almost by accident: you only realize it when the Man with No Name picks up the outfit he wears in the first two films.

Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me 1992

Sean calls it one of the best movies of all time; Amanda, less sold on the Lynch heads, needles that Lynch 'has nothing to say' before conceding he's wonderful.

Rogue One: A Star Wars Story 2016

Amanda likes it but has 'absolutely no memory' of Darth Vader showing up; Sean recommends watching it on YouTube high, laughing maniacally.

Prometheus 2012

A quick 'very, very, very good film' from Amanda when it comes up on the list.

Pearl 2022

Ti West's Mia Goth prequel to X; Amanda got to it before MaXXXine, which she's very excited about.

MaXXXine 2024

The next chapter Amanda is anticipating; Sean has bundled the Longlegs trailer onto her Maxine episode for 'a double whammy of pain.'

Longlegs 2024

Whose trailer Amanda hadn't watched yet, added to her Maxine coverage.

X-Men: First Class 2011

Amanda's verdict: 'A-class.' She loves this one.

Rise of the Planet of the Apes 2011

Noted as a prequel they'd discussed recently.

Fast Five 2011

Someone pointed out it's technically a prequel; Sean doesn't respect the classification and takes a shot at Vin Diesel.

The Mad Max Movie RankingsAmanda's quick order: full rankings next week with Chris and Joanna

No. 1

Mad Max: Fury Road 2015

No. 1 for both, straightforwardly the best of the five.

No. 2

Mad Max 2 1981

The Road Warrior lands at No. 2, the pure road-war movie whose oil-rig chase Furiosa homages.

No. 3

Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga 2024

Slots in at No. 3 on a single viewing.

No. 4

Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome 1985

No. 4. Amanda insists nobody puts enough respect on Tina Turner's name.

No. 5

Mad Max 1979

Last for Amanda: significant as the franchise starter but the oldest and lowest-budget, a 70s revenge movie.

Box office and awardsa soft market and a thin Best Picture field

Dune: Part Two 2024

The one big, noisy movie both feel confident is a Best Picture lock in a weak year.

Dune 2021

Grouped with its sequel as movies that, like the Mad Max films, take their stakes seriously against 20 years of winking superhero fare.

Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes 2024

Sean's comparison point: not that good, but it met modest expectations. The kind of franchise movie the box office needs right now.

Black Adam 2022

The kind of franchise product Furiosa and Kingdom are an improved version of.

The Garfield Movie 2024

The weekend's other new release; Sean skipped his Saturday screening for nap time and figures Chris Pratt's cat could win the weekend over Hemsworth.

Joker 2019

Invoked as a comparable 'we've never seen that' origin-story phenomenon Furiosa can't replicate.

Anora 2024

Sean Baker's film premiered at Cannes that day to raves, one of the few genuinely positive festival reactions.

Challengers 2024

Amanda loves it; cited amid a general wish for new energy at the movies.

Oppenheimer 2023

Sean's shorthand for Fury Road's 2015 awards run: ten nominations, six wins, dominant below the line, but no directing or picture win.

Also mentioned raised along the way

The 'movies can do that' lineage The Jazz SingerThe Wizard of OzBen-HurLawrence of ArabiaStar WarsJurassic ParkTerminator 2: Judgment Day

In passing HarveyBabylonThe War of the RosesInland EmpireIrreconcilable DifferencesAmerican HoneyZolaMadame WebBack to BlackPocahontasFast XJoker: Folie à DeuxA Real PainIfThe Gray Man

The Linklater and Glen Powell setup Fast Food NationEverybody Wants Some!!Spy Kids 2

Not films filtered out: TV, games, ads

TV Twin Peaks

Podcasts The Big PictureThe Rewatchables

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