In an industry that thrives on prequels and meaningless sequels, George Miller offers a lesson in cinema by constructing a film that does not surpass the original, but sublimates it.
A master in the art of telling a story with few words, the Australian filmmaker chooses Furiosa: A Mad Max Sagathe fifth link in its successful series begun in 1979, to rely on both narration and action, thus distinguishing itself with panache from other opuses.
Here, consistency is key. Each dialogue, each action scene, each prop informs the characters and the current story as much as the one it precedes. Consequently, the director multiplies the winks, or rather the clues, to his Fury Road (2015), sowing here and there – always in perfect harmony with its narrative framework – points to explain the fate of Furiosa, to which the public was already introduced in the previous film, which is in fact the sequel.
We therefore find the young Furiosa (Alyla Brown, and, later, Anya Taylor-Joy), at the moment when she is torn from her native land, a green land where mothers ensure survival and self-sufficiency, by a member of the biker gang led by Dementus (Chris Hemsworth). The latter hopes that the little girl will lead her to this rich and fertile land, in a devastated postapocalyptic world, where resources such as water and food are rare.
While her mother sets out in pursuit of the kidnappers, she is also captured and massacred before the eyes of young Furiosa. After a trip to the desert, she is traded to Immortan Joe (Lachy Hulme, replacing Hugh Keays-Byrne), a warlord who rules the Citadel. As the two despots fight to dominate territory and resources, Furiosa grows and plans her revenge, in addition to seeking by all means to find her way back home.
With this film, George Miller and his co-writer, Nick Lathouris, therefore make more room for dialogue, emotions and conventional narration, but fans of action scenes will get more than enough bang for their buck.
In sequences that will certainly go down in the annals of cinema, the filmmaker demonstrates all his mastery of new technologies, without leaving aside the real and perfectly choreographed shots that have made his mark. In addition to large-scale scenes filled with pyrotechnic effects, he does not hesitate to use close-ups to capture details that explain the action to come, without losing sight of what is happening in the background. .
This tour de force owes much to the editing work done by Margaret Sixel, winner of an Oscar for Fury Road, long-time collaborator and wife of George Miller. Thus, each shot is designed according to the unfolding of the story and the viewer’s understanding, and fits together in a relentless logic and a mind-boggling rhythm.
Once again, the grandiose vehicles imagined by the director are highlighted and are riddled with clever details which contribute to the construction of the characters. We also have fun rediscovering those we already know in a new light.
Anya Taylor-Joy, who takes over from Charlize Theron, is impeccable as a powerful, intelligent and revenge-thirsty heroine, while Chris Hemsworth plays with obvious pleasure a sadistic and self-absorbed warlord. Watch it on the biggest screen possible.