George Miller’s latest iteration within the Mad Max Universe is both a visual and narrative triumph of modern cinema. It continues to raise the bar of its predecessor, Fury Road with persistent tension, unparalleled choreography and cinematography that emphasizes the wasteland as much of a character as those who inhabit it.

The film’s cinematography is consistent with Fury Road in that it manages to achieve a wondrous feat of depicting the juxtaposition of an arid wasteland that oozes with visual richness.  Its landscapes further enhance its narrative by emphasizing the unforgiving nature of many of its inhabitants.  This, coupled with Miller’s once again superlative action sequences, provides a smorgasbord for the senses.

Where Furiosa excels against Fury Road is in its ability to tell a story that effectively balances stakes that feel both personal and broad in scope.  As it delves into Furiosa’s origin tale, it serves of an exploration of the concept of unyielding will driven by a deep, festering vengeance that begins to shape the hardened warrior portrayed by Charleze Theron in Fury Road.  The film not only succeeds in depicting this conceptualization, it further enhances it through a villain that is as twisted as he is charismatic.  

This notion is primarily attributed to the exemplary performance of Chris Hemsworth, who plays said villain, Dementus.  Hemsworth masterfully embodies the eccentricity and ruthlessness of his antagonist which leaves the audience yearning for catharsis resulting from his potential downfall.  In addition, Any Taylor-Joy pulls no punches with her seething portrayal of the title character.  She is able to effectively inhabit a character whose evolution from survivor to warrior is integral to the narrative.  

Taylor-Joy’s uncompromising vision for the character is inevitably what elevates the idea of this evolution, yielding a climactic outcome that reverberates through the wasteland and permeates its audience.  The ending’s haunting nature serves as provocative discourse over the recurring cinematic theme of vengeance.  It provides a unique lens in the understanding of vengeance and its ability to not only shape those it inhabits but also its ability to encourage them to transcend themselves and commit otherwise inconceivable acts. This is to say that Furiosa’s own meditation on what her vengeance looks like feels both shocking and brutal, even for her.

At one point, Dementus asks Furiosa, “Do you have what it takes to make it epic?”  This dialogue provides the framework for the exploration of how vengeance can inspire and evolve those it possesses.  As this rhetoric is extrapolated, it becomes clear that the true question is, “could she have made it epic without being driven by vengeance?”  Furiosa is a film that unabashedly dives into this concept, resulting in a film that is both a thrilling ride and a haunting meditation of familiar cinematic themes.