Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga Review

05/30/24 • 136 min

This past weekend, George Miller’s long-awaited follow-up to Mad Max: Fury Road (2015) unfortunately became the impetus for headlines about a failing film industry. After the rom com stunt spectacular The Fall Guy underperformed at the box office and then whimpered onto home video much earlier than expected, Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga has emerged as another big disappointment, opening during a holiday weekend to a measly $32 million domestically. As a result, trade journalists have already begun to question whether the next Mad Max film, which George Miller has referred to as The Wasteland, will even get made now.

Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga is a prequel to Mad Max: Fury Road, chronicling the life of Imperator Furiosa as she is abducted as a child and becomes embroiled in the harsh realities of The Wasteland. Anya Taylor-Joy stars as a younger version of the character Charlize Theron played in Fury Road, and Chris Hemsworth co-stars as a new character, a kooky war lord named Dementus.

In this episode of The Long Take Review, Antonio, Greg, P.T., and I comprise the full spectrum of reactions to Miller’s latest action epic. We offer theories as to why crowds aren’t rushing movie theaters, share our favorite scenes, discuss what worked and didn’t work for us, and consider how the prequel status of the film influenced its construction and/or our interpretation. Regardless of our feelings on the film, our hearts are full of hope, not hate. Witness us!

You can listen to The Long Take Review on Substack, Spotify, Apple, YouTube, or wherever you get your podcasts.

Image Credit: LA Times

Movies News Update We react to the Cannes Film Festival award winners. 4:10

The Short Take We each share our general impressions of Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga. 16:45

The Recommendation Algorithm Who should see this film? Do you need to have seen any other Mad Max films? We also try to manage expectations about how this film might differ from Fury Road. 24:05

SPOILER MODE What accounts for Furiosa’s low box office numbers? What’s our favorite action scene? Favorite non-action scene? What does this film have to say about Furiosa? About storytelling and history? About hope? How does this film re-contextualize the events of Fury Road? 37:40

The Rhetorical Situation How has the prequel factor influenced the composition and interpretation/reception of this film? 1:40:11

Oscars Watch Does Furiosa have any Oscars potential? What happens when it enters the Thunderdome with Dune: Part Two? 2:01:18

Notes:

No one asked for this, but here’s more information on the Palm Dog awards at Cannes.

All music licensed through Epidemic Sound.

Logo art: Illustration 73265080 © Worldofvector | Dreamstime.com

Get full access to The Long Take at thelongtake.substack.com/subscribe

You can listen to The Long Take Review on Substack, Spotify, Apple, YouTube, or wherever you get your podcasts.

Image Credit: LA Times

Movies News Update We react to the Cannes Film Festival award winners. 4:10

The Short Take We each share our general impressions of Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga. 16:45

The Rhetorical Situation How has the prequel factor influenced the composition and interpretation/reception of this film? 1:40:11

Oscars Watch Does Furiosa have any Oscars potential? What happens when it enters the Thunderdome with Dune: Part Two? 2:01:18

Notes:

No one asked for this, but here’s more information on the Palm Dog awards at Cannes.

All music licensed through Epidemic Sound.

Logo art: Illustration 73265080 © Worldofvector | Dreamstime.com

Get full access to The Long Take at thelongtake.substack.com/subscribe

Previous Episode

I Saw the TV Glow Review

Jane Schoenbrun’s I Saw The TV Glow was one of the buzziest titles to premiere at the Sundance Film Festival this year, and P.T. and I were very disappointed that it was only available to screen in person. Fortunately, it’s now out and theaters and we were finally able to see what all the fuss was about.

The film follows two teenagers, Maddy and Owen, as they strike up a friendship over a supernatural teenage drama called “The Pink Opaque.” That fictional series strongly evokes shows like Buffy the Vampire Slayer, The X-Files, Are You Afraid of the Dark, Goosebumps, ‘Eerie, Indiana,’ Pete and Pete, and even Twin Peaks. To assume that this film is merely a trip down a collective memory lane, however, would be a huge mistake.

In this episode of The Long Take Review, P.T. mostly helps me come to terms with the film’s ambiguities as we work our way through what it all means. There’s a lot to unpack, and we relish that task in typical Long Take Review fashion.

You can listen to The Long Take Review on Substack, Spotify, Apple, YouTube, or wherever you get your podcasts.

Image Credit: Rotten Tomatoes

Movies News Update We catch up with The Cannes Film Festival. For which films has our hype increased or decreased? 3:55

The Short Take We each share our general impressions of I Saw The TV Glow. 26:20

The Recommendation Algorithm Who should see this film? What genre best represents it? How should viewers set their expectations about the kind of film this is? 31:18

SPOILER MODE What is this film trying to say? To what extent are this film’s themes universal vs. specific to the trans or queer experience? Why does this film take place in the 90s? 49:00

The Rhetorical Situation How does the mode of exchange alter the consumption and interpretation of popular culture? When does popular culture facilitate identity actualization vs. threaten it? How might nostalgia interfere with...everything? 1:14:20

Oscars Watch Does I Saw The TV Glow have any Oscars potential? 1:39:46

Notes:

P.T. references this Letterboxd review by mesh509 during the episode.

When Jen compares the use of musical performances in this film to Twin Peaks, she is primarily thinking of David Lynch’s Twin Peaks: The Return (2017).

All music licensed through Epidemic Sound.

Logo art: Illustration 73265080 © Worldofvector | Dreamstime.com

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Next Episode

2015 Oscar Fairy Flashback

At the Long Take Review, we have one eye always on the Oscar race. Usually, that means we are looking forward to the upcoming Academy Awards, talking through the race as it happens. But given our collective history of caring about these silly awards, we thought it would be fun to occasionally step back and train our eye on an earlier year in Oscar history. Regular listeners know we frequently talk about what we would change in the current race if we had the power of an Oscar Fairy; we decided to use that magic wand on the past with this Oscar Fairy Flashback, in which we’ll discuss what we would, in hindsight, like to change about the nominees and winners from a chosen year.

To spice up the discussion, P.T. designed a point spending system. Antonio, P.T., Greg, and I each receive 10 points for this round, and carry over any leftover points from the previous Oscar Fairy Flashback if we participated (sorry, Greg). To swap out a nominee in a below-the-line category (the technical and production crew categories as well as speciality film categories like International, Animated, Documentary), we have to spend 1 point; swapping out a nominee in an above-the-line category (screenplay, acting, or directing) requires 2 points; and swapping out a best picture nominee is 3 points. To change the winner within a given category costs double points: so 2 points to change the winner below-the-line, 4 points for above, and 6 points for best picture.

In this episode’s Oscar Fairy Flashback, we go back to the 87th Academy Awards, held on February 22, 2015 and honoring the films of 2014. Some of the big contenders that year were Birdman, The Grand Budapest Hotel, Whiplash, The Theory of Everything, The Imitation Game, Boyhood, and Selma. Which nominations and wins hold up? Which make us cringe with embarrassment now? What is Antonio’s big play for which he’s been saving up points? And what is Jen’s hottest movie take, maybe ever? Listen to find out!

You can listen to The Long Take Review on Substack, Spotify, Apple, or wherever you get your podcasts.

All music licensed through Epidemic Sound.

Get full access to The Long Take at thelongtake.substack.com/subscribe