Tom Spearing’s review published on Letterboxd:
Still an utterly insane piece of spectacle. Just when you think it can’t possibly reach new levels of crazy, it somehow manages to. It’s still mad to me that this came off the back of two Happy Feet movies. Paired with the Babe films, it makes Miller one of the most fascinating and eclectic filmmakers out there. You never know what he might turn is hand to next. For all we know, 2024’s Furiosa could end up being a throwback 90s rom-com. Honestly would not put it past this madman.
No quantity or collection of adjectives can describe the action here adequately, beyond quite simply: it is bonkers. A proper adrenaline rush of heavy metal, turbo-charged thrills that barely lets up for two full hours. The only thing that still holds it back in my view is the shonky script and the often very hammy performances. To be fair, the acting does kind of suit the film’s general aesthetic, but it produces moments of drama that don’t remotely resonate. The dialogue feels mighty laboured to me; even Max says far more than just the dismissive grunts I remember. I would have so loved it if this was completely wordless, because the action more than speaks for itself. After all, the plot is basically “rig gets chased one way, then gets chased back again”. There’s some brief allusion to Max wanting to step up to the mark: to right the wrongs of his past and aid those who need it, but it very much feels like a side thought. Furiosa and her runaway crew of Immortan slave-wives are searching for some sort of refuge where there is none, but we’re not given much reason to care about them; nor do we see much apparent scarring from their torment at the hands of such an odious warlord. Speaking of which, Immortan Joe is just too brilliant. Such a visceral creation—an all-timer in the pantheon of screen villains.
On the whole though, you can hardly fault this as a piece of action entertainment. Arguably it satisfies every element your bulging eyeballs could wish for. While Road Warrior I think still cements itself as a trailblazer in terms of its physicality and off the wall production design, this remains so true to it that I can’t help but be in total awe of its delightful eccentricities. The various rigs here are such an artful joy. To think they actually built these monsters. Incredible. And I know the flamethrower guitar-shredder often gets highlighted, but this is entirely justified—he exists for no other reason than to provide an accompanying soundtrack to the carnage. What could you not possibly love about that?
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