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!

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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.

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