On the Road

I've been getting most of our DVDs from the library, and Ms. Spenser asked why I didn't get any of the good recent movies that are out. Well, it takes some time for them to show up on the shelves. That very day, I found Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga (2024).

It starts in the Place of Abundance - a green paradise in the radioactive wasteland. Little Furiosa (Alyla Browne) and a friend are up in a tree, picking peaches when they notice a gang of bikers carving up a horse for meat. While her friend runs to warn the village, Furiosa sneaks up and starts to disable the bikes. But she gets snuck up on and is captured. The villagers assemble a posse, including Furiosa's mother, to follow. They want Furiosa back, but more importantly, to protect the secret of he Green Place.

Furiosa's mother takes out one raider after another with a sniper rifle, and Furiosa disables the bike she's on. But finally, Furiosa's mother sets her free and sacrifices herself - in vain, because Furiosa tries to go back and save her. The final surviving raider captures her, and takes her back his leader - Dementus (Chris Hemsworth). 

This raider refuses to tell anyone but Dementus where the Place of Abundance is. His lieutenants torture him for the info, and accidentally kill him. Hemsworth says he'll just follow the tracks back, but a sandstorm blows up. So he decides to keep her as a surrogate daughter - his tame doctor, the Organic Mechanic (Angus Sampson) certifies her as a pure, unmutated woman. 

Hemsworth is a minor warlord, and he decides to take over Immortan Joe's Citadel. When he gets there, he finds it pretty much impregnable. Plus Joe does Alexander the Great's trick of showing how his warboys will follow orders to kill themselves without hesitation. So Hemsworth trades Furiosa and the Organic Mechanic for some additional water and breast milk and leaves. 

So Furiosa grows up in the Citadel, until she escapes. She comes back as Anya Taylor Joy. She winds up riding shotgun on a war-rig with Praetorian Jack (Tom Burke). Burke is kind of an OK guy, like Max is in Fury Road. They are attacked by a cool gang with hang gliders. And so on.

There are definitely some great action chases. But this movie has more story than Fury Road, more back story of the Bullet Farm, Gas Town, and so on. It's got new-character-enter Dementus. who is a lot of fun. Ms. Spenser wanted to know when Hemsworth became Jason Momoa (complimentary). 

I'm not sure if I prefer the more thoughtful Furiosa or the more single-minded, straight out-and-back chase of Fury Road. I suppose we should watch both a few more times - maybe the chase is just what I remember most. I guess we can watch the while waiting for another good new movie to come to the library.