Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga (4K UHD Blu-ray) review

[David Vaughn]

Studio: Warner Brothers
Release Date: August 13, 2024
Rating: R
Film: 3/5

Plot
As the world fell, young Furiosa is snatched from the Green Place of Many Mothers and falls into the hands of a great Biker Horde led by the Warlord Dementus. Sweeping through the Wasteland, they come across the Citadel presided over by The Immortan Joe. While the two Tyrants war for dominance, Furiosa must survive many trials as she puts together the means to find her way home.

My Thoughts
I was not a fan of the Fury Road, although I own it for the audio mix alone, so I can’t say I was jazzed to see this. As a narrative, it’s much better than its predecessor and there’s a bit more meat on the bone overall. That’s not to say it’s a great movie, because there are many leaps of logic that don’t make a lot of sense. Regardless, it does a very good job of providing Furiosa’s backstory and takes you from her youth up until the beginning of Fury Road.

Anya Taylor-Joy does a decent job of making us believe she’s Charlize Theron (who plays Furiosa in Fury Road), but in all, the film is just too long and drawn out at nearly 2 hours and 30 minutes. Some editing could have been used to tighten up the narrative and make it more enjoyable for the audience. I love fights and chases as much as the next guy, but I don’t want to watch what is essentially the same thing over and over again.

While the story is mediocre, the presentation is outstanding. My only grip with the video encode is the green screen scenes are pretty easy to pick out versus the live-action. Other than that minor annoyance, it looks pretty damn good. That being said, the Dolby Atmos track is the star of the show and features crisp dynamics, plenty of discrete effects, and enough LFE to wake the dead—just how I like it.
 
Video 9/10
Audio 10/10 (Dolby Atmos)

Special Features:

• Highway to Valhalla: In Pursuit of Furiosa
• Darkest Angel: Anya Taylor-Joy as Furiosa
• Motorbike Messiah: Chris Hemsworth as Dementus
• Furiosa: Stowaway to Nowhere
• Metal Beasts & Holy Motors
• UHD + Digital Code

Conclusion
I’m a casual fan of these films but my wife has learned to hate them. In fact, she agreed to watch this with me, which ended up being a huge mistake. She complained through most of the movie and ruined it for me, but I do plan on rewatching the next time she’s out of town and cranking the audio to the max in order to get the full experience. Miller’s world building has taken it up a few notches since the first Mad Max film 40 years ago, but it may be time to put the franchise back on ice. There’s only so many ways to tell a similar story. Recommended for fans.

Reference Review System:
 JVC DLA-RS3100 4K Ultra High-Definition Front Projector
 (Calibrated with Portrait Displays CalMAN color calibration software & C6-HDR Meter from Portrait Displays)
 Stewart Filmscreen - Firehawk 110” 2.35:1 Screen
 Trinnov Altitude 16 Audio/Video Processor
 ATI AT527NC Powering Bed Channels
 ATI AT524NC Powering Atmos Speakers
 Panasonic DP-UB820 Ultra HD Blu-ray Player
 System Controller: URC MX-990
 M&K S-150 THX Ultra (R-C-L Speakers)
 M&K SS-150 x4 (Surround Speakers)
 Atlantic Technology IC6-OBA x 4 Overhead Speakers
 Dual Rythmik FV15HP2
 Mini DSP HD controlling all subwoofers
 Audioquest and Monoprice - Audio/Video/Speaker Cabling
 PureAV PF60 Power Conditioner

[Craig Peer]

I'm looking forward to seeing this as I LOVE Fury Road ( probably watched it 10 times at least - so far ). In fact, I'm thinking this will be a great double feature with Fury Road. 

[David Vaughn]

I'm looking forward to seeing this as I LOVE Fury Road ( probably watched it 10 times at least - so far ). In fact, I'm thinking this will be a great double feature with Fury Road.

I think this one was a better film (even being a bit too long). Curious to see how you like it. 

[Paul Heroy]

I'm starting to ponder the possibility that maybe, just maybe, our Craig might be an adrenaline junky.  

[David Vaughn]

I'm starting to ponder the possibility that maybe, just maybe, our Craig might be an adrenaline junky.

I believe he used to climb mountains when he was younger...and I'm not talking about a Sunday stroll up a hill either

[Paul Heroy]

Yes I know... I was being more than a little facetious. 

[SRW1000]

Another one I've been looking forward to, but I'll temper my expectations.

I'm right with you on Fury Road, David, so it's good to hear this one is a bit better.

[Craig Peer]

I believe he used to climb mountains when he was younger...and I'm not talking about a Sunday stroll up a hill either

This is my wife and I on our Honeymoon. 

[Craig Peer]

I'm starting to ponder the possibility that maybe, just maybe, our Craig might be an adrenaline junky.

I watch " Crank " to relax. 

[bmoney]

I’m the opposite. This movie was horrible. The acting was so bad I had major difficulty getting through the whole thing. At least the first was all action. 

[Craig Peer]

Watched this for the first time last night with 3 friends that are also Fury Road fans. Other than it was a little too long, we all loved it! The video and audio is definitely demo worthy - I had the audio cranked to nearly reference* and it was loud ( but not too loud ) with some great bass! loved the origin story, and would love to watch this and Fury Road back to back on a rainy weekend day. Both Anya Taylor-Joy and Chris Hemsworth were great in this. Certainly a lot of great stunts and gory / bloody scenes that had my audience gasping in horror / delight! Fun movie!




* only because my wife was out of town and I had the " we love it loud in your theater " crowd over!

[Paul Heroy]

Nice, Craig... always fun to get in a chance to crank it up when the missus is away!