I’m still disappointed with part of Furiosa’s Immortan Joe & Dementus story

Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga leaves no stone unturned, but I still found one of the story highlights with Immortan Joe and Dementus a little disappointing. The game spans five different chapters and Mad Max: Fury Road The prequel goes through every major event in the title character’s timeline. From the tragic murder of her mother to the truth about how she lost her left arm, the prequel takes the viewer through it all while also dropping subtle hints at other Mad Max Movies.

Although the film, as the title suggests, focuses primarily on Furiosa’s origin story, it also gives new insight into Immortan Joe’s past. At the same time, it also introduces new major players such as Chris Hemsworth’s Dementus, who is portrayed as the film’s main antagonist. In its lavish runtime of almost two and a half hours, the film resolves all of the underlying story elements. Unfortunately, I was still dissatisfied with the way it handled an Immortan Joe and Dementus story.

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Every possible Dementus death in Furiosa explained

Before the truth behind Dementus’ fate is revealed, Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga goes through all possible ways to die.

Immortan Joe never realizes that the adult Furiosa is the girl he got as his wife from Dementus

Joe never notices her absence from the safe

One of the crucial milestones in Furiosa’s journey in the spin-off film is when Immortan Joe promises to replenish Gastown’s food and water supplies, but takes Horde’s doctor and Furiosa with him in return. While Horde’s doctor ends up helping him with several tasks, Furiosa is expected to become one of his wives. However, when young Furiosa sees the horrific conditions the women live in under Immortan Joe’s rule, he plans an escape. When Rictus frees Furiosa from the vault where Joe is keeping his wives captive, Furiosa outsmarts him and goes into hiding.

She then disguises herself as another helpless teenager in the Citadel, but remains undercover. Furiosa: A crazy sagaThe depiction of the title character’s escape is compelling, but I had to wonder why Immortan Joe doesn’t notice her absence from the vault. The film implies that Furiosa always hides her face so no one recognizes her, but the fact that Immortan Joe and Rictus don’t suspect who she is even when she’s an adult seems a little implausible.

Immortan Joe’s lack of knowledge of Furiosa’s Dementus backstory damages their relationship

Joe’s insights into Furiosa’s past could have added new levels to their dynamic

Since Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga was supposed to give new insight into the relationship between Immortan Joe and Furiosa, I expected the film to add more layers to their dynamic. The film had the perfect opportunity to do so too. Instead of just portraying Furiosa as Immortan Joe’s driver, the film could have shown Joe eventually finding out her backstory with Dementus. When he learned of Furiosa’s vendetta against Dementus Immortan could have given Joe a strong reason to trust her and even prompted him to form a strategic alliance with her.

This new depth in their relationship would have ultimately made Furiosa’s betrayal Mad Max: Fury Road even more annoying for Immortan Joe. As a result Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga would have the emotional commitment for all the drama and action that takes place in Mad Max: Fury RoadUnfortunately, the prequel film avoids pursuing this narrative approach. Although Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga still has a compelling narrative, even without that story climax, it’s certainly a missed opportunity that the film could have really benefited from.

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How many lines does Furiosa have in each Mad Max movie?

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Furiosa had to reveal her story to Dementus

Dementus’ knowledge of Furiosa’s motives could have raised the stakes

Also in Furiosa: A Mad Max SagaIn the final story arc, Dementus also has no idea who Furiosa is until she explains it to him. This revelation makes the final chapter much more exciting, but the film probably would have been better if Dementus had known who she was before the showdown at Bullet Farm. Knowing that she despises him for murdering her mother and wants revenge on him would have raised the stakes the Bullet Farm sequence more personal for both characters.

Dementus would also have looked even more savage if he had killed Jack in front of Furiosa, knowing that he had previously taken another loved one from her. Unfortunately, this was another missed opportunity that could have added even more drama to the film, especially towards the end. Still, I can’t deny that Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga is a brilliant film even without these story explorations.

Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga

4.0

Furiosa is an action adventure film that tells the origin story of the headstrong and fearless Furiosa. The film is set shortly after the beginning of the “end of the world”. Furiosa is kidnapped and brought before a powerful warlord who now forces her to work for him. In order to find her way back home, Furiosa must adapt to the new harsh and arid world and grow into the Furiosa she later becomes.

director

George Miller

Release date

May 24, 2024

Studio(s)

Warner Bros. Pictures

Sales Partner

Warner Bros. Pictures

Authors

George Miller, Nick Lathouris

Character(s)

Furiosa, Dementus, Praetorian Jack, Young Furiosa, Rictus Erectus, the Organic Mechanic, the Bullet Farmer, Immortan Joe

Duration

148 minutes

budget

168 million

Main genre

adventure

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