The Big Picture
Franchise films expect viewers to do “homework” by watching previous installments to understand the story.
Franchise fatigue is affecting box office success, as evident in the disappointing performance of
Furiosa
.
Despite requiring no lore prerequisites to enjoy, writer-director George Miller’s
Furiosa
shines with dazzling visuals and thrilling action.
Despite presenting themselves as popular entertainment targeted at a mass audience, watching an action-adventure-oriented franchise film can be overwhelming. For many long-running franchises with an extended universe, viewers are required to turn in their “homework” in the form of watching previous installments in a respective series or else they will be lost and befuddled by the action on screen. In some cases, audiences need to watch streaming television shows to grasp the full context of the story. While extended universe fare, notably the Marvel Cinematic Universe, was the hottest thing on the market for a decade, recent box office results indicate that audiences have grown weary of delving into cinematic lore before heading into their local multiplex. Furiosa, the long-awaited prequel to the Mad Max saga, has stalled at the box office, signaling that audiences aren’t interested in Mad Max “homework.” However, writer-director George Miller is the best teacher around, as he requires no homework or lore prerequisites to enjoy his imaginative post-apocalyptic odyssey.
Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga
The origin story of renegade warrior Furiosa before her encounter and team-up with Mad Max.
Release Date May 24, 2024
Director George Miller
Runtime 148 minutes
Franchise Cinema Often Insists Audiences Complete Homework Before Watching a New Movie
The term “homework” is pejorative shorthand for ancillary material needed to comprehend and appreciate an installment in a franchise. Some of the most maligned franchise entries of the last few years have been cited as instances where studios focus too rigorously on a cinematic universe’s lore rather than making a good movie. Casual fans have found keeping up with Marvel and DC lore exhausting, as seen with the tepid response to films such as The Marvels and The Flash. In the former’s case, characters and stories were extensions of shows on Disney+. Even during their halcyon days, Marvel habitually focused on building the foundation for future installments rather than satisfying the short-term interests of the movie that is currently playing on the screen.
In a post-COVID climate, journalists and the film community have been partaking in an active referendum on the state of the box office. In just a few years, our expectations of what hits with audiences, or even what constitutes a hit, have drastically altered. Disney effortlessly released six films that grossed over a billion dollars at the global box office in 2019, and outside of Spider-Man: No Way Home, no other MCU installment has crossed that benchmark. During Marvel’s relative financial disappointment, a different flavor of sequels and IP-driven films have taken culture by storm, including Top Gun: Maverick, Barbie, and The Super Mario Bros. Movie. The numbers suggest that people are lukewarm to tentpole franchise releases like Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania; they want auteur-driven historical biopics like Oppenheimer. While 2024’s lackluster box office indicates that sequels and familiar brands supersede everything, films tied into an extended universe, or ones containing a backlog of previous installments have lost some cultural resonance. This audience mindset, a reasonable response to uninspiring franchise drivel, is, unfortunately, giving worthy artistic expressions like Furiosa an unfavorable reputation.
‘Furiosa’ Is Devoid of Lore and Rigid Franchise Expectations
Set before the events of Mad Max: Fury Road, Furiosa tracks the rise of its titular character (Anya Taylor-Joy), previously played by Charlize Theron in the universally beloved Fury Road. In George Miller’s post-apocalyptic world, Furiosa is snatched away from the Green Place and falls into the hands of an emperor, Warlord Dementus (Chris Hemsworth). Along her odyssey across the desert wasteland, she vows to avenge her mother’s death while under the control of a cult leader, Immortan Joe (Lachy Hulme), with help from a military commander, Praetorian Jack (Tom Burke). On the surface, the basic synopsis of Furiosa looks like it packs a heavy workload for casual audiences. As one-part prequel and another-part spin-off to Fury Road, the film may seem “unnecessary” to audiences wishing the story would advance chronologically and add more emotional stakes. While Furiosa is as much a lead as the titular Max is in Fury Road, giving her a stand-alone origin story invites the possibility of dreaded cinematic homework.
During the ongoing diagnosis of Furiosa’s lackluster box office performance, the press identified rational explanations behind its underwhelming commercial success. Considering that Furiosa is R-rated, belongs to a franchise with limited mainstream appeal, and is a prequel, our expectations should have been tempered. Many have speculated that the film’s poor financial return is a product of franchise fatigue. If this is the cause of its lack of mainstream cultural resonance, then Furiosa is merely paying for the sins of previous franchise films, as enjoying George Miller’s new action thrill-ride requires zero prerequisite lore. The beauty of Furiosa, besides its dazzling visuals and awe-inspiring action set pieces, is that die-hard Mad Max fans and series newcomers can enjoy the film equally. Viewers could survive without even needing to see Fury Road. In fact, Furiosa’s development of its titular character only enhances the dramatic weight of Miller’s 2015 legacy sequel. Aside from one stray, and arguably forced, brief Max Rockatansky cameo, the film does not badger the viewer to catch up with the lore of the desert wasteland.
Each Mad Max Film Can Be Enjoyed on Its Own
When you’re in the hands of an unfettered visionary like George Miller, the plot and contextual lore are extraneous material. What leaves viewers stumbling out of the theater is the white-knuckle intensity of the visceral car chases and propulsive gun-fighting. With a master of action spectacle in Miller, the rich characterization of these seemingly inhumane characters is just the cherry on top. Compared to the crop of action blockbusters today, Furiosa’s extended action scenes are works of fine art, and considering that Miller is nearly 80 years old, his creative ingeniousness is only more praise-worthy. The director likens his films to “silent films with sound.” Series protagonists, Max and Furiosa, seldom speak, so there is little concern about the film’s narrative being drowned out by expository or referential dialogue concerning lore. These films, with elaborate stunt choreography and visual effects, are not grounded by any means, but their stories and ideas are conveyed through simple gestures that pack a punch.
All five installments of the Mad Max saga can be appreciated as isolated films without having exposure to the franchise’s backstory. At its essence, each film is modeled after evergreen narratives that originated over 100 years ago. The original 1979 low-budget film is a glorified B-movie centered around an Australian police officer seeking revenge against a biker gang. The sequel, The Road Warrior, establishes Max (Mel Gibson) as a rogue mercenary learning to unify with a community of settlers and defend them against a band of marauders. While the context of the previous film is helpful, it’s not necessary to one’s enjoyment of the film, which is a substantial upgrade in scale compared to the original. Stories about revenge or inadvertent heroes are concise enough for all viewers to comprehend. When a film is as exciting and jaw-dropping as Fury Road, it’s okay not to understand every plot detail. While Furiosa is the most intricately plotted film of the entire saga, it does follow a Dickensian tale of an abducted child raised in a world of misery, which evolves into an episodic adventure of vengeance and morality.
Ultimately, you can’t force anyone to invest their time and resources in seeing Furiosa at their local theater. In all likelihood, when the new George Miller post-apocalyptic desert odyssey lands on VOD, more and more people will experience the thrill of Furiosa, and lament over not seeing it in theaters. The precedent in blockbuster cinema suggests that the film would have been a daunting task for any viewer not done with their homework, but the Mad Max saga has proven for decades that each film can be universally enjoyed, no matter how much one has studied the lore.
Furiosa is in theaters now.
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