Furiosa’s CGI Backlash: Why It Looks Different To Fury Road & Is It Really A Problem?

Furiosa‘s trailer has received major backlash for its CGI, sparking debates about whether it will be a worthy follow-up to Mad Max: Fury Road. Although Furiosa‘s trailer does not give away too many details about its overarching storyline, it hints that it will feature a slam-bang showdown between Anya Taylor-Joy’s young Furiosa and Chris Hemsworth’s Dementus. It also reveals how the movie will primarily revolve around Furiosa’s quest to find her way home.

With all these plot details, the trailer also gives viewers a glimpse of the movie’s action, dystopian setting, and set designs. While nearly everything seems top-notch, many viewers seem dissatisfied with its use of CGI. Although it may be a little too early to draw conclusions about Furiosa‘s visuals, its CGI criticism cannot be ignored.

The Furiosa Trailer’s Use Of CGI Is Divisive

Furiosa’s trailer reveals the movie may have excessive CGI

Furiosa‘s first trailer, arguably, does a decent job at generating hype for the Mad Max film without giving away too many details surrounding its storyline and character beats. Both Anya Taylor Joy and Chris Hemsworth also seem to do justice to their respective characters in their scenes from the trailer. However, the Mad Max prequel movie’s trailer has generated an immense backlash because of its use of CGI. Given how every action movie requires the use of CGI, Furiosa‘s use of special effects is certainly not surprising. However, viewers are criticizing it because George Miller primarily relied on practical effects during Mad Max: Fury Road‘s filming.

George Miller has previously revealed that 90% of the effects presented in Mad Max: Fury Road were achieved practically. The film’s behind-the-scenes footage also showed how CGI was only used as the icing on the cake for practical stunt work, which would have looked good even without visual enhancements. Critics of Furiosa‘s trailer are suggesting that, unlike Mad Max: Fury Road, the prequel seems to be relying a little too much on CGI instead of recreating the immersive experience that the 2015 movie offered. While it is unfair to judge the film by its initial trailer, it is hard not to wonder whether the criticism is justified.

Does Furiosa Really Have More CGI Than Fury Road? (& If So, Why?)

Furiosa’s CGI comparison with Mad Max: Fury Road reveals on harsh truth

As revealed in the book BLOOD SWEAT & CHROME: The Wild and True Story of Mad Max: Fury Road, George Miller went to extreme lengths to only have practical effects in Mad Max: Fury Road. Director Steven Soderbergh, of the Ocean‘s franchise fame, was so blown away by Mad Mad: Fury Road‘s practical effects that he even claimed (via The Playlist) he would not be able to “direct 30 seconds of that.” However, even though the movie’s action scenes involved more practical effects, it was not completely bereft of CGI. It is just that CGI was used for touching up and enhancing nearly every practical shot.

This is also evident in Mad Max: Fury Road‘s first teaser trailer, where only the sandstorm scenes seem to have a lot of CGI, but nearly every scene has some visual enhancements. Compared to Mad Max: Fury Road, Furiosa‘s trailer does seem to have more scenes incorporating extensive CGI. For instance, even the bullet casings in the scene where Chris Hemsworth’s character hangs by a cliff seem CGI-fueled. In addition, the overall color palette and shooting style of the scenes in the trailer seem a little cartoonish, but these were likely conscious decisions made during the movie’s production.

Is The Furiosa Trailer’s CGI Really That Bad?

Is it too soon judge Furiosa’s CGI?

Despite all the CGI complaints, the prequel movie’s CGI does not seem all that bad. The criticism primarily stems from the fact that if Furiosa involves too much CGI, it may not be able to be as visually appealing as Mad Max: Fury Road, let alone be better. There are arguably a few moments in the trailer that suggest Furiosa will not be as immersive as Fury Road. However, contrary to the criticism, none of the scenes seem to have unfinished CGI. And even if certain scenes need to be refined a little more before making it to the final theatrical cut, there are still months before its release, giving the movie’s production enough time to improve the quality of shoddy CGI moments.

Why Furiosa Might Have Needed More CGI

There is more to Furiosa’s CGI than meets the eye

For now, it is unknown whether Furiosa used more CGI than Mad Max: Fury Road or only its trailer gives that impression. However, a few factors may have contributed to George Miller not taking the same approach as Fury Road with Furiosa. Mad Max: Fury Road is known for having one of the most grueling productions. The film was not only caught in development hell for decades before being filmed but even its filming was marred by several conflicts that emerged from its reliance on practically creating dangerous stunts.

Owing to these challenges, George Miller might have wanted to avoid going through the same trouble with Furiosa and must have chosen to involve a little more CGI than he would have allowed for Mad Max: Fury Road. Furiosa‘s production was also held back by several unforeseeable challenges that could explain why the film required more CGI than its predecessor. As per reports (via Comicbook), Furiosa‘s filming in Australia was abruptly halted in August 2022 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Owing to the delay in its filming, George Miller may not have had enough time to repeat Fury Road‘s practical approach. Since Furiosa will primarily have a standalone storyline with only a few connections to the other installments of the franchise, the extensive use of CGI might have also been a stylistic choice. George Miller probably wanted to make it stand out from the other Mad Max movies. Hence, he avoided practical effects and resorted to using more CGI.

Why There Needs To Be Faith in Furiosa’s CGI

George Miller knows what he is doing

While it is understandable where the criticism towards Furiosa‘s CGI comes from, audiences must have faith in George Miller’s directorial forte and vision. After all, he is the mastermind behind the entire Mad Max franchise. George Miller has a long track record of delivering visually stunning and innovative films, especially in the post-apocalyptic subgenre. Owing to this, his artistic choices and even narrative considerations for Furiosa must be trusted. Realistically, not everything in the prequel film can be on par with Mad Max: Fury Road. However, Furiosa will likely be able to expand the franchise’s universe in a new positive direction.

Sources: The Playlist, Comicbook