Expectations run high for overachievers. You see their work, you recognize their potential and once you witness just what they’ve capable of, your expectations rise even higher. Of course, that leads to a no-win situation in which the genius in question, having raised the bar so high with previous efforts, falls short of what’s anticipated.
That our hopes were likely unrealistic often isn’t taken into consideration regarding our perception of it. Such is the case with George Miller’s “Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga,” a solid action epic that, while it manages to deliver a twisted story and the kinetic aesthetic we’ve come to expect from him, falls short of the groundbreaking effort the filmmaker delivered with “Mad Max: Fury Road.” To be clear: I liked “Furiosa,” a great deal of it actually, yet it requires an adjustment, as this is as much a character study as an action epic.
As such, the pacing is more deliberate, but the result is the most emotionally rich and poignant effort of the series. As expected, Miller starts things off with a bang, giving us a cross-country chase that ebbs and flows like the dunes of the Wastelands where the action takes place. Young Furiosa (Alyla Browne) has been kidnapped by two members of Dementus’ (Chris Hemsworth) horde.
Having stumbled upon The Green Place, a secluded agrarian culture fashioned like a neo-Eden, they’ve snatched the girl, knowing they’ll get in the good graces of their boss when they turn her over to him.