In "Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga," the action is plentiful, but it doesn't quite match the intensity of its predecessor.
Filmdirector/cocreator George Miller drives his film forward with a frenetic energy, aiming to speed through its storytelling gaps. This intensity results in a string of intricate chase sequences held together with scant connecting elements.
Settling equally on a younger version of Furiosa as Taylor-Joy's character, the already hardened girl is swiftly abducted from a haven dubbed the Green Place - "a place of prosperity," as one of the robbers describes it - and transported to the warlord Dementus, portrayed by Chris Hemsworth with an excessive lecherousness that makes Thor look tame, before even considering the amusing prosthetic nose.
Driven by vengeance and exposed to the horrors of the Wasteland, Furiosa navigates the three citadels of this unrelenting world, with one, the Citadel, ruled by Immortan Joe (Lachy Hulme), the nameless, grotesque meanie who also made an appearance in the 2015 Academy Award-winning "Fury Road."
Initially, the action holds your attention, but it becomes slightly repetitive. Although the Mad Max franchise has never been renowned for intricate storytelling, the heart of these films - "The Road Warrior" - created a solid basis, stakes, and framing device for the wild mayhem.
Miller and co-writer Nico Lathouris format the movie into five numbered acts (roughly 30 minutes each), increasing its episodic character, leading the main characters to fade away for spells. Similarly, a love story between Furiosa and a dashing driver named Praetorian Jack (Tom Burke, who played Orson Welles in "Mank") feels like a sudden and misplaced addition, but they make an impressive team in creating chaos.
Much like her predecessors heading these films, Taylor-Joy might be thankful she's not paid based on the number of words she speaks. The real task lies in considering Furiosa, given her short acting résumé, as a figure stimulating curiosity, particularly with the specifics that molded her.
On one hand, "Furiosa" may not offer as many details on the character invented by Charlize Theron. Instead, it offers an opening - and a Max-exempt one, to boot - into one of those "universes" film studios always wish to create. (The film is released by Warner Bros., similar to CNN, a division of Warner Bros. Discovery.)
Forty-five years since Max introduced viewers to a young Australian named Mel Gibson, Miller clearly hasn't lost his gift in terms of visual design and over-the-top action choreography. In virtually every other aspect, this feels like one of those situations where there's more sound than fury.
"Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga" is set for a US theatrical debut on May 24. It's classified as R-rated.
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Source: edition.cnn.com
