I’m not sure that lack of jeopardy was the issue with Furiosa – after all, that’s always the case with prequels.
I also don’t think that Day One introduced enough new developments to keep things interesting. The concept of the monsters is so simple that the main characters figure out the “rules” (don’t make noise) within minutes of the first attack. And that’s pretty much it - we, the audience, are none the wiser about what they are, where they come from, or what they’re about by the end of Day One than we were by the end of the second movie. Personally, I didn’t find the character development as interesting as Furiosa, either.
Either way, i agree that the quality of the story matters and I think Furiosa succeed here, personally.
If I had to hazard a guess, I’d say the differences in the box office outcomes come down to the facts that the Mad Max franchise has more of a niche appeal than A Quiet Place, is more violent, and the movie was quite a bit longer in duration.
maegul@lemmy.ml 3 months ago
Yep! Easily the weakest aspect of the film. I was actually surprised at just how much of the film’s setting and characters overlapped with Fury Road and how poorly it was done or managed. And I liked the film. Immortan Joe, for instance, was a let down of a portrayal compared to Fury Road while Dementus never hit the same heights as Immortan did in Fury Road.
While liking the film and being happy to have seen it … my final critical take was affirmed watching the credits which are full of snippets from Fury Road … I’m betting that the whole production of the film was too self conscious about being in Fury Road’s shadow and that being set right in the same set and setting as Fury Road assured it’d haunt the film, as it did in its release and audiences’ response to the film. Shame really, a whole new story in that world could have slapped.