The Mad Max series of films is fascinating for so many reasons, The reason I care about the most though is how it represents the vision and growth of George Miller, one of the true modern geniuses of cinema.
5. Mad Max: Beyond Thunderdoome [1985]
Beyond Thunderdome, the only Mad Max film that George Miller did not solely direct, feels like the least essential of all the films. It reminds me a lot of the third Evil Dead film, as this seemed like an episodic adventure that was almost like a test balloon to see how many more Mad Max films there could be. Much like Army of Darkness, this film not was terrible successful and killed the franchise for multiple decades. Unlike Army of Darkness though, this film did not feel terribly interesting. I am not a Lord of the Flies sort of guy to be perfectly honest and sticking a badass character in a Lord of the Flies situation is very allergic to my sensibilities. It was perfectly FINE though and ultimately better than I feared (and the car chase to end it was fun). It is a real testament to the strength of the overall series that something as solid as this is the weakest of the films.
4. Mad Max [1979]
I watched this movie first when I was in college and then not again for fifteen years. For the longest time, I was trying to remember why my memory of the movie was so negative. A 90-minute George Miller Mad Max movie starring one of the biggest movie stars of all time? What could I have possibly not liked?
And while I did enjoy the movie overall this time, when I finally went back and watched it, I was overall disappointed with the movie in a whole new way. It definitely felt like a situation where George Miller was trying to figure out things and this promising yet underwhelming was the natural result.
The movie is simultaneously raw and meandering. It is an exercise in being unsettling and establishing the cruelty of the conditions of the world. It also has no sense of pace though, and you keep waiting for the movie to get going. It feels like a proof of concept film.
3. Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga [2024]
The credits rolled, and I could not help but feel completely underwhelmed by what I had experienced when I watched Furiosa. I have been trying to rapidly unpack what caused that sensation inside of me. A part of that I cannot deny is based on a shallow part of me wanting that same Fury Road high again. The mature part of me understands that is a stupid thing to want from this film, and I would have been the first to criticize it for trying to recapture the lightning in the bottle that was Fury Road.
But I also feel justified in this disappointment because this is the first Mad Max film to actively ask you to remember not just how these movies make you feel but to remember WHAT happened in them. This film actively fills in blanks, connects dots, has you pointing at the screen as you recognize small characters from Fury Road, and even does the Rogue One finish.
You often see comments about these big studios like Disney trying to stifle artists and avoid hiring true visionaries for their precious big business movies. Well, Furiosa really feels like what would happen if George Miller got free rein to make a Marvel movie. There are lots of well-done stuff in the film but to what end? If Fury Road felt like an exercise in adrenaline, then Furiosa is trying to do something different. This more felt like an exploration of grief. There is a feeling of melancholy to this film; an acknowledgement of the loss of the world as we knew it. A loss of the innocence that we desperately wanted to hang onto and was gone before we could appreciate what we had. I am just not sure if Miller managed to put together the right vehicle to travel with that emotion.
2. Mad Max II: The Road Warrior [1981]
If the first Mad Max film felt like George Miller trying (and struggling) to figure things out, The Road Warrior felt like a burgeoning genius tapping into something special. The film is pretty much the ideal version of what a Mad Max movie ought to be: a giant car chase. Now, the increased scope and budget actually helped Fury Road, but this bare bones version of that is special in its own right (if not as great).
The bare bones aspect helps the movie in several ways. It maintains the rawness of its predecessor while also greatly contributing to the sense of danger the film is trying to show. You cannot help but fear for the lives of the actors in this movie as feels impossible to safely perform this movie on what just seems like an under-budgeted affair. That sense of danger is missing from far too many big action films today. And it is the defining feature of this film that makes this one so great.
1. Mad Max: Fury Road [2015]
I have watched Fury Road so many goddamn times now, on screens big and small. And every single time I watch it, I think I love it even more.
It will be one of the defining movies of the early part of the 21st century (if we as a species make it to the 22nd century). It is a movie that has so much to say about how we as a species are driving ourselves off a cliff, and what we need to do to give ourselves a chance.
More than that though, this film is a testament to the idea that artists can and should push themselves to stretch what we think of as possible. We should expand our horizens in all ways and not accept what is already considered the acceptable. Films do not need an inordinate amount of dialogue. Films can largely be comprised of one giant car chase. Giant blockbusters based on pre-existing IP do not need CGI to be successful when practical effects and stunts are possible. Giant blockbusters can be substantive. Artists can have more control over what their art looks like instead of corporations. This movie means so much on and off the screen, and we are so lucky to have it.
The Reel World 