The best film in theMad Maxfranchise is exactly the opposite of the one that came before it, and it highlights a big problem the series needs to avoid in the future. TheMad Maxfranchise has changed quite a bit since director George Miller started it in 1979. In that time,Max Rockatansky was played by different actors, switching from Mel Gibson to Tom Hardy, and the series gained a new protagonist in Furiosa. One of the franchise’s biggest changes also led to the bestMad Maxmovie ever made:Mad Max: Fury Road.
In almost anyranking of theMad Maxmovies,Fury Roadcomes out on top. It’s widely considered the best in the franchise, and it’s often even included on lists of thebest action movies ever. What makesFury Road’s quality so surprising is that it was such a departure from the previousMad Maxmovie,Mad Max: Beyond Thunderdome. Aside from the actor and the era, there are quite a few things that make it seem likeBeyond ThunderdomeandFury Roadaren’t even part of the same franchise, and those differences turned out to be for the best.
Mad Max Timeline Explained: When Each Movie Takes Place
Because of the changes made by Mad Max: Fury Road, the series timeline can be a bit confusing. So when do they happen, and how do they fit together?
The thirdMad Maxmovie,Mad Max: Beyond Thunderdome, is often considered the franchise’s worst. A big reason it was so poorly received is because it marks a serious tonal shift from its predecessor,Mad Max 2: The Road Warrior, and is the franchise’s lightest and most accessible movie.Everything aboutBeyond Thunderdome, from being the only PG-13Mad Maxmovie to Tina Turner’s Auntie Entity to the kids of the Lost Tribe, seems like it was made for mass appeal. Even Max was made more palatable: the Max fromThe Road Warriorwould never have agreed to help the Lost Tribe.
Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome
Cast
Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome is the third film in George Miller’s sci-fi action series. This time, Max, after being exiled, joins a group of children to take down a strange town’s tyrannical queen. The film generally received positive reviews upon release and was followed up by Mad Max: Fury Road 30 years later in 2015.
In stark contrast toBeyond Thunderdome, the next film in the franchise,Mad Max: Fury Road, is by far the least mainstream.WhereBeyond Thunderdomeseems like it was made to appeal to as many people as possible,Fury Roadseems like it was made just to fulfill George Miller’s vision. It has the most distinctive visual style of anyMad Maxmovie, from its unique comic book coloring to the over-the-top practical effects. It’s also one of the grossest films in the franchise: the villains like Immortan Joe and the People Eater are designed to be repulsive, and the violence is designed to be uncommonly brutal and gory.
Mad Max: Fury Road
Mad Max: Fury Road is a post-apocalyptic film set in a desolate desert landscape where society has collapsed. Released in 2015, the story follows two rebels, Max Rockatansky and Imperator Furiosa, as they attempt to survive and bring balance to a world torn by chaos and strife.
Aside from the visual aspects of the movie,Fury Roadis also incredibly unique from a story perspective.Fury RoadgaveMax the second-fewest speaking lines in the franchise, beaten only by the extremely quietMad Max 2: The Road Warrior. He was also slightly upstaged in his own film by Charlize Theron’s Furiosa, who acts more as the main character than Tom Hardy does.Even though it seems likeFury Roadwas designed to be an unusual movie, it’s by far the bestMad Maxmovie ever made. Miller’s decisions madeFury Roadmore unique than its predecessor, which both critics and audiences appreciated.
The nextMad Maxmovie absolutely cannot repeat the mistake ofBeyond Thunderdome.After the release ofFuriosa: A Mad Max Saga, the nextupcomingMad Maxmoviewill be the third film in the 21st century, which would put it in the same positionBeyond Thunderdomewas in. The next movie could even have more pressure to become mainstream, given thepoor box office performance ofFuriosaand the fact that evenFury Roadbarely made a profit. Warner Bros. may attempt to convince George Miller to make the nextMad Maxless artistic and more palatable to draw bigger audiences and increase profits.
If there’s one lesson to be learned from comparing Beyond Thunderdome to Fury Road, it’s that George Miller should get to make Mad Max as weird, gross, and brutal as he wants.
If there’s one lesson to be learned from comparingBeyond ThunderdometoFury Road, it’s that George Miller should get to makeMad Maxas weird, gross, and brutal as he wants.Beyond Thunderdomeproves that infringing on his creative vision only results in a lackluster movie, no matter what the box office says. It also highlights a truth aboutMad Maxas a franchise: it will never be a blockbuster action series. Its concept and world are simply too strange, its visual style is too distinct and unusual, and Miller is too dedicated to it. KeepMad Maxweird.
Mad Max
Mad Max is an Australian post-apocalyptic franchise created by George Miller and Byron Kennedy. The first three films star Mel Gibson as Max Rockatansky, a former police officer who seeks revenge after his family is murdered. Tom Hardy took over the role for 2015’s Mad Max: Fury Road, which was followed by Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga starring Anya Taylor-Joy as Furiosa.
