The Mel GibsonMad Maxmovies laid the groundwork for a franchise that endlessly fascinates viewers to this day, although looking back, some aspects of these films have aged poorly. The originalMad Maxfrom 1979 was a groundbreaking success that broke all sorts of box office records, while the sequel,The Road Warrior,refined and improved upon its action-oriented premise, and the third installment,Beyond Thunderdome, further exploredthe dystopian society known as The Wasteland. From the incredible mind ofwriter and director George Miller,Mad Maxwas one of the all-time great franchises.
Whilethe bestMad Maxmovieswere trailblazing releases that had an undeniable impact on action and chase movies as a whole, several talking points stand out when it comes to the series' complex legacy and how well it holds up today. From a stylistic, visual, and even ideological perspective, when viewed through a contemporary lens, it must be admitted some parts aged poorly. Although it’s not entirely fair to put modern expectations onto older movies,it’s still interesting to look at how well Gibson’s turn as Max Rockatansky holds up in the 21st century.
George Miller had no idea when he first convinced the originalMad Maxthat this 1979 movie would lead to a franchise that viewers are still interested in more than 45 years later. With the series' longevity in mind, it makes sense that many things changed along the way, although this doesn’t make the difference between later films' post-apocalyptic landscape any less jarring. In later movies, the Wasteland ofMad Maxis a barren, desolate realm where all signs of modern civilization have been long destroyed, but in the first movie, it looks more like regular, rural Australia.
The in-depth worldbuilding of later films had not yet occurred by the timeMad Maxpremiered, and although the world was a clear dystopia ravaged by war, it was not clearly a post-apocalyptic landscape that was beyond hope. Audiences see mechanic shops and diners open for business, andMax was even working for one of the last remaining law enforcement agencies. While this wasn’t a world anyone would actively want to live in, it was a far cry from what’s depicted inFury RoadorFuriosa.
What makesMad Max’ssuccess so extraordinary is its humble begins as not just a low-budget endeavor but as a true shoestring production. Writer and director George Miller did not come from a traditional filmmaking background and was actually inspired by the gruesome injuries he saw working as an emergency room doctor to make the film (viaVanity Fair.) With acobbled-together budget of between $350,000 and $400,000, Miller somehow managed to stretch these funds to cover all the crashes, explosions, and stunts that helped the first film stand out.
WhileMad Maxwas an incredible success, and its box office takings of nearly $100 million worldwide made it the then-most profitable film of all time, its bare-bones budget is noticeable. The production values ofMad Maxare nothing compared to what viewers saw in later films, and as Miller was given more financial freedom to enact his vision, the movies became more visually spectacular. While the rough-and-tumble aesthetic ofMad Maxwas necessary at the time, things already looked way better by the timeThe Road Warriorwas released.
The Mel GibsonMad Maxmovies had a gritty aesthetic that made them feel like part of a punk rock counterculture back in the late 1970s and 1980s. With punkish villains, tough protagonists, and a desolate wasteland setting,Mad Maxtransformed Australia into a barren dystopia in which the tough roamed the land while the weak cowered in fear. However, looking back on the films today, raw energy and style were not enough to save these low-budget films from having a campy energy that’s out of step with modern depictions of post-apocalyptic landscapes.
Everything from primitive special effects to its minimal set designs meant thatMad MaxandThe Road Warriorespecially have an outdated, campy look about them.The leather-clad costumes of the tough-guy villains possess a DIY quality about themthat almost borders on cosplay, as characters like Toecutter’s flamboyant outfit feel theatrical in nature. When compared to the presentation of figures like the War Boys inFury Road, the difference in style is extremely noticeable.
7Beyond Thunderdome’s Over-The-Top Final Chase Sequence
While the first twoMad Maxmovies had a gritty feel to them that made them feel like trailblazing products of the counterculture, the same cannot be said for the third movie,Beyond Thunderdome. As the weakest of three Mel Gibson movies,Beyond Thunderdomehad a more upbeat feeling to it, as the addition of The Lost Tribe, a collection of child savages trying to survive in the Wasteland, gave Max a more traditional heroic role to fulfill. This all came to a head inBeyond Thunderdome’sdramatic, over-the-top final chase sequences, which have unfortunately aged poorly.
The climax ofBeyond Thunderdomejust didn’t have the same impact as the endings of the other films, as it had a more whimsical, fairytale-like aura about it. With stunts that defied physics and villains who were played for laughs more than menace, this final chase sequence bordered on cartoonish. WhileMad Maxalways felt like it was pushing action movies into dangerous new territory,Beyond Thunderdome’schase started to feel like a parody of itself.
The firstMad Maxmovie broke all sorts of box office records when it came to the profitability of a low-budget release, meaning that a sequel was pretty much guaranteed. While today, sequels to popular movies usually follow up on the narrative and expand upon the characters and world of the series,Mad Maxhas never been a traditional franchise, and the lines between sequel and remake are blurred inThe Road Warrior.
AlthoughThe Road Warrioris presented as the next stage in Mad Max’s journey, it makes little reference to what came before in the original film and once again features him going head-to-head against a roving band of marauders. Instead,Miller opted to essentially remakeMad Maxagain with a higher production budgetas he refined the lore of the series and added intrigue to the now more clearly post-apocalyptic Wasteland. WhileThe Road Warriorretreads much of the same territory asMad Max, most will agree the results were a far better movie.
5Mel Gibson Has Become A Controversial Figure In The Years Since
While theMad Maxmovies helped turn Mel Gibson into one of the biggest movie stars of the 1980s and 1990s, there’s no denying that his simple presence in the series could be viewed as controversial. Despite taking the world by storm with roles such as in theLethal Weaponfranchise andBraveheart,Gibson’s litany of legal issues and controversial statements has put his Hollywood career in jeopardy time and again.
From accusations of homophobia, alcohol-related offenses, and antisemitic sentiments, Gibson torpedoed his reputation so badly that when George Miller first planned to makeFury Road, he was forced to recast the actor, and the role eventually went to Tom Hardy. While Gibson has slowly clawed back acceptance in Hollywood and continued directing movies likeHacksaw Ridgeor starring in TV series likeThe Continental, it’s hard not to think of his past controversies when looking back onMad Max.
4The Lack Of Diversity In The Original Trilogy
One of the most striking things when revisiting Mel Gibson’sMad Maxmovies was the lack of diversity in the films. This was reflective of the Australian film industry at the time and continued the trends of movies focusing on white protagonists and stories that excluded those from diverse ethnic backgrounds. With an almost all-white cast, the earliestMad Maxmovies failed to represent Indigenous Australians and, despite being set in a dystopian post-apocalyptic society, did not showcase how cultures would have integrated with one another following the societal collapse.
WhileMad Maxwas set in a world that was no longer tied to the normal structures that keep people separated from one another, even the nomadic tribes that Max encountered appeared relatively homogeneous culturally. The few non-white characters that do appear also lean into stereotypical portrayals of race, and ruthless leaders likeAunty Entity had an overtly exotic presentationthat leaned into her otherness from the rest of the cast. While none of these issues were likely intentional, it does mean this aspect ofMad Maxhas aged poorly.
The earliestMad Maxmovies, especially the original andThe Road Warrior, were action movie tropes and cliches boiled down to their barest essentials. As chase movies that played out a classic hero versus villain narrative, while the Mel Gibson movies made for thrilling viewing, they lacked the emotional depth of later films.Entries likeFury Roadand the prequelFuriosagave viewers more reasons to care about the charactersand added deeper levels of characterization than were ever seen before.
Although the earliestMad Maxfilms were not focused on deep-seated emotional depth, they were not without their power and poignancy, as the grief that Max Rockatansky carries for his family and close friend Goose drives his quest for revenge. However, despite this emotional core, the Mel Gibson movies were miles away from the emotional heft of characters like Furiosa, who gave the franchise a level of complexity that it previously lacked.
The villains inMad Max’ssecond movie,The Road Warrior, were truly iconic, as their intimidating presence, over-the-top characterization, and punk rock aesthetic made them endlessly memorable. However, the harsh truth was that they were incredibly one-dimensional compared to the villains George Miller would create in his 21st-century entries in the franchise. While the hockey mask-wearing Lord Humungus or the mohawk-sporting mechanic Wez were very menacing, they were a far cry removed from the complexities of Immortan Joe.
In practice,the villains inThe Road Warriorwere created merely to be antagonists for Max to face off againstand weren’t fully developed characters in their own right. With straightforward motivations influenced by a desire to spread carnage and chaos, these villains delivered minimal dialogue and showed no deeper ideology behind their brutality. While Miller didn’t intend for them to represent anything deeper, how he expanded on the villainous side of the Wasteland inFury Roadmade the franchise more compelling.
Although Mel Gibson’sMad Maxmovies were revolutionary in many ways, one aspect in which they faltered was in their representation of women. With practically all female characters being sidelined, objectified, or treated as secondary,the Wasteland world ofMad Maxwas notably male-dominated, and this was reflected in the first three films. Take Max’s wife, Jessie, for example, as the character merely exists to further the hero’s quest for vengeance and add conflict to his story.
One significant departure fromMad Max’stendency to portray women as helpless victims was Aunty Entity, the ruthless leader of Bartertown inBeyond Thunderdome. With an incredible performance from Tina Turner, Aunty Entity showcased that women weren’t entirely victimized, although her hypersexualization and villainous presentation added new points of criticism from a feminist perspective. All of these issues were addressed head-on byMad Maxdirector George Miller in later installments, asFury RoadandFuriosaoffered a more nuanced portrayal of women.
Source:Vanity Fair
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.
