As justified as the fans’ criticism may be, it exaggerates the differences between Beyond Thunderdome and other Mad Max films. Among his Hollywood outfits Beyond Thunderdome has the same aesthetics and action that The Road Warrior so exciting, albeit in a more child-friendly setting. Places like Bartertown and characters like the Master Blaster make Beyond Thunderdome a worthy film, even if it doesn’t quite live up to the others.
4. Mad Max (1979)
Who returns for the first time Mad Max will be shocked by its small scale. Where everything is The Road Warrior created a whole new post-apocalyptic world, the first Mad Max remains largely grounded. Sure, things get bad in the film’s dystopian vision of Australia, but where doesn’t that happen? So the most interesting thing about the original film is that we’re not quite in the wasteland at the beginning.
The pre-apocalyptic setting makes Mad Max stands out a little more from the others, but all the essential details are there. Miller and Kennedy, whose story idea the former turned into a proper screenplay with co-writer James McCausland, understood the power of motor vehicles and the chaos they can cause. Even Gibson’s more grounded and raw portrayal of Max already has some elements of madness creeping in, making his battle with Hugh Keays-Byrne’s charismatic toecutter feel like a battle for the future. It’s a battle that Max loses.
3. Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga (2024)
Everyone Mad Max Film after the original has a sense of myth, but none like the prequel Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga. In contrast to the breathtaking propulsion of all other entries, Furious takes things relatively slowly, breaking the story down into chapters to explore the tragic backstory of Furiosa, portrayed here by Alyla Browne and Anya Taylor-Joy.
Co-written by Miller and Nico Lathouris and based on extensive material the two collected during the production of Fury Road, Furious shows an alternative response to the end of the world. Even as Max goes mad, Furiosa tries to hold on to the humanity left by her late mother Mary Jabassa (Charlee Fraser). That humanity is tested and deformed by Dementus, played by a crazed Chris Hemsworth, whose own tragedy turns him into a moody monster. With Browne and Taylor-Joy’s evolving interpretations at the center and their emphasis on myth, Furious reveals the compassion and empathy that has always been present in the Mad Max franchise and turns it into an epic that spans the entire wasteland.
2. Mad Max 2: The Road Warrior (1981)
Ten years ago, everyone would have agreed that The Road Warrior perfected the Mad Max franchise. No longer on the brink of oblivion, The Road Warrior drives Max into the wasteland, where he finds his destiny. His wife and child are dead, as are those responsible. Now Max must wander through a world that no longer makes sense.
