Mad Max – Ranked

Visionary director George Miller began his Mad Max series in 1979 and this year, a mere forty-five years later he has released his fifth entry in the franchise. Whilst Miller has remained the one constant he has welcomed co-writers and a co-director across the five entries and some actors have found themselves returning as the same character, a different character and as co-writers in later films.

My one overarching feeling when watching these movies close together in release order is that until Furiosa there was no real chronology. Each version of Max in the first four films just feel like different iterations of a legendary character whose story was told of in the Wasteland. The Max played by Mel Gibson in the first three films and Tom Hardy in the fourth are the same legendary person. But each story is just told by a different storyteller. As his legend grows so does the story itself.

The result is that the version of Max and the state of the Wasteland iteratively grows with each story. Almost as if Miller is honing the vision he has in his mind. Something that he is able to better create as special effects get better and his budget gets larger.

The fact his latest films have enabled him to create another legend in Furiosa and build feuding societies in the Wasteland feels like a culmination of that vision.

With that said then lets move into my ranking of the series. Below you will find links to my individual reviews which you can consider spoiler free. However as soon as you scroll past those into the ranking I will assume you have seen the films and my comments will contain spoilers.

• Mad Max (1979)
• Mad Max 2
• Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome
• Mad Max: Fury Road
• Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga

5. Mad Max (1979)

It feels fundamentally wrong to be saying that the first film in a franchise is its weakest. Almost as a rule the first film will have a purity to its vision and some sort of alchemy that is hard to replicate in later outings. After all, the law of diminishing returns must kick in at some point right?

Well, in this case I think that the lack of budget and the raw nature of Miller’s vision means that the original Mad Max is the weakest of all the films. Society still exists and Max is working for a living and lives with his wife and child. The Wasteland, its savage communities and the lone warrior that we will come to know is not yet here.

What stands out is Miller’s love for vehicular battles at high speed and crazy character names. Along with many legendary stories about the making of the movie that outshine what is on screen.

Pros:

• A moment of film history
• Many stories around the making of the movie on a shoestring budget
• A real sense of danger in the high speed vehicle scenes
• The final scene with a hacksaw and an impending explosion inspired the Saw franchise

Cons:

• The low budget limits the world building
• Mel Gibson is not yet the force that he will be in the 1980’s and 1990’s
• It feels like a petrolhead variation on A Clockwork Orange
• The score is overly bombastic and makes everything feel melodramatic

Wasteland Curiosities:

• Hugh Keays-Byrne who plays the lead villain Toecutter returns as the lead villain Immortan Joe in Fury Road
• Nick Lathouris who plays Grease Rat would go on to co-write Fury Road and Furiosa with Miller
• The film was dubbed for American audiences
• Held the record for most profitable film ever made for 20 years
• Miller reportedly paid some of the cast and crew with beer and edited a lot of the film himself due to lack of funds

4. Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome (1985)

Thunderdome marks the point at which Mad Max had become a huge global phenomenon and was able to become more of a traditional blockbuster. Or at least as much of one as Miller’s franchise allows.

It features a leading role from pop goddess Tina Turner and includes her belting out a power ballad across both the opening and closing titles. Both of which fit really well with the film as well.

Whilst the film eschews vehicular chases and battles for the majority of its runtime it chooses to focus on the political battles and manoeuvrings of leaders in the communities of the Wasteland. Something that Fury road and Furiosa would focus much more on also.

Pros:

• The community of Bartertown is well realised
• The struggle for power between “Aunty” and “The Master Blaster” is intriguing
• The Thunderdome itself is certainly not your ordinary duel to the death
• The composer change to Maurice Jarre and Tina Turner’s songs make the music accompaniment much more interesting

Cons:

• The lack of vehicular stunts and chases is really disappointing for a Mad Max film
• The community of “Planet Erf” being far too reminiscent of Peter Pan’s “The Lost Boys”
• Is it too “polished” after the gritty low budget affairs of the first two films?

Wasteland Curiosities:

• Miller chose to co-direct with friend George Ogilvie as he was grieving the death of his producing partner Byron Kennedy to whom the film is dedicated
• Bruce Spence is playing an entirely different character to the one he played in Mad Max 2 despite them both being aviators

3. Mad Max 2 (1981)

The pinnacle of the original trilogy featuring Mel Gibson I believe this film is probably what most people of a certain age think of when they hear the words “Mad Max”. It improves upon the original in every way and really begins the idea of the “Wasteland” that Max resides in.

Bookended by spectacular extended chase sequences, Mel Gibson is on top form and the idea of competing tribes in the ruins of the world fighting over fuel gives a real sense of Wasteland priorities in this new dystopian future.

Pros:

• Vehicular stunts that open and close the film are spectacular and have a real sense of speed and danger
• The script leans into the “man of few words” anti-hero that Max will become
• Introduces the mechanic of “the storyteller”
• ‘The Humungus’ is a formidable villian

Cons:

• The score, whilst better than the original film is still weak

Wasteland Curiosities:

• Released in America as “The Road Warrior” with all advertising eschewing the fact it was a sequel

2. Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga (2024)

For me the fact that George Miller decided to focus this fifth entry in the franchise on the life of Furiosa whilst being able to give more detail to the warring factions in the Wasteland was a sign that he really felt like he had fully realised his vision of this post apocalyptic world. The result is a more measured and much more detailed film that still features some of the best action sequences put to film.

Personally I found there to be very little wrong with the film and have chosen to add some cons that I have heard others voice but do not actually agree with just for some balance.

Pros:

• The action sequence where the War Rig is attacked is absolutely phenomenal. Aerial and vehicular attacks and tactics befitting of a drilled battalion to reinforce those fallen in battle
• The action sequence in the Bullet Farm where Dementus lays a trap is equally as stunning
• Three of the best performances you will see in the franchise from Alyla Browne, Anya Taylor Joy and Chris Hemsworth
• The ability to tell us about warring tribes in the Wasteland amidst the backdrop of the life of Furiosa
• Furiosa herself is an even more captivating anti-hero than Max
• Dementus’ Chariot
• The idea of continuity in a Mad Max film

Cons:

• For some the lack of Max will be an issue
• For some the fact that this film contains more plot than all the other films in the franchise put together will be an issue

Wasteland Curiosities:

• The use of facial mapping and blending of Taylor-Joy’s face with Browne’s allows us to get used to the transition between actresses
• Yahya Abdul-Mateen II was originally cast as Praetorian Jack but had to step away due to scheduling conflicts

1. Mad Max: Fury Road (2015)

Thirty years after Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome George Miller returned with the greatest (so far) entry in the Mad Max franchise. The plot essentially sees a group of misfits in two extended vehicular chases. The first is to escape from the warlord Immortan Joe’s Citadel and the second is to return to it. The chases themselves are intense and feature some of the most incredible stunts on screen whilst the information about Immortan Joe’s cult that is given to us during these sequences paint an incredible picture of a dystopian society.

Miller introduces the Valkyrie like Furiosa as a female lead the equal to Max in every way.

Pros:

• The film is almost one continual chase sequence and it never lets up
• The cult of Immortan Joe and the world of the Wasteland feels beautifully drawn with little to no exposition – the epitome of show, not tell
• Tom Hardy and Charlize Theron may have been at odds with each other and their director but they deliver as equal leads
• Some of the greatest stunts ever put on camera with the Mad Max car chases reaching their pinnacle
• Immortan Joe’s fleet of vehicles is stunning and the idea of a fire belching guitar spurring them on is outstanding

Cons:

• Very little – one of the greatest action movies ever made

Wasteland Curiosities:

• Principal filming took place between July 2012 and December 2012 with the opening and closing scenes at The Citadel shot between November 2013 and December 2013
• 480 hours of footage was shot which took editor Margaret Sixel (Miller’s wife) 3 months to watch
• 150 stunt performers were hired
• Tom Hardy and Charlize Theron fell out during filming and have since both taken responsibility
• Tom Hardy apologised to Miller for his behaviour on set at the film’s premiere in Cannes saying he was unable to see his vision and he got frustrated

So there we have it. I am fairly certain that my views may be considered a little controversial when it comes to this ranking. Where do you rank the Mad Max series?