5) Mad Max: Beyond Thunderdome
Even though I consider Beyond Thunderdome to be by far the worst Mad Max movie, I still don’t think that it’s bad. I think that even with its stricter PG-13 age rating, Beyond Thunderdome’s first half manages to stand up to the other movies, although it still comes off as slightly lesser. The second half, however, is what really cements this movie as being inferior to all of the rest, with how it doesn’t introduce anything new aside from the obnoxious children. Also, the choice to put Bruce Spence in a role very similar to his character in Road Warrior but having it be a different guy made the movie unnecessarily confusing. The series’s villains are a big part of why I like the Mad Max franchise so much, and Beyond Thunderdome has the least memorable villain in all of the movies, which is another reason why I don’t view it as highly as the others.
4) Mad Max: Fury Road
Fury Road being ranked second to last is a much greater indicator of how strong the series as a whole is rather than this being a weak movie. Needless to say, the action in this movie is outstanding. While I don’t especially like any of this movie’s villains individually, I did like them a lot as a larger group than what is seen in the other movies. The only thing that drags this movie down for me is the main characters. I liked the idea of Max being even crazed than before, but I didn’t like Tom Hardy as Max, and his strange voice kept taking me out of the movie. On the internet, the main criticism I see about Fury Road is that it sidelines Max for Furiosa. This surprised me because I didn’t think that Furiosa left too much of an impression on me in this movie and when she was focused she just seemed pretty bland. The whole plot revolves around Immortan Joe’s wives, but none really stood out and I was never able to keep track of any of their names. Finally, there is Nux, who I did find slightly compelling, but I also found his sacrifice at the end to be too predictable.
3) Mad Max
Of all of these movies, the original Mad Max is likely the most unique because it doesn’t take place in a desert setting like the others. Also, Max acting more like a regular human helps it stand out. Even though I do overall prefer the setting and Max’s character in the other movies, the uniqueness of this movie makes it more interesting and makes me more likely to rewatch it. This movie’s villain, Toecutter, is another part of this movie that helps it stand out, in part due to his outlandish name. The main reason why I enjoy him so much, however, is that, unlike the more scheming villains of the other movies, Toecutter has no real goal and acts very impulsively. His gang does get a fair amount of screen time in scenes without Max, and seeing them get up to their antics was enjoyable.
2) Furiosa
Furiosa is the newest of the Mad Max movies, and really surprised me with how much I enjoyed it. What I think is its main strength is that unlike the other movies, which mostly take place over a few days, this movie takes place over the years. Something that I did not expect to enjoy was the main character being someone else than Max. On the internet, I saw a lot of complaining about Max not being the main character, and that combined with me already thinking that Furiosa was bland made me go in with lower expectations. However, this ended up being one of the highlights of the movie, and I ended up enjoying seeing how Furiosa changed from childhood to adulthood, which is something that can’t really be done in a movie with Max. The villain of this movie, Dementus, is probably my favorite of the series. I found him to be a very funny character. In particular, I liked his running gag where he’d add random prefixes to his name depending on the moment. The long period of time that this movie takes place also plays into why I think that Dementus is such a great villain because his rise and fall is given the proper amount of time that it needs. In general, it is impressive that, unlike other long-running franchises, this one has been able to consistently produce good movies, and I hope that it can get out at least one more in the future.
1) Mad Max: Road Warrior
When I picture Mad Max in my head, Road Warrior is always the first thing that comes to mind. While the action isn’t as elaborate as future movies, it is still great, and the complete lack of modern technology to enhance it helps make it feel more real. While I don’t consider him to be the best villain, Lord Humungus is still a great and memorable antagonist because of the contrast between his brutish appearance and his cunning strategy. One of the great things about this movie is that it places the viewer in the middle of the story with little elaboration. The only character that gets a backstory is Max, while the other characters get brief allusions to theirs at best. Additionally, not many characters grow or go through an arc. While this may seem like a negative, it works in the movie’s favor. Because none of the characters are particularly spotlighted, it makes them all feel equally important, so seeing the background character die in the climax still feels impactful. Even though it does have heavy competition, Road Warrior is definitely my favorite of the Mad Max movies.
