Before the post apocalypse was the nuclear hot topic in film and television, there was Mad Max, played by Australian (yes, Australian – MIKE) Mel Gibson. It was a zany, wild series about how society goes completely mad (see) after waging wars over limited resources and oil shortages. Funny how a global crisis can turn the population into complete weirdos. 👀
But I’m not here to write about the complexities of post apocalyptic society. I’m here to talk to you about Mad Max 2: The Road Warrior and Mad Max: Fury Road.
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Rebooted Loopholes
On the Rebooted Podcast, we mostly stick to reboots. We do have a tendency to jump into prequel, requel territory when a pair of films really strike our fancy, or when said films are making the rounds in the pop culture trending topics sphere. This was why we did episodes on The Matrix and its follow up Resurrections (not sure if that film really resurrected it, but I digress). In this day and age of hollywood making decades later sequels in an effort to jumpstart franchises, this tends to happen. We get a “requel” where a sequel feels more like a reboot.
Mad Max: Fury Road may technically fall into this category of film, but I think it eloquently avoids the conversation by being one of the most bad ass, amazing action films of the 2010’s, and being nominated for a best picture (one of only 2 sequels to be nominated for best picture when their earlier films were not1).
So, yes, Mad Max: Fury Road may or may not be a reboot. There is some debate on whether Max in this film is still the same Max from the previous installments. But regardless, the film stands on its own, and - in fact - above its predecessors in visual quality, tone, pace, characters, and world building.
The Road Warrior
The original Mad Max post apocalypse (the 1979 original is more of a world on the verge of apocalypse, rather than post) - aptly titled The Road Warrior but often just referred to as Mad Max 2, summarizes the original film’s events in a swirl of stock footage and flashback… a fever dream meant to get us ready for the world Max now wanders.
Max is no longer a cop trying to keep the world from falling apart. He has succumbed to the darkness and madness of collapsed society, in search of his next tank of guzzoline2 to keep this game of survival going. His lone companion is his blue heeler (shout out to Bandit Heeler3, since that's all I could call him the entire time I watch the movie now), and whose death comes as an inevitably, transformative blow to Max's psyche at the climax of the film.
Obligatory Bandit Heeler gif
Mad Max came out a very interesting time. The late 70’s had an oil crisis4, which can easily be seen as inspiration for the resource crisis leading up to the events of Mad Max and Road Warrior. There were genuine fears of resource scarcity, and George Miller was clearly pondering what society would look like if endless wars caused resources to dwindle. This is the world of Road Warrior, one of survival, violence, and bedlam. People chase each other on the abandoned highways of civilization, looting, shooting, and pillaging fuel to keep their rigs driving.
Max is driving his V8 Interceptor across the wastes of Australia, in search of his next meal (sometimes dog food) and gasoline to fill his tank, when he stumbles on a gyrocopter. Max thinks it’s abandoned, but soon finds that a trap was laid for him or any other unlucky soul to try and steal the ride. Almost bitten by a snake, Max is then jumped by the Gyrocopter Captain, a man filled to the brim with weirdo charisma. Max gets the better of him, and in response for saving his life, the Captain tells Max about a group hoarding a refinery location nearby.
The refinery is being operated by a group of post apocalyptic pilgrims, hoping to fill up their tanks and head to a more peaceful location. But their refinery is under siege by LORD HUMONGOUS and his gang. Humongous is what would happen if a swole dude found himself in charge of a band of raiders, and he lost all of his clothes5. At least that’s as best as can be told here. We don’t learn much about Lord Humongous or the raiders, outside that they want the gasoline.
This outfit was a choice.
We also at this point meet the feral kid, a goofy cave man type with a sharp, metal boomerang6. We as the audience find out much later that this kid grows up to become the narrator from the opening and ending of the film, and that he is the leader of the pilgrims at a later time.
Anyway, Max convinces the refinery band that he can get them a big rig that will haul their gasoline, but he won’t do it for free. Max never quite becomes fully altruistic on his hero’s journey. But in the end, after losing his trusty dog in the journey, Max drives the big rig for the pilgrims, and they are able to escape Lord Humongous’ gang with enough gas to get them where they need to go. There is some speculation that this group who wanders off in the wasteland, leaving Max behind, is a similar group from Mad Max Fury Road that has since died off.
In the end, Max is a legend – The Road Warrior – and the pilgrims never see him again.
A Weird Wasteland Adventure
It’s a weird movie, and Mike’s not quite sure if that’s in a good way. But the film is an interesting bit of cinema that has had a profound impact on future post apocalyptic stories. If you watch Road Warrior after playing games like Fallout 3, you may notice a similarity in the outfits, and the use of a dog as a companion in the story. The general vibes of the Fallout games inherited a lot from the Mad Max universe.
So if you like playing the Fallout games, Mad Max 2 might interest you!
Max and the Furiosa Road
Max, maybe not the Max from previous installments, decades later after a troubled production in Fury Road.7 But, if we really look at the story of Fury Road, Max isn't the main character.
Enter Furiosa. She’s an imperator, a great warrior for the demigod-like Imorten Joe. But she turns on him, and rescues his brides, hoping to take them to a green place Furiosa remembered from her youth.
Furiosa has the agency in Fury Road. She is the one who jumpstarts the quest. Max is just along for the ride, and begrudgingly helping them.
At the outset of the story, Max is captured by the war boys, the militaristic arm of Immorten Joe’s regime, and he’s used as a blood bag by a warrior. This warrior sets out to catch Furiosa once Joe realizes Furiosa is not going to pick up supplies like she was supposed to, and might be trying to make a run for it. Then he realizes his brides are gone, so off ride the war boys to catch Furiosa in her big rig.
Furiosa is just freaking cool. There’s been a lot of talk about a side-story on her, and we are here for it. Hopefully it will see the light of day. But, even without that spin-off, Fury Road gives us so much to cherish about her character. She’s battle-tested, driven, and gritty. She is resilient and wills her compatriots forward, and - in doing so - builds a better life for everyone.
And by the end of Fury Road, Max is left to wander the wasteland once again – forever the road warrior and the nomad. I really hope - barring another 13 year production crucible - that we could get some more Mad Max movies, especially with this cast. George Miller isn’t long for this world (not for health, but just as a fact of age) and I feel a sense of urgency in demanding we get more before this visionary leaves us. It feels like he was absent for a good chunk of team and then dropped the most important action movie of the 2010’s. I think he could do it again.
Cutting to the Chase
To sum up, I really loved the weird vibes of Max Max 2: The Road Warrior, but Fury Road has a guitar that shoots flames, so it gets the win here. But they are both fantastic movies in their own ways, but the technical skill on display with Fury Road makes it a seminal work of this millennia’s action films.
Our next feature will be a tale as old as time…
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