Mad Max’s Biggest Difference To Other Hollywood Franchises Made The 5-Movie Saga Even Better

The Mad Max franchise has proven to be one of the most consistently critically acclaimed and influential action franchises in modern Hollywood history. The brainchild primarily of George Miller, the series (mostly) follows the exploits of lone wolf Max Rockatansky (Mel Gibson/Tom Hardy) in a post-apocalyptic Australia, first experiencing the breakdown of law and order and then nuclear fallout. Most often, the stories depict the straightforward plot of Max happening upon a group of people who need his help in this dangerous world, and he is compelled to, despite his supposed prioritization of personal survival.

Throughout his franchise, Miller builds upon the deceptively simple plots with stunning action sequences — namely the series’ signature car chases — while masterfully conveying profound themes of survival, humanity, and power. While there are things about the original Mad Max trilogy that haven’t aged well, the early movies still have decent-to-stellar ratings. Yet nothing could have prepared Hollywood for the masterpiece of Mad Max: Fury Road, definitively the best Mad Max movie. The narrative’s repeated success can be chalked up to consistency and simplicity, which is realized through a key element of the movies’ production.

George Miller Has Directed All Mad Max Movies

Miller Reliably Returned For Every Mad Max Sequel

Mad Max stands out from other major action franchises because creator George Miller personally directed all five installments. The third installment, Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome, was co-directed by Miller and George Ogilvie, while all the others are solely directed by Miller. The announced by now unlikely Mad Max: The Wasteland, the sequel to Mad Max: Fury Road, also would have been directed by Miller in a continuation of his specific vision. The first Mad Max was famously made on a minuscule budget, with Miller and producer Byron Kennedy doing extra work outside filming to help fund the project (via Cinema Papers, 1979).

This speaks to Miller’s dedication to the project coming to life in the way he imagined. Additionally, the first Mad Max movie effectively works as a standalone, as well as the rest of the movies in the series. Miller did not necessarily need to make sequels, but the flagship installment’s success allowed this, with the benefit of more funding. Still, Miller could have passed the torch to another major director, as other Hollywood legends have with their beloved creations, but he adamantly returned each time.

Most Of Hollywood’s Big Franchises Have Had Multiple Directors

Harry Potter, Star Wars, Terminator, & Alien Have All Changed Directors Multiple Times

Historically, it is very uncommon for the same director to stay with a major movie franchise for every sequel. James Cameron and Ridley Scott are the iconic names associated with The Terminator and Alien‘s inceptions, respectively, but later installments in these series were directed by other people. The Harry Potter franchise was passed from director to director before David Yates became the favorite and stuck with the series for the last four Harry Potter movies and all three Fantastic Beasts movies. George Lucas’ involvement varied throughout the original and prequel Star Wars trilogies.

The truly exceptional example is the MCU, which is simply too big for any one director to handle, but there are different cases of whether directors returned to do the follow-up for a given superhero or subseries within the cinematic universe. The changing directors have affected these series in various ways: There is a notable shift in style and tone between Harry Potter movies, which doesn’t equate to poorer quality, while different approaches suit the MCU, so each character can have a distinct movie. However, these other examples demonstrate why Mad Max was lucky to have Miller all the way through.

How Mad Max Having The Same Director In All Movies Made It Better

Miller’s Direction Makes Mad Max Consistent & High-Quality

Mad Max 4 was in development since the 1980s when Miller first started storyboarding ideas, which he was always determined to direct himself. However, Miller sticking with Mad Max resulted in a soft continuity, even though each movie’s events are largely separate from each other. The second and third installments further develop the world, suggesting that things have become worse in this futuristic Australia since the first movie. Miller having control over the whole also helped make Mad Max: Fury Road‘s largely divorced timeline work, as he carefully decided how to acknowledge and ignore previous movies’ canon.

Terminator and Alien noticeably dropped in quality when new directors besides Cameron and Scott took over, while the Star Wars sequel trilogy’s biggest fault is that the changing directors clearly had different visions that contradicted each other and made no effort to work with the other’s storylines. Despite the confusing Mad Max timeline, there isn’t a sense of the director fighting with himself behind the scenes, Miller deeply understands the story and the world and utilizes the technology then available to deliver the best Mad Max movie possible each time.

Source: Cinema Papers

Mad Max

Cast

Mel Gibson, Joanne Samuel, Hugh Keays-Byrne, Steve Bisley, Tim Burns, Roger Ward, Tom Hardy, Charlize Theron, Nicholas Hoult, Rosie Huntington-Whiteley, Riley Keough, Zoë Kravitz, Abbey Lee, Courtney Eaton, Anya Taylor-Joy, Chris Hemsworth, Tom Burke, Alyla Browne

Character(s)

Max Rockatansky, Immortan Joe, Furiosa, Rictus Erectus, Angharad, The People Eater, Corpus Colossus, Toecutter, Nux, Dr. Dementus

Video Game(s)

Mad Max (1990), Mad Max (2015)

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