The surprising classic Mel Gibson called “clownish”
Even though Furiosa received positive reviews earlier this year, the future of the Mad Max franchise cannot be discussed without considering the impact of its past, which started with George Miller’s 1979 original. The man who kicked it all off was Mel Gibson, transforming the role into one of the most iconic characters in popular culture.
Post-apocalyptic movies might have become too commonplace these days, but films like the first Mad Max definitely help define the fundamental frameworks within which they operate. Starring as a former police officer in an anarchic wasteland where the scarcity of resources has made life a living nightmare, Gibson’s character serves as the perfect guide who helps us navigate a possible vision of our own future.
As the franchise has continued to expand with acclaimed works such as Fury Road, many fans have wondered about the direction in which Miller will take the series, especially considering the fact that the first entries emerged from a highly specific sociopolitical climate. That’s exactly why that unique cinematic sense of devastation and despair from the original isn’t really found in its modern counterparts, whose sensibilities have morphed with time.
In a conversation with Rolling Stone during the promotional campaign for the third installment of the franchise, Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome, Gibson shared his early thoughts about the series’ future and commented on his contribution to that special cinematic atmosphere. According to the actor, the Mad Max movies started evolving since the 1981 sequel itself.
“There would have been no point in doing it again if it was gonna be the same thing,” Gibson said. “However, it isn’t. I think George and Terry are getting better as they go along. They’ve actually taken the whole Max concept a step further. They’re travelling, making more of a journey with it. I thought the first film was quite relentless in its violence. The second one was much more stylised, more clownish. Oh, it had that hard feeling – so will this one. But now it’s going from that toward… well, something perhaps a bit more hopeful.”
Lavishing praise upon Miller’s vision, he called the series “a sort of cinematic equivalent to rock music. It’s something to do with the nihilistic sentiments of the music of the 1980s – which can’t continue. I say, let’s get back to romanticism. And this film is actually doing that. It’s using that nihilism as a vehicle, I think, to get back to romance.”
While the new Mad Max films definitely have moved past the cultural mores of the decade from which the series originated, the nihilism embedded within the anarchic narratives of the movies has also changed over time. In doing so, Miller has successfully introduced younger generations of audiences to his wild and whacky cinematic world.
