The modern classic Quentin Tarantino refused to watch that became one of his favourite movies
As well as being one of the most famous directors in the world, Quentin Tarantino is also a massive film fan. He’s a registered critic on Rotten Tomatoes and regularly gives his thoughts on the world of cinema, both current and historic, casting judgement on everything from the latest blockbusters to obscure 1930s noir movies that only four other people have seen.
As a result of this obsession, has consumed a vast quantity of films from across the globe, including Australia. Tarantino purportedly invented the phrase ‘Aussiesploitation’ to mean crude, low-budget movies emanating from the country, and has spoken before of his love for films like Richard Franklin’s Roadgames and Tony Williams’ Next of Kin. He’s also a great appreciator of the original Mad Max, one of the biggest exports to ever come from Down Under.
In 2015, when the automotive vigilante roared back onto screens with Fury Road, fans were anxious to hear what Tarantino would think of it. They weren’t expecting him to decline to watch it, and for one very specific reason. “Because Mel Gibson’s not in it,” he told The Guardian. “I mean, in a world where Mel Gibson exists, how can you not do Mad Max with Mel Gibson? If you’re talking about this wasteland existing for the last 30 years, who better than Mel Gibson could have survived that world?”
After getting over his initial hesitation towards George Miller’s multi-award-winning road trip epic, Tarantino finally sat down and watched the thing. He said (via The Independent) that after he finally received a copy of Fury Road on 35mm, he viewed it in his private cinema at his house. Over the course of one weekend, he watched the movie three times, a testament to how much his mind had been changed. “I resisted seeing it, for a while, because I was like, ‘Mad Max? Without Mel Gibson? Forget that,’” he said, before taking a swing at Gibson’s replacement Tom Hardy. “Then I saw the movie. ‘Okay, it’s terrific.’” He even gave Hardy his flowers, calling him, “pretty good in it.”
Fury Road was the first time Miller had returned to the world of Mad Max in 40 years. Gibson, who had last appeared as the Road Warrior in 1985’s Beyond Thunderdome, was the subject of numerous controversies between the making of the third and fourth film in the franchise, leaving the title role in need of recasting. A range of contenders was lined up to fill the void, including Jeremy Renner, Heath Ledger, and (bizarrely) Eminem, before the British actor was chosen as Miller’s new blood bag.
There is more than a bit of Mad Max in Tarantino’s own work. Some of the stunts in the two Kill Bill movies are very reminiscent of Max’s battles across the Wasteland. Then there’s Death Proof, the film where Kurt Russell drives around in a modified car trying to kill people, the most obvious link between the maverick director and the million-dollar franchise.
Tarantino’s initial hesitance to see Mad Max: Fury Road is proof that films can only be judged properly by people who have watched them. Whilst his initial concerns were valid, Hardy does a fantastic job in making the character of Max Rockastanksy his own, to the point where you’re almost watching two different people. Hopefully, he’ll think twice before dismissing another movie in the future.
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