Every Mad Max Saga Movie, Ranked

Let's get one thing out of the way before we head into a ranking that I'm sure people will be Very Normal About: George Miller's "Mad Max" saga is one of the most consistently great franchises in cinema history, and when it comes to the top three especially, all of these titles can easily swap placement depending on the day or a person's taste. In fact, we at /Film ranked the "Mad Max" films in 2022, but the ranking on the list you're reading today has shifted quite a bit. For one thing, Miller has unleashed "Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga" onto the world in the time since, and the original trilogy of films is no longer being swallowed whole by the frenzied hype of "Fury Road."

Miller made his feature directorial debut with the first "Mad Max" film in 1979, and the continued installments have only gotten bigger, bolder, and (usually) better. Everyone who is anyone has wanted to play in Miller's sandbox because his established post-apocalyptic Wasteland is rich with lore and deeply crafted characters, surrounded by ingenious production design, jaw-dropping stunts, and an ever-evolving approach to storytelling. Ranking "Mad Max" films is a lot like asking a parent to choose between their children, meaning we certainly have "favorites," but we love them all. Alas, as the almighty algorithm prefers things to be neatly listed and indexed in numerical order, here is every "Mad Max" saga movie, ranked.

Welcome to another edition of Thunderdome! The third installment of the saga, "Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome" isn't a bad movie by any means, but something has to sit at the bottom of this list. Two different movies fighting for supremacy, "Beyond Thunderdome" at its core shows Max Rockatansky (Mel Gibson) entering Bartertown and meeting its self-made ruler, Auntie Entity (the incomparable Tina Turner). Max is thrust into a gladiatorial battle against Blaster (Paul Larsson), the representative for Auntie Entity's rival, Master (Angelo Rossitto). "Beyond Thunderdome" made such a deep cultural footprint, calling lands of battle or intense situations "Thunderdome" is still practiced today — even by folks who have no idea what they're referencing.

Unfortunately, it's also the least focused of Miller's "Mad Max" movies with bizarre, tonal inconsistencies. There is a stark bleakness hanging over this saga, yet "Beyond Thunderdome" often forgets this with action set pieces that play more like "Looney Tunes" than high-octane thrills. There's a colony of forgotten children living in the Wasteland "Lord of the Flies" style, and this plot often feels like it's battling against Auntie Entity's antics in Bartertown. All the same, "Beyond Thunderdome" is equal parts ambitious and audacious, so it's still a stellar watch and a vital component of the saga.

Most franchises come out the gates swinging so hard that future films fail to match the success of the original, but that's not the case with the "Mad Max" saga. Miller's debut feature was not just a cultural reset in how we'd approach apocalyptic themes moving forward, but also a touchpoint in independent filmmaking. At the time of release, it set the Guinness World Record for the most profitable film in history, and the low-budget charm only emphasized Miller's expert eye for camera work and world-building. "Mad Max" is a much more stripped-down approach to the Wasteland compared to what followed, but it's solely because of limited resources and not a limited imagination.

Mel Gibson has obviously become a raging, nightmarish bigot in recent years, but Miller's eye for star power is well on display by casting the at-the-time nobody in the leading role. Sometimes evil people are ridiculously talented, and Gibson is certainly one of those examples. With dystopian Australia, machine foraging, motorcycle gangs, revenge plots, and barren wasteland, this film is the fertile soil from which later installments would flower and proved immediately that Miller was a force to be reckoned with.

Oh, what a lovely day! The six-time Academy Award-winning installment of the "Mad Max" saga ushered in an entirely new era for George Miller, with breathtaking visuals, balls-to-the-wall action set pieces, and worldbuilding without the budgetary restraints of yesteryear. This is a film so explosive and so unabated, just watching it feels like you've just run a marathon. Essentially two eruptive chase scenes sewn together by sensational stunt performances and the introduction of the franchise's best character, Imperator Furiosa (Charlize Theron), Miller proved to the world that he had crafted the ultimate action franchise, and no one else could come close.

Max was given a casting change with Tom Hardy stepping into the role and despite his and Theron's fiery on-set feud, the two made absolute magic together. Miller expanded the Wasteland outward and introduced the Citadel and its ruler Immortan Joe, played by Hugh Keays-Byrne who famously played the antagonist Toecutter in the original "Mad Max" film. As the wandering loner, Max plays second banana to Furiosa on her quest to take down Joe and the Citadel once and for all, but the characters introduced in "Fury Road" are easily some of the best. Pale-painted War Boys, the flame guitar-playing Doof Warrior (this franchise's Boba Fett), The Five Brides, and the Vuvalini have all become downright iconic in their own right, and had this been how Miller sent his saga off into Valhalla, we would have been truly blessed. However...

"FURIOSA: A MAD MAX SAGA" F***ING RIIIIIIPS! Oh my god just thinking about this movie makes me want to scream into a megaphone and rip apart a phonebook with my bare hands (do they still make those?). As I noted in my perfect, 10/10 review of the film, "'Fury Road' is considered an untouchable masterpiece, and yet 'Furiosa' is somehow bigger, more imaginative, and, yes, better than what came before. George Miller has given us a scorching, rip-roaring, and downright breathtaking odyssey that serves as his finest work yet." There will be those who believe this to be recency bias or exaggeration, but I stand by my words with my whole chest. "Furiosa" is the real deal, a sprawling, Odysseian epic that never loses the intensity of "Fury Road."

Anya Taylor-Joy takes the reins as Imperator Furiosa while Marvel hunk Chris Hemsworth leans into full-court villainy as Warlord Dementus. Covering the years from Furiosa's capture as a child and ending where "Fury Road" begins, "Furiosa" is the culmination of everything that makes George Miller one of the best creative minds working today. The action is top-notch and the world-building is unparalleled, but above all else — this is the story Miller was born to tell. As I stated in my review and will gladly state again, "Furiosa" will undoubtedly go down as one of — if not the — greatest prequel films ever made. "Not only does it stand on its own as a masterful action-adventure blockbuster, but it also exemplifies Miller's thesis as a whole: that survival 'in extremis' reveals the true essence of a person."

You ever see a dog hold a man at gunpoint?

"Mad Max 2," rereleased as "The Road Warrior," picks back up with the heroic loner Max Rockatansky as he ventures across the post-apocalyptic Outback in search of supplies, resources, and the almighty gasoline. This is where Miller stops treating Max like an antihero and more of a mythic folk legend, as the film reveals that the now-grown Feral Kid who Max crossed paths with is the film's narrator, having become the Chief of the Great Northern Tribe thanks to Max saving his life as a child. He notes that he never saw the Road Warrior again, leaving the audience to determine what aspects of the story are factual and what is the result of a man's recollection of his childhood. But the biggest strength of "The Road Warrior" is in its pacing, taking the audience on a full-throttle journey rather than throwing them into the fire and hoping they don't burn out before the credits roll.

This is also the film where Miller showcases his most biting commentary on the fall of humanity and the misplaced values of a patriarchal society. His vision is crystalized, and the practical stunt-work is so remarkably dangerous that it's a miracle everyone made it out alive. It's lean, mean, and without the technological advancements of "Fury Road" or "Furiosa," only had the safety net of old-school filmmaking techniques to pull off the spectacular stunt work and junk car mayhem. Not to mention, Max stays a relentless jagoff for the entire film, hardened by the Wasteland and not yet ready for a typical hero's arc as shown in "Fury Road." It's a bold creative swing by Miller, and one that paid off tenfold. "The Road Warrior" is not just about Max, but a look at how quickly society crumbles. It may not be the "best" film from a technical standpoint, but it's thematically the most important film in the entire series.