Max Rockatansky

Last updated

Max Rockatansky
The Road Warrior
Mad Max character
Mad max film incarnations.jpg
Max as portrayed by Mel Gibson (left)
and Tom Hardy (right)
First appearance Mad Max (1979)
Created by
Portrayed by
Voiced by Bren Foster (video game)
In-universe information
Alias
  • The Road Warrior
  • Raggedy Man
  • The Man with No Name
  • The Guy who keeps Mr.Dead in his Pocket
  • "Him that came the salvage"
NicknameMad Max
Species Human
Occupation
SpouseJessie (wife, deceased)
ChildrenSprog (son, deceased)
Nationality Australian
Vehicle
  • Max's Yellow Interceptor
  • V8 Interceptor
  • Holden Sandman HJ Panel Van

Max Rockatansky is the title character and antihero protagonist of the Australian post-apocalyptic action film series Mad Max . Created by director George Miller and producer Byron Kennedy, the character was played by actor Mel Gibson in the first three films from 1979 to 1985, by Tom Hardy in the fourth film in 2015, and by Jacob Tomuri in the fifth film in 2024.

Contents

Films

Mad Max

In Mad Max , Max Rockatansky is a Main Force Patrol officer tasked with maintaining law and order on the roads of a dystopian Victoria, Australia. Max is quiet, rarely speaking to any great extent, and never paying much attention to his steadily increasing reputation. He and his wife, Jessie, have an infant son, referred to only as "Sprog" (slang for "child") in the film.

Though the best officer on the force, he is secretly afraid that he is becoming as cold and heartless as the criminals he pursues. He reaches a breaking point when a gang of criminally insane bikers led by the Toecutter burn Max's partner Goose alive inside a borrowed ute. The sight of Goose's charred body in a hospital bed prompts Max to tender his resignation from the Main Force Police (MFP). However, he is convinced by his commanding officer to take a vacation before committing to his decision. Max goes on holiday with his family, but this leads to a chain of events that ultimately results in the Toecutter's gang killing Jessie and Sprog. Overwhelmed with grief and rage, he goes AWOL from the MFP, steals their Pursuit Special ("the last of the V8 Interceptors") and systematically pursues and kills each gang member responsible. Max is injured in an ambush set for him by the Toecutter, where he is shot in the left leg and has his right arm run over at the elbow. Despite his injuries, he manages to fatally shoot gang lieutenant Bubba Zanetti and pursues the Toecutter to his death. After hunting down final gang member Johnny the Boy and leaving him in a death trap, Max drives out into the wasteland, leaving the fading remnants of civilization behind him.

Mad Max 2: The Road Warrior

In this film, set about three years after the first film, Max, while wandering the wasteland of the outback in his new home, the battle scarred Pursuit Special, discovers a besieged group of people manning a remote oil drilling station and refinery. After losing nearly all of his remaining worldly possessions, including his dog and his car, Max, with few options left, agrees to help the refinery's denizens to escape through hordes of marauding motorcycle gang members and their leader Humungus. In this film, although Max has lost everything, he is able to find, at least in part, his humanity once again. However, he still cannot form any significant bonds with others and chooses to continue wandering the wasteland alone.

Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome

In this installment of the Mad Max series, it has been eighteen years since Max Rockatansky left his life behind him following his revenge killings of the Toecutter and his gang, and fifteen years after his defeat of the Humungus. Since that time he has wandered through the outback, scavenging whatever he needed for survival. His hair has grown long, and very few remnants of his old police uniform remain recognizable. After falling foul of Aunty Entity, the dictatorial leader of the settlement of Bartertown, Max is exiled into the desert. He stumbles across and is rescued by a tribe of children living in a wilderness oasis, the descendants of survivors of a crashed airliner, becoming their savior and protector against the vicious world outside. In this movie, Max is able to come full circle, regaining his humanity and soul once again, and sacrificing his own well-being for the sake of others.

Mad Max: Fury Road

Sometime after Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome, [1] the opening to Fury Road finds Max haggard and alone with his car. After his Interceptor is wrecked and he is captured by a gang known as the "War Boys", he is imprisoned and used as a live blood donor for the gang. Strapped to the hood of a car in pursuit of the War Boys' renegade general, Imperator Furiosa, Max escapes and reluctantly helps Furiosa in her quest to help five women escape from the War Boys' despotic leader, Immortan Joe. After the group defeat their pursuers, Max parts ways with the survivors of the group and disappears.

Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga

A younger Max makes a cameo appearance in Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga in a sequence set between Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome and Mad Max: Fury Road, watching from a distance as an injured Furiosa struggles to walk back to the Citadel. [2] He is played by Tom Hardy's Fury Road stuntman, Jacob Tomuri. [3]

Games

Mad Max (1990)

The first video game to feature the character was released in 1990 for the Nintendo Entertainment System. The game's plot is loosely based on Mad Max 2.

Mad Max (2015)

Set between Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome and Mad Max: Fury Road, and after Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga, Max's journey to the Plains of Silence takes an unexpected turn when a group of War Boys run him off the road and steal his clothes, his supplies, his weapons, and his car before leaving him to rot in the desert sun. Traversing the wasteland in search of his prized Interceptor, Max meets a hunchbacked mechanic named Chumbucket, an overzealous individual that's hell-bent on crafting the perfect vehicle, the Magnum Opus. After giving Max hope of exacting vengeance on Scrotus, the two form an unlikely partnership and set out in the base of the Opus in search of food, water, allies, upgrades, and redemption in a world devoid of sanity.

Equipment

During the first two films, Max makes use of a Pursuit Special, [4] though he drives a different vehicle (an MFP Interceptor) earlier in the first film. Between the second and third films, after the destruction of the Pursuit Special, Max acquires a roll-cage equipped vehicle based on a pick-up truck and set up to be used as a camel-drawn wagon at need. This is later stolen from him. [5] He later steals it back after it has been modified to run on methane and uses it during the final chase sequence.

He wears the black MFP issue uniform of heavy duty riding leathers, [6] which become ripped and patched through the course of the series. During his time with Main Force Patrol, he is armed with a revolver which he does not use, favouring a sawn-off shotgun which he uses in the second and third films. In the third film, he uses a more traditional shotgun, and, after accumulating even more weapons, surrenders them all in Bartertown, which The Scotsman calls a moment of self-parody. [7]

Abilities

Max possesses considerable skill with firearms and is an excellent shot, but his most apparent skill is combative driving: he can shoot accurately with one hand while driving with the other. At the time of Mad Max, he was considered the "top pursuit man" in the MFP. He can easily pursue or evade gangs in the wasteland, whether overrunning another vehicle at high speed or ramming vehicles off the road. This skill is apparent with trucks as well as automobiles, as he drives a semi truck after sustaining serious injuries in the second film.

Max displays fast reflexes in Mad Max 2: The Road Warrior by grabbing a snake before it can bite him and in Mad Max: Fury Road stomping a two-headed lizard that runs towards him from behind. This leads Aunty Entity to choose him to kill Master Blaster in Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome, as he was the first to survive her "audition." Max also displays a fair amount of mechanical and electronics ability, performing minor repairs on his own vehicle and rigging two to explode should someone tamper with them or his fuel tanks. He also improvised a time delay fuse with only a cigarette lighter, a lamp housing and the leaking fuel of an overturned vehicle.

Max is primarily a survivalist in the wasteland and can tolerate discomfort and pain in achieving a goal, but unlike many movie protagonists, Max is susceptible to realistic and sometimes permanent injury: his left knee is blown out by a gunshot towards the end of the first film, he walks with a slight limp with the help of a leg brace in the second film, and the knee is still tightly bandaged in the third film. In Fury Road, Max's left knee brace makes another appearance and still appears to affect his mobility, albeit only slightly. An injury to his left eye as a result of the crash of the Pursuit Special in Mad Max 2: The Road Warrior is evident years later in Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome.

Reception

Entertainment Weekly ranked the character eleventh on its list of the top twenty "All-Time Coolest Heroes in Pop Culture" in April 2009. The magazine also listed the characters portrayed by Kevin Costner in Waterworld and The Postman as "copycat descendants" of Max Rockatansky. [8] Total Film ranked him #75 in their Top 100 Movie Characters of All Time. [9]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">George Miller (filmmaker)</span> Australian filmmaker (born 1945)

George Miller is an Australian filmmaker. Over the course of four decades he has received critical and popular success creating the Mad Max franchise starting in 1979 with two of the films having been hailed as two of the greatest action films of all time. He has also earned numerous accolades including an Academy Award, a British Academy Film Award, and a Golden Globe Award.

<i>Mad Max</i> (film) 1979 Australian dystopian action film

Mad Max is a 1979 Australian dystopian action film directed by George Miller, who co-wrote the screenplay with James McCausland, based on a story by Miller and Byron Kennedy. Mel Gibson stars as "Mad" Max Rockatansky, a police officer turned vigilante in a dystopian near-future Australia in the midst of societal collapse. Joanne Samuel, Hugh Keays-Byrne, Steve Bisley, Tim Burns and Roger Ward also appear in supporting roles.

<i>Mad Max 2</i> 1981 Australian post-apocalyptic action film

Mad Max 2 is a 1981 Australian post-apocalyptic dystopian action film directed by George Miller, who co-wrote it with Terry Hayes and Brian Hannant. It is the second installment in the Mad Max franchise. The film stars Mel Gibson reprising his role as "Mad Max" Rockatansky and follows a hardened man who helps a community of settlers to defend themselves against a roving band of marauders. Filming took place in locations around Broken Hill, in the Outback of New South Wales.

<i>Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome</i> 1985 Australian post-apocalyptic action film

Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome, commonly known as Mad Max 3, is a 1985 Australian post-apocalyptic dystopian action film directed by George Miller and George Ogilvie and written by Terry Hayes and Miller. It is the third installment in the Mad Max franchise. The film stars Mel Gibson and Tina Turner, and follows a lone roving warrior who is exiled into the desert. It was Gibson's last performance as "Mad Max" Rockatansky.

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<i>Mad Max</i> Australian media franchise

Mad Max is a media franchise created by George Miller and Byron Kennedy. It centers on a series of post-apocalyptic and dystopian action films. The franchise began in 1979 with Mad Max, and was followed by three sequels: Mad Max 2, Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome (1985) and Mad Max: Fury Road (2015); Miller directed or co-directed all four films. Mel Gibson portrayed the title character Max Rockatansky in the first three films, while Tom Hardy portrayed the character in Mad Max: Fury Road.

The Mad Max series of films, which debuted in 1979, has had a significant impact on modern popular culture. Mad Max references are deeply embedded in popular culture; references to its dystopian, apocalyptic, and post-apocalyptic themes and bizarre landscape and desolate wasteland imagery have inspired some artists to emulate the look and feel of some aspect of the series in their work.

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<i>Mad Max: Fury Road</i> 2015 film by George Miller

Mad Max: Fury Road is a 2015 Australian post-apocalyptic action film co-written, co-produced, and directed by George Miller. Miller collaborated with Brendan McCarthy and Nico Lathouris on the screenplay. The fourth instalment in the Mad Max franchise, it was produced by Village Roadshow Pictures, RatPac-Dune Entertainment and Kennedy Miller Mitchell, and distributed by Roadshow Entertainment in Australia and by Warner Bros. Pictures internationally. The film stars Tom Hardy and Charlize Theron, with Nicholas Hoult, Hugh Keays-Byrne, Rosie Huntington-Whiteley, Riley Keough, Zoë Kravitz, Abbey Lee, and Courtney Eaton in supporting roles. Set in a post-apocalyptic desert wasteland where petrol and water are scarce commodities, Fury Road follows Max Rockatansky (Hardy), who joins forces with Imperator Furiosa (Theron) against cult leader Immortan Joe (Keays-Byrne) and his army, leading to a lengthy road battle.

<i>Mad Max</i> (2015 video game) 2015 video game

Mad Max is a 2015 action-adventure video game developed by Avalanche Studios and published by Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment. Based on the Mad Max franchise, the game follows Max Rockatansky as he progresses through the wasteland building a vehicle, the Magnum Opus, to battle against a gang of hostile raiders led by Scabrous Scrotus and reach the storied "Plains of Silence", where he hopes to find peace. Mad Max emphasizes vehicular combat, in which players can use weapon and armor upgrades on their car to fight enemies. It is set in an open post-apocalyptic wasteland consisting of deserts, canyons, and caves.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Doug Mitchell (film producer)</span> Film producer

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Imperator Furiosa</span> Fictional character

Imperator Furiosa Jabassa is a fictional character in the Mad Max franchise. Introduced in Mad Max: Fury Road (2015) and portrayed by Charlize Theron, she serves as an officer in Immortan Joe's army but turns against him in order to free "The Five Wives", Joe's female sex slaves. During her journey, she meets Max Rockatansky. Despite initial hostility, the two become allies and team up to drive The Five Wives to a safe environment called the "Green Place".

<i>Mad Max: Fury Road</i> (comic book) 2015 comic series

Mad Max: Fury Road is a limited comic book series created by George Miller, Nico Lathouris and Mark Sexton. Serving as a prequel to the 2015 film of the same name, in addition to bridging the events of the film with the 1985 film Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome, the series focuses on several characters from the film at various points in their lives before it.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Immortan Joe</span> Antagonist of Mad Max: Fury Road

Immortan Joe Moore is a fictional character and the main antagonist of the 2015 film Mad Max: Fury Road. He is portrayed by Hugh Keays-Byrne, who previously portrayed the Toecutter in the original Mad Max. Immortan Joe also appears in the 2015 prequel comic series of the same name, and the 2024 prequel film Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga, portrayed by Lachy Hulme. He is the most powerful warlord in the wasteland, who hopes to maintain a legacy long after his death via the use of sex slaves to create a worthy heir to his kingdom.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">George Miller's unrealized projects</span>

The following is a list of unproduced George Miller projects in roughly chronological order. During a career that has spanned over 40 years, George Miller has worked on projects which never progressed beyond the pre-production stage under his direction. A few of the projects were made after he had left production.

<i>Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga</i> 2024 film by George Miller

Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga is a 2024 Australian post-apocalyptic action film directed, co-written, and co-produced by George Miller, who collaborated with Nico Lathouris on the screenplay. It is the fifth installment in the Mad Max franchise, serving as a prequel and spin-off to Mad Max: Fury Road (2015), focusing on the character Imperator Furiosa. The film stars Anya Taylor-Joy and Alyla Browne as younger versions of Furiosa, alongside Chris Hemsworth and Tom Burke.

References

  1. ↑ "Mad Max: Fury Road – Mad Max #1". Archived from the original on 9 August 2016. Retrieved 1 January 2019.
  2. ↑ Huff, Lauren (1 May 2024). "George Miller provides update on his plans for the future of the Mad Max franchise". Entertainment Weekly . Retrieved 1 May 2024.
  3. ↑ "Furiosa's Mad Max cameo isn't played by Tom Hardy". Digital Spy . Retrieved 12 May 2024.
  4. ↑ Caparella, Joseph (29 July 2014). "Mad Max: Fury Road Trailer Debuts at Comic-Con". Automobile magazine . Archived from the original on 30 July 2014. Retrieved 29 July 2014.
  5. ↑ "Review: 'Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome'". Variety . 1985. Retrieved 30 July 2014.
  6. ↑ Buckmaster, Luke (24 July 2014). "Mad Max 2: The Road Warrior – hell-for-leather roadside anarchy". The Guardian . London, England. Retrieved 29 July 2014.
  7. ↑ Warren, Matt (13 July 2000). "Mad Mel's Lethal Weapons". The Scotsman . Archived from the original on 28 March 2015. Retrieved 29 July 2014.
  8. ↑ "The Top 20 All-Time Coolest Heroes in Pop Culture". Entertainment Weekly . Retrieved 25 June 2016.
  9. ↑ "The Total Film Top 100 Movie Characters Of All Time - 75 to 51". Total Film . 28 September 2007. Retrieved 25 June 2016– via GamesRadar.
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