( Mad Max Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga ) The films, the brainchildren of visionary Australian director George Miller, exist in a perpetual “now.” Beginning with 1979’s , they tell the story of Max Rockatansky, a former cop who roams the post-apocalyptic Wasteland (of what used to be Australia), trying his best to survive in a world that has lost its mind. While Max is played in each of the first three installments by the same actor (Mel Gibson), and certain character elements recur throughout the franchise, the films do not exist in a strict continuity.
Some aspects of certain entries are inconsistent or outright contradictory with aspects of other entries; Miller has stated that he sees as a series of legends about the titular character, the kinds of campfire stories that might be passed around in the Wasteland at dark. But the ahistorical nature of runs deeper than that. films tend to be very high-octane and propulsive, focused on immediate objectives—protecting an oil refinery from marauders in 1981’s , or cutting a deal for supplies with the leader of a trading outpost in 1985’s .
There isn’t a lot of downtime for introspection; character and narrative are defined primarily through action, and the stories tend to cover brief time periods. We get in and get out, left reeling by their breakneck pace and relentless imagination. This has the effect of making it seem like the present is all that matters—why would anything else, given how intense things are right now.