Mad Max - A Character Study of the Road Warrior
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 26 ส.ค. 2024
- George Miller's critically-acclaimed road warrior has caused ripples across media, leaving a mark on people the world over. Far from being a bland, one-dimensional caricature of manly-men from the 80s, Mad Max has been one of the more interesting protagonists to grace the silver screen.
Having played through the video-game adaptation of the Road Warrior, and somehow enjoying what should have been no more than a great idea turned into a repetitive chore, I descended down a rabbit hole of research pertaining to character writing, arcs, and the metaphors that define each film. This all comes to a head at the end of the video-essay, concluding precisely what adds character to the video-game. Enjoy.
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Outro: shameless begging - RawAustin Originalᵀᴹ
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One detail I noticed in Road Warrior is that Max and Humoungus are the only people that use guns. Both characters hang on to the past symbolized by the old weapons they use
Many people say they dont like the first film, compared to "Roadwarrior" or "Fury Road". I think the first is quite important for the character and very well made especially for the apocalyptic world-building (be it intentional or not, it just fits all the following parts in brilliantly and makes the dark future so much more bleak). Well done, RawAustin!
i think the first is the best. just how cool the MFP look man
I think the 1st road warrior fury road and the 2015 game are all better than beyond thunder dump in my opinion
the first is important for the details of max's life before the fall. but it is also succinctly summed up in the opening monologue of the road warrior, well enough that we need not watch the entire first movie to understand the second.
Thats true, you dont have to watch it, to get what happend to Max in the first place. Buuut... the harsh contrast between pre- and post-apocalypse-Australia (and i saw the movies with years beetween them, when they appeared in cincema, so it felt even.. uuhhh "more real ?!" ...) made the imagination of events before and after so much more meaningful in my opinion. So its just an option, but i think seeing them in order is the way to go. cheers!
Good stuff! I'd like to point out a few things:
Griffa in the game seems to be based on a character of Indigenous Australian that showed up in the original version of the script for Fury Road. That character was a hallucination/storyteller that showed up in the movie warning Max about the future events in Fury Road. He saved Max's life by showing him that he's going to get shot at in the head with an arrow, conditions Max to move his hand to his head like we see in the movie.
That character was supposed to cement the fact that Fury Road is a common myth that's been known by the Indigenous Australians and it's also a story that's been told from the perspective of some History Man from the far future (Most likely the History Man we see in the comic books).
Avalanche Studios and WB took that concept and turned it into Griffa who seemingly knows everything about Max.
Love your videos. Can't wait for more
When you were talking about the indigenous Australian I immediately thought of Griffa.
I also think this was incorporated into the Wordburgers in the comics, which also canonized the idea that Max isn't one person, but a myth of the wasteland. There's also been that outstanding rumor at one point there would have been a Mel Gibson/Tom Hardy changing of the guard in Fury Road, but I've never been able to find anything citable.
I find Max interesting because even though he’s the main character, he’s actually pretty minor character to the story half the time, not saying he isn’t important or he isn’t the hero, but he just sort of stumbles into the story, most notably in Road Warrior and Fury Road.
Like many a protagonist before.him
So the lesson to be learned here is, the game, while being repetitive and unnecessarily hard yet so easy, is one of the coolest games ever made. At least that's what i think
Rather than hard, I think the word you're looking for is tedious. Though I think it's more accurate to forgo the hyperbole and say that despite its many, many flaws, its core loop and aesthetic manages to capture the quintessential Road Warrior experience.
I both loath and love that game, especially after I found out George Miller's version that he was working on got shut down. I agree 100 percent that It's at It's best when it shuts up and leaves you be
_The struggle itself towards the heights is enough to fill a man's heart. One must imagine Road Warrior happy._
I'd say that the game is as much as a representation of Max as the other films. Since this isn't a retelling told through the generations and is told from the first person perspective. The craziness of the other movies is toned down and has a more serious tone than Road Warrior and Thunderdome. As for the repetition, that in itself is what Max is. A repetition of scavenging. I don't think they intended for this but I feel as is the constant stopping for small amounts of scrap and gasoline is what Max actually does in between films. Find small camp, kill threats, take what's available, repeat. Max is cyclical in nature and it take outside forces to get him to realize that he's still human. I think that the camps in the game didn't give him that chance. They were just more scavengers like him, no kids to make laugh, no girls to protect, and because of that I think that he is left to be his more serious self. When Hope and Faith come along, there is a slight shift in his demeanor, he is warmer to them than anyone else in the game and with them there is a slight chance of humanity. Until Scrotus comes along and takes that away, he does that same thing to him that he did to Toecutter. I see the game as the perfect amalgamation of all the films. The slightly similar plots of 1 and and Thunder Dome, the desert style of the later 3 movies, that action of Fury Road, the bustling towns of Thunderdome and at the center of it all is Max
And them and city and target being Gastown.
"One world dead, another unable to be born" is a quote from Russell Hoban's 1980's sci-fi classic "Riddley Walker," which unofficially served has the main inspiration for MMBT. That's where the "Captain Walker" wink comes from, along with much of the references for the Crack in the Earth children, chiefly their broken english, which was modeled after the riddley-speak.
Good video!! I always thought that when Pappagallo made his speech to Max about joining, that he (Pappagallo) and the feral kid were reminding Max of his friendship with Goose, and his loss of his child. And the reason he then leaves is because the last thing he wants to do is to risk going through the pain of loss all over again. Just an opinion.
Yeah, Max was pretty traumatized and did not believe in the future for humanity.
I’ve only just found your channel but I’m loving the videos! You should have more views
This was seriously well done this deserves so many more views it’s made me want to go back to playing the game and watching the movies again
The game is ridiculously good looking, I was addicted to photo mode
i was always jealous that trilogies like The Godfather and Lord of the Rings had big fancy intellectual essays dissecting the story and characters........... and Max didn't have anything quite like it...........then i found this video.
macho man very deep indeed
@@RawAustin Way better than the Razorfist Trilogy Review! th-cam.com/play/PLmirOw7JCi83v8B7EcEp7mnZ_Do_s8rpg.html
@@thiccboss4780 I hardly think our videos can be compared in the same vein since his Mad Max videos seem like exceptionally entertaining outpourings of passion as he walks the viewer through the entirety of the film, as opposed to subjecting it to literary analysis that presumes the viewer has already seen the film and is interested in another person's critique of it. I do find his retrospectives quite well-worded and he's remarkably smooth and creative with his delivery, areas where I have plenty of improvement ahead of me.
Format is different , i'll give you that.
But your presentation is more subdue and refined than his......albeit intellectual, often questionable sense of comedy at times.
You didn't need Political analogies or Loli Ear Rape to get your points across.
but i indeed digress.
i think analytical essays should't replaced the film, or prepare the viewer to watch it.
Anybody worrying about interpretation or clarity should seek such works after one, if not many viewings of the material.
But i understand that today's audience is't well conditioned to watch some old movie over and over again until finally watching a more accessible youtube video pointing out details to notice...........and then rewatching the former.
Your video served a important purpose to me, putting the trilogy and game and fury road in the same contextual basket.
Whilst providing the viewer with ample trivia and themes about George Miller's story to appreciate it all.
Razorfist done the series justice aswell, but for a different taste.
Guess your taste was more inoffensive........is that the prospect?
your margin for improvement is something more provocative
@@thiccboss4780 Ah, I see now why you regarded this video as highly as you did. Frankly it's quite easy to get caught up in my own perspective when making these videos, forgetting that some viewers may (or may not) find a certain affinity with the way I put forth my thoughts. I sincerely thank you for your praise.
Mel gibson will always be mad max dont
matter who plays his character too bad he never reprise his role as the old mad max !
my favorite Australia Hero Anti-Hero of all times
and that is a Hands down
Pretty in-depth analysis. Kudos!
I view the game as transitory to Fury Road. It was meant to be a engagement point for fans but it's narrative and pay off was Fury Road
Yep, the accompanying Furiosa comic strongly suggests this with the game being a sort of retelling of its story.
Max represents all Men, which are betrayed by Karma of Life. He has a complex PTDS and behaves 100% like a broken Man with deep and complex Traumas. He is disconnected from society and a normal human life. The death of his dog in MadMax2 is a foreshadow of his own near death and a point of transformation to support the community and help them to come out of the comfort zone and move in a unpredictable future, which might be better than his current life.
This is a reflection of the viewer and the audience. They all looking for Hope in a hopeless Life setup. A lot of „good Man“ live a life as a Robot and just follow outer targets (simile like Max, who lives at the beginning only to get more Gasoline), but there is more than and it needs to be explored with others in the second half of MadMax 2 & 3.
Agree on CPTSD. But he comes out of his shell out of desperation in the second part of the Road Warrior, he had no other options. And then he got betrayed and left behind in the end. Wouldn't that normally traumatize the man further?
You have no idea how much I love this video of yours
I loved the game, it felt like it was in it's own world, and given that Max is the kind of character that people would tell stories around a campfire about, the story of the game could be a version of Fury Road.
Very well done. Im a big mad max fan. You touched o many things id never considered like the long character arc Thru the entir series for example, so great. I dont play video games. But you did a superb job of deep diving And applying Campbell. You should look into Jungs archetypal theories in future to apply to your analytical skills. 👍🏼👍🏼👍🏼
Pappagallo going after him like that while they just having a discussion feels kinda personal😂
In Mad max fury road Max is the same max in mad max 1, 2 and beyond thunderdome
No.
Maybe.
Steering wheel: Is on the left side of the car.
Me: Wait, that's illegal.
Dunno if you're still monitoring this video, but i respectfully disagree on Max's disposition in the game. You never "arrive" past trauma, and one can only imagine what Max goes through outside of the films. His faith is broken, restored, broken again, repeatedly.
To me at least, it doesn't seem strange that he's yet again a shell in the game. If snything it gives context to his persona at the start of fury road
I mean lets be real wb wanted to make money from the franchise when they had ownership of it so its fair to say they didn't care much about quality BUT that doesn't necessarily means its a bad game I just finished it after I bought it 3 days ago and have to say that the whole vibe it has comes really close to the movies. Sure max isn't as much as fleshed out as in the movies even that whole part with hope and glory seem a bit forced but god damn that last mission was cool as shit. The asthetic and vibes of the game fit the aspect so well I just wish it was a bit more well polished. I personally liked it for what it offered.
Agreed. I personally hold little love for the narrative and characterization, but despite the pitfalls of modern open world design the game seems to regularly step into, it evidently works to its benefit and contributes to an aesthetic experience that successfully captures vignettes of the second film.
Played the game through probably 7 or 8 times. I love the game and pray the angel of combustion blesses us with another.
Glory be
Praise to the Angel of Combustion! V8!
It's also "A Fool's Journey"
This is incredible, thank you
This Video Needs More Views
edit: you know what, i will subscribe
And he`s Aussie mate
Wonderful video 💪💯
great video
A very good video essay...just one minor gripe to me: Gibson is not and has never been nuts...he's actually the opposite- like his late father.
I didn't mean to imply he's ever been nuts, but that the controversies he's been mired in really sullied his name and just intended for it to be an offhanded jab. Hacksaw Ridge alone is proof enough that he remains not just sound of mind but incredibly capable.
@@RawAustin 👍
5 years late to this but absolutely ace vid
Great analysis.
8:40 Incorrect about Fury Road not being part of the continuity. The prequel comic and Miller himself explicitly state Fury Road is set after Thunderdome.
You create excellent, well thought out content. It's good enough for a university literature course. Thank you.
I would love to hear your thoughts on Furiosa now that I have seen it. I hope you make a video about the movie.
The excellent Mad Max Bible channel discusses Mad Max continuity from screenplays and production notes for the films, as well as Miller's changes to them over the years, especially from 1985-2015. It is from these sources that I get my opinions on Furiosa.
To be brief, my problem with Furiosa is some discarded ideas from the original 2001 version of Fury Road intended to be made with Mel Gibson were recycled into Furiosa, mainly the character of Praetorian Jack, who was unnecessary and shifted the focus from Max by being an inferior imitation of him.
Praetorian Jack combined with Tom Hardy's Max was supposed to be the Max of the 2001 Fury Road. 2001 Fury Road was later split into 2015 Fury Road and Furiosa.
After the split, the romantic angle between Max and Furiosa was dropped, and the 2001 Fury Road romantic aspect of Max was repackaged as the Praetorian Jack character in Furiosa.
The romance was dropped because we can't have more Mad Max movies if Max finds happiness.
It also seemed unnecessary for Furiosa to have a romantic angle when she was raised by Dementus and supposed to be one of Immortan Joe's wives who was later made an Imperator because was was infertile. She would have avoided romantic baggage because this would have interfered with her desire for revenge and to return to the Green Place.
Ultimately, I think the Praetorian Jack character was too derivative of Max and would have been better as a brief cameo as just Max himself (although never referred to by name).
Presumably Max would be working for Immortan Joe and Dementus doing convoy runs to earn parts to rebuild the Interceptor between The Road Warrior and Fury Road as is seen in the 2015 comics.
Ex-MFP, convoy driver who killed Humungous, survived Thunderdome, best there is would have been gossip at the Citadel. Fans would infer out who it is even if he were not played by Tom Hardy.
Furiosa, about the same age as the Feral Kid, would have heard these stories growing up but would never directly cross paths with Max. So, they would not recognize each other years later in Fury Road.
Instead, we got an imitation Max who was not needed. Furiosa had all the background and motivation needed to go after Dementus without Praetorian Jack. She would have had more to do without Jack's character. The focus would be once again on her desire for revenge and the war between Dementus and Immortan Joe.
To separate him from the true evil of Immortan Joe, Dementus himself would have become a misunderstood, tragic hero, killed by the adopted daughter he sought to protect before the Wasteland fully corrupted him, making him akin to Auntie Entity from Thunderdome as a relatable villain.
But Jack was included, I think, as an apology of sorts by Miller to fans who disliked Tom Hardy's version of Max and wanted Max to have a larger role in Fury Road.
So, 2001 Fury Road Max was split into two characters. Praetorian Jack's scenes were the 2001 Fury Road Max we never got. 2015 Fury Road Max is what we did get.
Where Furiosa is good is that it fills in more Mad Max backstory than any movie since the first film. That's good because we needed more than car chases this time.
That's an incredibly insightful take on the film, and I appreciate both it and the compliment. More concise and analytical styles of delivery just work well with me.
Truthfully, I have yet to watch Furiosa and haven't felt compelled to do so as I was perfectly satisfied with her arc in Fury Road and didn't feel a prequel was neccessary in any capacity - it most likely would not further flesh out the world or mythos the way the Star Wars Prequels, The Hobbit or Fate Zero do for their respective worlds and characters, and a prequel centered on characters whose futures have already been resolved just doesn't interest me.
Even so, would you suggest I give it a chance? I wouldn't get my hopes up for a video from me though given I haven't made one in a LONG time haha
@@RawAustin Furiosa is a good film. I would watch it to simply be entertained. And for a Mad Max film, it has more plot, dialog, and world building than any film since the first.
As for the video game, I enjoyed it as well, but it felt somewhat repetitive and I feel it should have had more complex survival aspects. I mean, a Mad Max game where gas is essentially infinite?
Project Zomboid on Steam might be a game that is as open ended and complex as a Mad Max game should be, but it is a totally different genre and is very moddable, so PZ becomes a limitless sandbox that mixes Diablo, Minecraft, and The Sims.
Last, adapting Batman Arkham Asylum style combat to the world of Mad Max just doesn't make sense. Max was never about fighting off five people at once in hand to hand combat. But it did make for a fun game, and all the customization of the cars and character skins was nice.
At this point I am not sure what they can do with the franchise. I would like to see it go back to a more grounded exploitation style film like the first, but with each film scope becomes larger and more epic until it almost feels like Planet of the Apes.
But we can only have so many car chases and loosely remaking the Road Warrior (which I feel is what Fury Road was) is not the answer.
Edit: the video game had a great plot that I think would have been a good MM film. My understanding is parts of it were adapted from the comics and also put into Fury Road and Furiosa, making the game pseudo-canon. For example, Chumbucket and Scabrous are in Furiosa, but they are not like their video game counterparts.
If Mad Max: The Wasteland gets made, I predict it will be an adaptation of Max's 2 issue story arc from the comics.
Thanks again for such a deep and thought provoking video.
@@RawAustin I commented here but I think it disappeared for some reason. I apologize if the reply appears twice. Furiosa is a good film, especially if one is willing to accept it as an expansion of Mad Max canon.
i keep on coming back to this video its so good
Yep...great job fella.
Im just here to remember, mad max apparently happens in 2021
Worrying about our proximity to a potential apocalypse really hits different after 2020.
No it doesn’t,
The movie was made in 1979 and it says “it takes a few years on from now” most likely early to mid 80s
Anyone know if the game works on Xbox one I’ve wanted to pick this game up for years
Yeah
@@ajm8465 I did end up getting the game , I was not disappointed. A lot of fun
Very well done.
This was a beautiful analysis
It's wild they had to go to Africa for the new movie because the wasteland they shoot the road warrior was changed into a thriving field of grass and huge enclaves of dessert flowers.
Just looked it up and my jaw dropped at the stark contrast!
@RawAustin yeah ist definitely not a wasteland anymore
Sorry to rain on your parade but Jim 'Goose' Rains didn't die.
You do know that one punch man is meant to be a parody. He’s bland and boring cause he’s the best. That’s the point of the show.
What statement of mine implied I missed the point?
2:08 "'Arc," eh? I see what you did there. Sans-quality pun. 🤣
10:25 Johnny the Boy got what it deserved. All those marauders got what they deserved.
15:31 Why is Master assumed to be the "good" or "positive" aspect of Bartertown? Auntie was right about him being arrogant and autocratic. Of course, she was a hypocrite, because she was too. Also, how and why is Master dressed like a prospector when he's on the train? I get the ham-fisted symbolism of him wearing supposedly "civilized" clothing (a bougie notion if ever there was one), but I find it insulting. On top of that, those clothes would have to be tailored. His old wasteland armor-style clothing was way more rad (and more practical).
20:39 Why does every third-person game have to do melee combat the same way? Always in that same style where it pauses for a moment everything time you land a strike.
20:58 What's even the point of doing a backhand to someone's face or head? It'll do precisely jack monkey squat! It's better to follow up a right hook with a left hook - any kind of one-two combo strike - instead of overusing one hand. Then again, he's wearing knuckle-duster gauntlets that we don't see him use in the movies (but I'da been all for it if he had).
21:48 Again with the Sans-quality puns. 😆
Max Rockatansky is Boss. ⚡✌️
The game acctually 100% SPOILS the next 2 sequels; Furiousa, and wastelands. Outside of a few character swaps, and elements added soley for gameplay purposes, the game blatantly gives the primary story arch away. The Dr D./ gastown story matches the script for "furiosa"(from the published backstory of furiosa " the praetorian" ). While the whole scrotus and friends plot is the " wastelands" prequel.
Furry road is obviously the best. But I have to say, the first half of Thunderdome was my favourite bit of the original mad max trilogy. It was so well done. Too bad the lord of the flies parody ruined that potential.
Furry road?