While your mileage may vary on which multi-film franchise can definitively be named as the greatest of all-time, no conversation that attempts to rank the pinnacle of ongoing properties is complete without George Miller’s Mad Max.
Even if we ignore the fact that the original trilogy kicked off with one of the most profitable movies in history, and then followed it up with a sequel that ranks as one of the finest action flicks you’re ever likely to see, the post-apocalyptic saga has been cited as an influence and inspiration by a cavalcade of top-tier talents including James Cameron, Guillermo del Toro, Robert Rodriguez, Bethesda Games, James Wan, David Fincher, and many more besides.
On top of that, Fury Road was a critical and commercial behemoth that netted 10 Academy Award nominations including Best Picture and Best Director, winning all six of the technical prizes it was up for. And yet, somebody who didn’t even realize there were more than two installments has been wondering why the series is so popular among film fans everywhere.
Beyond its long-lasting impact on cinema as a whole, Mad Max is also one of the most consistent brands in all of Hollywood when it comes to nothing but sheer quality. The respective Rotten Tomatoes scores for the four high-octane adventures sit at 91, 94, 81, and 97 percent respectably, which is a track record of acclaim that virtually any other well-known IP in the industry would kill for.
Why is Mad Max so popular, then? Because it f*cking rules, that’s why.