10 Movie Sequels That Completely Changed Tone
6. Mad Max 2: The Road Warrior
The odd thing about Mad Max 2 is that it created the tone that we all identify with the franchise. Most people will think of leather clad gangs of marauders in insane vehicles, a stark desert landscape, and a protagonist who wanders without saying a whole lot when they hear its name.
But this style wasn't introduced to the franchise until The Road Warrior came around. The original Mad Max bears almost no resemblance to the following three films: the stunts are tame, Max is explored more as a person, and the cars are pretty normal. It's not even really an action movie so much as it is an old school exploitation revenge flick.
This can all be attributed to budgetary constraints: George Miller made the original Mad Max on a shoestring budget. Luckily, the film was a hit and became one of the most profitable movies of all-time. This allowed Miller to fully realise his vision with the subsequent Mad Max films.
The Road Warrior changed action filmmaking forever, the stunts were over the top and terrifying. All of the characters dressed like they were in some kind of BDSM fantasy and it really gave the franchise an identity of its own. 2015's Mad Max: Fury Road captured the hearts of millions, and it can be traced back to the second Mad Max movie, not the first.