10 Movie Universes That Make NO SENSE

The Mad Max movies are a strange bunch, because while they all boast incredible world-building and unforgettable characters, every film also feels like it exists within its own pocket of reality, no matter that protagonist Max Rockatansky (Mel Gibson/Tom Hardy) superficially appears to be the same character throughout.

The central conflict in each movie becomes increasingly heightened, from the more personal revenge narrative of the original to the epic battle over resources in the sequels, each film leaving a large chasm of Max's journey untold between movies.

This is of course because the Mad Max plots are better thought of as fireplace myths rather than literal stories, with the second and third movies even including narrators who speak of the wandering legend known as Max.

Watching the movies through this lens makes it far easier to accept the almost-dreamlike logic across the series, whether it's actors appearing in new roles without any explanation or how utterly different the Fury Road Max feels from Gibson's version, far beyond the re-casting.

The Road Warrior is basically an avatar for drifter heroes rather than a single, specific person, because if you try to view the films as residing within a strict chronology, they really don't make any sense at all.