In the movie Mad Max: Fury Road, I didn't catch any mentions of who Max was and where he came from. His name was barely mentioned in the end. However, IMDb provided his character name as Max Rockatansky, which makes me think of Slavik countries. So what is Max's background?
-
1In case you weren't aware...there are 3 Mad Max movies that predate Fury Road. The first "Mad Max" is pretty much the entire back story you are looking for.– DA.Commented Jan 6, 2016 at 19:54
-
1That said...these movies also all work as stand-alone stories where the back story isn't really critical to understanding the particular story being told beyond knowing he's a "reluctant loner hero"– DA.Commented Jan 6, 2016 at 19:56
-
2One thing to understand about the Mad Max movies is that, at least beginning with the Road Warrior (#2), George Miller intentionally set up the stories as future oral retellings of history or myth. So the idea is to look at them more like Literary Cycles where they are a compilation of disparate stories--even from separate continents or traditions--with a central character pasted in to unify all of them. Sort of like (King) Arthurian Cycle, (Greek Troy) Epic Cycle etc. IIRC, George Miller specifically mentions "The Hero's Journey" (Joseph Campbell) re: Road Warrior– YorikCommented Jan 6, 2016 at 20:19
-
1This may help to explain the general lack of dialog that Max has and his sort of tertiary presence in the films. This also helps ward off the endless reboot cycle since the stories are never about him.– YorikCommented Jan 6, 2016 at 20:21
-
Related: Should one watch the first three Mad Max movies before watching Fury Road?– Napoleon WilsonCommented Jan 7, 2016 at 4:25
|
Show 1 more comment
2 Answers
Who Mad Max is explained in the first Mad Max movie, Mad Max. The plot synopsis on wikipedia should give you the background you are looking for.
The backstory isn't really brought up in the following 3 movies likely because it's not all germane to those 3 stories. In each of the subsequent stories, Mad Max is more of a supporting character.
-
You might want to summarize that backstory a bit in addition to the mere link. Commented Jan 7, 2016 at 4:24
Max is a former law officer. When society begins to break down, law enforcement begins to break down as well. Max endures a personal crisis, which forces him to become alone and nomadic.
As stated in the previous comments and answer, that isn't really as important as you might think, since his past is never brought up. However, if you're interested in "what makes a person tick", it's probably an important piece of information.
Watch the first movie, "Mad Max", it's actually quite good. It will also give you a good understanding of how he became who he is.
answered Jan 6, 2016 at 22:06
