Mad Maxis one of the most influential action movies of all time, and in the years that followed its release, the series has only continued to grow in importance and popularity. George Miller’s cinematic dystopia is still thriving today, and whileFuriosastruggled at the box office, there’s still plenty of room in today’s climate for blood-soaked, high-octane thrillers that take place in futures quite unlike our present.
Made on a low budget,Mad Maxwas a huge success becauseit was totally unlike anything that audiences had been exposed to before: it was dystopia, but not in the technological, sci-fi ways that films likeBlade Runnerand2001: A Space Odysseyoffered. Instead, the series presents the idea that our twisted future will be a return to the industrial revolution of the past, fixated on machines and automobiles that help us survive. It was a complete twist of the typical genre conventions, and that’s something that many other films have since adopted from thebestMad Maxmovies.
The Book of Eli
Cast
Written by Gary Whitta and directed by The Hughes Brothers, The Book of Eli is a neo-Western featuring Denzel Washington in the lead role. The 2010 release sees Washington take on the mantle of Eli, a man who travels a post-apocalyptic version of the United States and ends up attempting to stop a dangerous group of people from controlling the masses via a strange book.
The Book of Eliis very clearly influenced by Miller’s cinematic vision inMad Max, following a man named Eli who comes across an abandoned town in a post-apocalyptic world where he meets a dangerous figure in search of a book that Eli has been tasked with protecting. It’s a fascinating story about the nature of humanity and our instinct to survive in the harshest of conditions, and the Hughes’ directorial skills are on full display in every frame.
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The hit post-apocalyptic action film The Book of Eli is returning but this time in the form of a prequel TV series starring John Boyega.
The Book of Elialso features one ofDenzel Washington’s best thriller performancesin the lead role, and it’s his fierce personality that really allows this character to shine in the same way that Mel Gibson’s protagonist makesMad Maxsuch an exciting adventure. It’s a character that the audience can’t fully relate to, but it’s his conflation of morality and ethics that makes him so fascinating to watch and elevatesThe Book of Elito a new level.
Tank Girl
Tank Girl: Set in a desolate 2033, Earth is ravaged by a cataclysmic drought. The Water & Power Corporation, led by Kesslee, controls the scarce water supply. Unyielding Tank Girl and Jet Girl, alongside the enigmatic Rippers, form an alliance to challenge this oppressive regime. Released on July 21, 2025.
Tank Girlis one of the more obvious and blatant films inspired byMad Max, but that certainly doesn’t make it any less impressive than those that more successfully hide their influence. The story takes place on a post-apocalyptic version of Earth wherethe water supply has been taken hostage by a greedy businessman looking to make a cheap profit- until a group of survivors come up with a plan to overthrow him.
The narrative is very similar to certain aspects ofMad Max: Fury Road, with the less fortunate characters banding together to overthrow the greedy leaders and distribute resources more fairly throughout the wasteland. It’s both a gripping and entertaining adventure through a dystopian future anda microcosmic dissection of capitalism in its purest form, which is very similar toMad Max’s own commentary.
Waterworld
Waterworld follows a lone drifter known as “The Mariner”, played by Kevin Costner, who finds himself in a conflict between a group of survivors seeking a mythical place called “Dryland” and a gang of pirates who want to capture and enslave them. Directed by Kevin Reynolds, the 1995 post-apocalyptic action movie is set in a future where sea levels have risen, covering most of the Earth’s landmass.
Waterworldisn’t as obviously influenced byMad Maxas some other movies, but the foundations of Miller’s visual direction and storytelling tendencies are still there in this dystopian sci-fi adventure. The story takes place on a post-apocalyptic version of Earth, where a wanderer named Mariner tasks himself with the protection of a young woman and her child, which sets them on a journey that could change the future of humanity forever.
It’s still a future version of Earth, but Reynolds’ vision for humanity lies not in cars and exhaust fumes, but rather in military progress and scientific advancement.
Waterworldtakes everything that worked aboutMad Max(the desolate landscapes, the hyper-masculine protagonists, and the lawless society) and applies it to a more futuristic, sci-fi setting. It’s still a future version of Earth, but Reynolds’ vision for humanity lies not in cars and exhaust fumes, but rather in military progress and scientific advancement. It’s a fascinating film that takes Miller’s social commentary on humanity and catapults it in a different direction.
Snowpiercer
Snowpiercer is a post-apocalyptic sci-fi film directed by Bong Joon-ho. The narrative takes place aboard a perpetually moving train carrying the last remnants of humanity after a failed climate-change experiment freezes the planet. Chris Evans stars as Curtis, who leads a group of lower-class passengers in a rebellion against the oppressive elite at the front of the train. The film explores themes of class struggle and survival.
Snowpierceris an adaptation of the French graphic novel series of the same name, following a deadly train journey through the furthest reaches of a post-apocalyptic Earth that’s been decimated by its own climate. Like many of the movies inspired byMad Max,the film has a clear commentary on the nature of humanity and the brutality of our survival instincts, following the society that’s been created on this train and dissecting its inherent classism and reliance on capitalist values.
While Joon-ho’s movie ditches thenihilistic original ending of theSnowpiercerbooks, the film is still a very cynical and distressing depiction of the direction that our society is heading. Just like Miller’s series of films,it’s a warning against relying too heavily on the values that have founded our societyand losing our humanity along the way, which is exactly what happens to both protagonists.
Children of Men
Directed by Alfonso Cuaron, Children of Men is a dystopian drama set in the year 2027, where infertility has left humanity facing the possibility of extinction. Clive Owen stars as former activist Theo Faron, with Julianne Moore, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Michael Caine, Charlie Hunnam, and Pam Ferris in supporting roles.
Children of Menis one of thebleakest dystopian movies ever made, and it owes much of its success to the ideas that Miller first explored inMad Max. The film follows a man named Theo who lives in a futuristic society that’s slowly being eradicated by humanity’s inability to breed, detailing his journey to protect a young woman who’s seemingly pregnant with the first human baby in over a decade. Just likeMad Max,Cuaron’s film is extremely cynical and pessimistic about humanity’s survival instincts, exploring how far we’ll go to protect ourselves over our species.
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George Miller and Byron Kennedy’s Mad Max franchise could take note of one of the key elements of the 1979 original Mad Max movie to move forward.
However,Children of Menalso offers a glimpse of hope in characters like Theo, who put their own lives on the line to further the survival of humanity. WhereMad Maxis more of a condemnation of humanity,Children of Menis a call to arms for compassion and selflessness in a society that’s seemingly learning to forget these values
The Road
Based on Cormac McCarthy’s novel of the same name, The Road centers on a father and son who attempt to make it to the coast after a global apocalypse wipes out all plant and animal life on Earth. The Road was directed by John Hillcoat and stars Viggo Mortensen and Kodi Smit-McPhee.
The Roadis acinematic adaptation of Cormac McCarthy’s novel of the same name, which was published in 2006. Both the film and the book take place in a post-apocalyptic version of Earth where humanity has resorted to cannibalism in order to survive on a planet that no longer has a sustainable food chain, causing man to turn against man at every turn. The story follows a father and son who must protect themselves from these man-eating factions to reach a more hospitable environment at the end of the titular road.
Just likeMad Max,The Road’s emotional endingis where the power of this story lies and the quality of the film shines through. It’s a gripping narrative from start to finish, butHillcoat’s strong storytelling manages to pull all the strings togetherin the final moments to push home the narrative’s depth and emphasize its true meaning about human nature and the importance of protecting those we love.
Dredd
Based on the comic character created by John Wagner and Carlos Ezquerra, Dredd is a sci-fi action movie that stars Karl Urban as Judge Dredd, a law enforcement officer who can commute sentences as quickly as he issues them. Set in a dystopian New York-like city called Mega-City One, Dredd is tasked with hunting down a drug lord who controls a massive 200-story apartment complex named Ma-Ma, pushing a new addictive drug called “Slo-Mo” that has become widely used in the slums.
Dreddmay be completely different in style fromMad Max, but the comic book film is inspired by Miller’s dystopian vision of society. It’s a story of lawlessness disguised as justice, but instead of presenting that as the complete absence of law,Dreddpresents it as a more twisted, conflated idea of law in the form of Dredd and his technological pursuit of truth.
Dreddhas plenty of brutal moments that are reminiscent ofMad Max’s violent action and fight sequences, promoting both films’ messages about the impossibility of removing violence from human nature.
Dreddhas plenty of brutal moments that are reminiscent ofMad Max’s violent action and fight sequences, promoting both films’ messages about the impossibility of removing violence from human nature. Max and Dredd are entirely different characters, but their worldviews are surprisingly similar, and it often feels like Travis took inspiration from Miller’s characterization of his protagonist in a way that helped theDreddreboot be a much better adaptation than the Stallone film.
I Am Legend
Loosely based on Richard Matheson’s 1954 novel of the same name, I Am Legend stars Will Smith as Robert Neville, a virologist who believes himself to be the last human on Earth. After a virus turns most of the world’s population into vampiric creatures known as Darkseekers, Neville finds himself immune. Believing himself to be the last man of Earth, Neville stalks through the ruins of New York, hoping to create an antidote that will save humanity.
I Am Legendis a much more traditional kind of post-apocalyptic story, and its similarities toMad Maxare more frequent and more obvious. The story takes place on a futuristic version of Earth that’s been wiped out by a deadly plague, following the sole survivor of the epidemic as he attempts to use his seemingly immune blood to reverse-engineer some kind of cure to give humanity a future.
I Am Legend 2will consider the first movie’s alternate ending as canon.
I Am Legendis an extremely bleak and dark look at what could happen if humanity’s future rested on the shoulders of the individual rather than a larger society, andthe results are just as depressing and cynical as anything in Miller’sMad Maxmovies.I Am Legendfamously has an alternate endingthat’s slightly less depressing and more faithful to the source material, but it’s just as poignant and expressive in its social commentary.
Doomsdayis admittedly very different fromMad Maxwith its futuristic, scientific storytelling, but the general atmosphere of this post-apocalyptic world is likely inspired by George Miller’s expert worldbuilding. Centering arounda team of scientists who are sent to Scotland in search of the cure to a deadly viral outbreak,Doomsdayis a high-stakes adventure that explores how fragile and delicate our human society is.
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No matter how the apocalypse comes, these movies exemplify the hallmarks and subversions of the genre with high-quality execution and skill.
While the film deals with many solemn themes, there’s an entertaining dedication to style inDoomsdaythat’s very reminiscent ofMad Max. The movie doesn’t take itself too seriously despite the harbingers of death and destruction, instead using some lighthearted moments and exaggerated storytelling to suck the audience into this fictional world and make that society commentary even more digestible.
Hell Comes To Frogtown
Hell Comes to Frogtown is a 1988 post-apocalyptic film directed by Donald G. Jackson and R. J. Kizer. Starring Roddy Piper as Sam Hell, the film follows his journey through a dystopian world where mutant frogs have captured fertile women. Tasked with rescuing the captives to repopulate the human race, Hell navigates a treacherous landscape filled with unique challenges and adversaries.
Hell Comes To Frogtownessentially recaptures the more lighthearted side of theMad Maxmovies with a bold, stylized narrative that follows a group of survivors in a futuristic society where a nuclear holocaust has rendered the majority of mankind sterile. It’s one of the more overtlyfun movies inspired byMad Max, whereas the majority of post-apocalyptic movies are fun in a more chilling and double-edged way.
Hell Comes To Frogtownis perfect for anybody looking to get more of that classicMad Maxstyle without the darker, more serious tones that most other dystopian movies have. The film perfectly understands its role as a sci-fi action movie, never afraid to go over-the-top with its set pieces and truly giving the audience what they came for at every moment.
Mad Max
Mad Max is a 1979 sci-fi action film from director and writer George Miller. Mel Gibson stars as Max a police officer in the future who goes after a gang of vicious motorcycle thugs. The film led to a long-running franchise including The Road Warrior, Beyond Thunderdome, Fury Road, and Furiosa.
