Australian director George Miller is one of the great cinematic visionaries of his generation. With Furiosa in theaters, Digital Trends ranks his 10 best films.
Australian director George Miller is one of the great cinematic visionaries of his generation. Once a medical student taking film classes on the side, Miller turned his morbid fascination with car accidents into a cult-classic action film, which in turn gave birth to one of cinema’s most exciting and intriguing worlds.
Not content to make bombastic postapocalyptic chase movies forever, Miller then tried his hand at raunchy comedy, dour adult drama, and wholesome family entertainment in both live action and animation. When he returned to his chrome-plated world of gas-guzzling road warriors, he delivered one of the greatest action films of all time.
He is a unique and thrilling visual stylist, a technological innovator, and just as importantly, a wise and thoughtful storyteller who proves that style and substance need never be mutually exclusive. But has he ever made a clunker? Your mileage may vary, but here’s how we think his filmography stacks up.10. Happy Feet Two (2011)
Like its Oscar-winning predecessor, Happy Feet Two endeavors to tell a whimsical tale about Antarctic wildlife that’s packed with both familiar pop songs and ambitious existentialist and environmentalist themes. This time around, however, the style and the stakes simply don’t line up, and the result is a George Miller’s one and only forgettable movie.
Still, its message about the importance of each and every small part of our interconnected world shines through, and the finale (set to Bowie and Queen’s Under Pressure) is an undeniable tear-jerker. Even on his worst day, Miller knows how to push our buttons.9. Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome (1985)
The third chapter in the Mad Max saga may have more Hollywood polish than its predecessors, but that additional production value comes at the cost of its handmade indie charm. Beyond Thunderdome expands the canvas of the Mad Max postapocalypse, as tiny new civilizations begin to crop up in the wasteland with their own rules, rituals, economies, and beliefs. Pop star Tina Turner is totally solid in her rare acting turn as the villainous Aunty Entity, and there’s a charming specificity to her fiefdom of Barter Town (and of course, the titular gladiatorial arena). But on the whole, Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome feels oddly like a generic adventure film — at times, even a family adventure film, totally at odds with the rest of the series. Blame the rousing score or the number of precocious children in the cast, but absent nostalgia for viewers of a certain age, this one doesn’t have a lot going for it.8. Mad Max (1979)
Judged against his later works, supported by studios and informed by years of professional experience, the original Mad Max looks pretty rough. Its story is a bit thin, its themes are a little muddled, and its performances are amateurish, even by pulpy B-movie standards.
