The Mad Max Franchise’s 8 Best Scenes, Ranked

Summary The daring stuntwork and practical effects in Mad Max series set thrilling scenes of violence and emotional engagement.

Mad Max: Fury Road's stunning visuals brought the post-apocalyptic world to life in an awe-inspiring way.

Emotionally powerful moments in Mad Max series, like Furiosa's devastating realization about the Green Place, stand out among the action.

The Mad Max series have risen dramatically in popularity since the release of Mad Max: Fury Road, retroactively introducing a whole new generation of fans to the fire-spewing apocolyptia of the series' best scenes. Throughout the fractured timeline of the Mad Max franchise, visionary director George Miller has conjured some breathtaking scenes that convey a variety of powerful emotions, from testosterone-fueled adrenaline pumping action scenes to tender moments of tragic sorrow. Of course, Mad Max: Fury Road has the lion's share of the series' best moments, but that doesn't mean the earlier films have nothing to offer.

Most of the best scenes from the film series involve the daring stuntwork and practical effects the franchise's daring chase scenes and action setpieces are known for, putting to screen some of the most dizzying spectacles of violence ever made. That being said, some of the most engaging sequences are surprisingly light on action, Miller able to engage his audiences emotional sensibilities as well as their cheers for automotive demolition. Hopefully, the upcoming Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga prequel will be able to add its own best moments to the convoy of thrilling Mad Max scenes.

8 The Final Chase

Mad Max 2 (1981)

If it wasn't for this final daring scene of Mad Max 2, there's a chance that the franchise's legacy for vehicular combat, and thus, Fury Road's existence, would never come to be. In a daring plan, Max leads the majority of the oil refinery's settlers on a mission to guard a fake convoy full of gasoline, soon set upon by the depraved raiders of Lord Humungus, thirsty for both blood and oil. It isn't long before George Miller is showing off the latest in wasteland weaponry, getting creative with the many methods the road warriors use on each other while soaring through the Australian outback.

The cinematography of the scene is quite impressive for 1981, keeping up with the rocketing cars and implanting the viewer inches away from the unforgiving surface of the careening asphalt. From flails to molotov cocktails, crossbows, penumatic arrow launchers and double-barreled shotguns, both Max and the raiders pull out all the stops to survive the basest of human instincts. Even if the editing leaves something to be desired compared to the chases of later films, and the sound design doesn't quite hold up as well, the final chase of Mad Max 2 still deserves to be remembered.

7 The Thunderdome Fight

Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome (1985)

The third entry in the series, Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome got its name from one of its best scenes. Max takes on the deadly brute Blaster, the right-hand man and enforcer of the tyrannical ruler of Bartertown, Master. Set against each other in ritual combat reminiscent of the Roman Colosseum, Bartertown does everything it can to give its citizens a good show, spicing up their melee with bungee cables and chainsaws. There's a reason that the chant of the bloodthirsty crowd, "Two men enter, one man leaves!" is still referenced in pop culture over 30 years later.

The frantic fight does a good job illustrating the sort of medieval society that has re-developed in the wake of Mad Max's Armageddon, complete with lords, ladies, and bloodthirsty peasants. Of course, the scene is also great for showing off Max's ability to think on his feet, defeating Blaster with the same high-pitched whistle that he noticed earlier. Max is also given a great sympathetic moment when he ultimately spares Blaster's life, even at the cost of his own exile from Bartertown. As an action scene, however, it falls flat compared to the chaos of Mad Max: Fury Road.

6 "What A Lovely Day!"

Mad Max: Fury Road (2015)

As great as the 80s Mad Max movies are, the fourth installment in the franchise not only jumpstarted the stalling relevance of the series in the eyes of the pop culture zeitgeist, but spewed forth some of the best post-apocalyptic scenery ever released in theaters. Impressing with its mostly practical effects, Mad Max: Fury Road carefully chose its moments to utilize heavier CGI elements. By far the best use of computer-generated movie magic was the breathtaking scene in which Nux drives his pursuit vehicle into the raging sandstorm in pursuit of Furiosa, much to the dismay of Max.

Crying the now-iconic line, "Oh, what a day! What a lovely day!" Nux demonstrates his desperate need for Immortan Joe's approval by following Furiosa's War Ring into certain death. It's a pulse-quickening nightmare as the particulate air whips around Max's exposed face, sucking entire war vehicles into vortexes of raging sand while casting unnatural lightning down upon the barren Earth. Beyond being a visual marvel, this scene does a good job wordlessly expressing just how dire the state of the natural environment has become by this point in the Mad Max timeline.

5 Max Takes Out The Bullet Farmer

Mad Max: Fury Road (2015)

Having seemingly lost the hoarded forces of Immortan Joe and the People Eater, Furiosa and company are still pursued by the relentless Bullet Farmer deep into the desolate fog of the mysterious bog. The treads of their unique assault vehicle allowing them to move through the marsh unimpeded, the blood-hungry Bullet Farmer and his crew are a force the exhausted Furiosa seem to have no defense against. Up until now, Max hasn't been especially useful to Furiosa's efforts, but he quickly proves his mettle in this hauntingly awesome scene.

Max tells the astonished Furiosa that he's going off himself, silently fading into the mist with little more than a single kukri knife to defend himself with. Mere moments later, he re-emerges, carrying on his back an entire wealth of newly-captured supplies. One of the Immortan's wives remarks that he's covered in blood, only to be reassured that it isn't his. Even if it happens off-screen, the implications of Max's terrifying fighting experience speak for themselves. The scene is also oddly cute, as Max is thoughtful enough to secure a new boot for Nux during his one-man raid.

4 Toecutter's Death

Mad Max (1978)

Largely overshadowed by its sequels, the very first Mad Max gets little recognition in the overarching legacy of the series. Being set just at the precipice of societal collapse rather than being fully post-apocalyptic, the film follows the tail end of Max's career as a cop, desperately fighting back the anarchy of radical raiders like Toecutter's biker gang. The stage is set for Max to finally get his revenge of Toecutter after the vicious criminal murders his wife and child, relentlessly pursuing him in his iconic supercharged Ford Falcon Interceptor. It’s no wonder Mad Max made box office history.

As the menacing sleek inky darkness of the car approaches Toecutter's motorcycle like a shape of evil, the last vestiges of Max's humanity are shed in real time. Becoming the very thing he feared he would, Max mercilessly runs Toecutter into the path of an oncoming semi truck, causing his eyes to cartoonishly bulge out of his head in surprise. This brief moment is so iconic that it was referenced again in Mad Max: Fury Road, cut to for a split-second before Immortan Joe's death, cleverly nodding to the fact that both villains were played by Hugh Keays-Byrne.

3 Furiosa Finds Out About The Green Place

Mad Max: Fury Road (2015)

Not every great Mad Max scene has to be quite so loud and spectacle-filled as the franchise's bloodiest action scenes. The series can also be surprisingly poignant when it wants to be, as best demonstrated by the sequence in which Furiosa meets up with her old Vuvalini clanmates for the first time since childhood, only to learn that the desolate wasteland she had just driven through was the idyllic "Green Place" she remembered. The resulting emotional explosion is just as compelling as any of the literal ones that dominate the film's lengthy chase scenes.

As Furiosa falls to her knees in the desert, screaming in anguish, Junkie XL's phenomenal soundtrack is allowed to do the heavy lifting, punctuating Furiosa's wails with a delicate score that contrasts the earlier relentless chase music. The sweeping desert landscape also pays off the film's choice to shoot on-location, contrasting Furiosa's newfound emotional emptiness with the hollow, lifeless landscape of the wind-swept desert. For going above and beyond mere spectacle, this scene deserves high praise compared to most of Mad Max's runtime.

2 "Just Walk Away"

Mad Max 2 (1981)

Still considered by many purists to be the best Mad Max movie, Mad Max 2 is where the series really delved into the wastelands to deliver international audiences with some of the best post-apocalyptic fiction around. Curiously, one of its better scenes is light on car chases, instead taking place earlier in the film when the intimidating raider warlord, Lord Humungus, gives the peaceful settlers of the coveted oil refinery. Besieging the complex, Lord Humungus gives the refinery's residents a generous chance to surrender before leaving, prompting them to "Just walk away, and put and end to the horror."

There's so much to appreciate about this scene. Lord Humungus is a surprisingly articulate and charismatic villain despite his horrifying appearance, and his gang's laughter at the Feral Kid slicing off Toadie's fingers with his boomerang offers a glimpse at a clear social hierarchy within the group. Most importantly, Wez's burning fuel for revenge after his companion's death is also a key point established. Violent, hilarious, and utterly weird, this exchange is the perfect summation of what the Mad Max series has to offer at its peak.

1 The Buzzard Fight

Mad Max: Fury Road (2015)

No matter how compelling, no emotional beat in the entire Mad Max franchise can hold a candle to the most eye-popping chase sequence of Mad Max: Fury Road. While picking a "best" action scene in the entire film, essentially just one long chase to begin with, might seem impossible, there's little doubt that the Buzzard fight remains the peak of the film in terms of both vehicular manslaughter and word-light storytelling. The scene begins in earnest as the lovable Doof Warrior's guitar belches fire, guiding Immortan Joe's convoy to capture the traitorous Furiosa, whose crew has yet to realize she's stowed away Immortan's wives on the War Rig.

The jaw-dropping action unfolds as Furiosa's outfit is approached by the spike-clad Buzzards, a rival raider clan whose cars have a penchant for melee combat. In the midst of the rusty carnage wrought by the Buzzards, the Warboys' zealous beliefs unfold, as one sacrifices himself to take out a Buzzard pursuit car after spraying his mouth with chrome. The ironic tension between Furiosa and the war boys, yet to realize her treachery, is also palpable, making each explosion all the more nerve-shattering. Of all the scenes in Mad Max history, nothing can hold a candle to the first harrowing chase down Fury Road.