By skyforbes I consider the Mad Max films some of the most powerful portrayals of a world after civilizational collapse, or even a post-nuclear apocalypse. Especially the two I personally connect with the most: Mad Max 2: The Road Warrior (1981) and Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome (1985), both starring Mel Gibson.
When I first watched these films years ago, they gave me a feeling that’s difficult to put into words, almost as if the survival of humanity itself depended on what was unfolding on screen. The sense of danger and adrenaline was overwhelming.
Recently, I revisited those films, along with the newer Mad Max: Fury Road starring Tom Hardy, and I realized that I no longer felt that same intensity. That visceral rush just wasn’t there anymore.
I’m wondering if this is because modern action films are now saturated with large-scale visual effects, which may dull our sense of impact, or because other equally ambitious films have since redefined what “spectacle” looks like. For those of you who rewatch the older Mad Max films today, do they still hit you the same way, or has your experience changed over time?