Max Rockatansky
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"Mad" Max Rockatansky is the main character from director George Miller's Mad Max film trilogy, appearing in the films Mad Max, The Road Warrior, and Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome. Max is played by Mel Gibson.
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[edit] Mad Max
- (Plot details of this movie can be found in the article detailing Mad Max)
In Mad Max, Max Rockatansky is a police officer fighting for peace on the roads of a dystopic Australia. Max is quiet, rarely speaking to any great extent, and never paying much attention to his steadily increasing reputation. He is an outstanding pursuit driver and is emotionally complex, often laughing and joking with his peers and his wife, Jessie, with whom he is very much in love.
Though the best officer on the force, he is secretly afraid that he is becoming cold and heartless like the criminals he pursues. Max is eventually unable to cope with the loss of his friend, wife, and infant son. As a result, he carries out the ruthless revenge killings of those responsible for their deaths, but he loses his will to live a civilized life and, metaphorically, his soul.
[edit] Mad Max 2 (aka The Road Warrior)
- (Plot details of this movie can be found in the article detailing Mad Max 2: The Road Warrior)
In this film, set less than five years after the first film, Max, while wandering the wasteland of the outback, discovers a besieged group of people manning a remote oil drilling station and refinery. After losing nearly all of his remaining worldly possessions, including his dog and his car, the "Pursuit Special", Max, with few options, agrees to help the refinery's denizens to escape.
In this film, although Max has lost everything, he is able to find, at least in part, his humanity once again. However, he still cannot form any significant bonds with others and chooses to continue wandering the Earth alone, once more.
[edit] Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome
- (Plot details of this movie can be found in the article detailing Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome)
In this edition of the Mad Max series, it has been just under 20 years since Max Rockatansky left his life behind him following his revenge killings of the Toecutter and his gang, and his later defeat of the Lord Humungus. Since that time he has wandered through the outback, scavenging whatever he needed for survival. His hair has grown long, and very few remnants of his old police uniform remain recognizable.
In this movie, Max is able to finally to complete the full circle. He regains his humanity and soul, once again, and sacrifices his own freedom (and, possibly his life) for the sake of others.
[edit] Max's age and timeline of events
In Thunderdome there's a comment in the background regarding Water being the "Official Drink of the 2000 Olympics". This can be taken two ways, either 2000 was the last Olympics (IE Before the war) or the year IS 2000 and the Olympics is just a sarcastic fantasy for "advertisement purposes".
In the official Movie Magazine for Beyond Thunderdome it's stated that Beyond Thunderdome is set 18 years after Road Warrior (George Miller is quoted as saying Beyond Thunderdome takes place 13 years after Road Warrior). There's also mention in the Beyond Thunderdome script that Bartertown is the first civilization that Max has seen in almost 20 years which fits with the "13 year" comment. Assuming he has not been back to civilization since Jessie & Sprog died that would put Mad Max 18 years prior to Beyond Thunderdome, if you do not count the people he meets holed-up in the refinery in Road Warrior.
All of this adds up to putting Mad Max set in 1982; 3 years after the movie was actually made, which does really fit with “a few years from now”.
Note: The ages of the characters are based on the relative ages of the actors playing them, with the exception of Max/Mel who's stated in official sources as being 23 as well as Jessie/Joanne. This makes Max 28-years-old in Road Warrior and 41 in Beyond Thunderdome.
- 1944 - Bryson Williams, AKA Crawford Montisano - "the Nightrider", is born.
- 1948 - Fifi Mcafee is born.
- 1950 - The "Gyro Captain" is born.
- 1960 - Max Rockatansky born
- 1960 - Jessie Rockatansky born
- 1961 - Jim Goose is born
- 1977 - The "Feral Kid" is born
- 1980 - Max & Jessie's son Sprog is born
- 1982 - Events of Mad Max occur.
- 1987 - Events of Mad Max The Road Warrior occur
- Between these dates, global nuclear war erupts
- 2000 - Events of Mad Max: Beyond Thunderdome occurs
[edit] Equipment
During the first two films, Max makes use of a V8 Pursuit Special, though he drives a different vehicle (an MFP Interceptor) earlier in the first film. In the third movie, after the destruction of the Pursuit Special, Max acquires a caravan, which he later loses.
Max is armed with a revolver (which he never uses, or even draws) during his time with the Main Force Patrol, though once Jesse and Sprog are killed, he favours a sawn-off shotgun. The shotgun is his weapon of choice (though he gains several more during the course of his time in the wasteland) until it is confiscated upon his arrival in Bartertown.
[edit] Abilities
Max's most apparent skill is his driving. At the time of Mad Max, he was considered the "top pursuit man" in the MFP. He can easily pursue or evade gangs in the wastes as the situation dictates, even ramming or outdriving them off the road. This skill is apparent in a wide range of vehicles, as he is able to drive a large truck after sustaining severe injuries. He can even shoot while driving.
Max is established to have lightning quick reflexes by Mad Max 2. He is capable of grabbing a snake before it can bite him. This leads Auntie Entity to choose him to kill Master Blaster in Mad Max 3, as he was the only one to survive her "interview".
Max also displays a fair amount of mechanical ability, since he can perform minor repairs on his own vehicle, and can even rig it to explode, should someone try to take his fuel.
It is worth noting that a number of "Hero rules" don't apply to Max. Gunshot trauma to his left leg during the events of Mad Max is still apparent in Mad Max 2, as he walks with a slight limp and wears a leg brace. He has also had at least two near-death experiences, one the result of a crash, the other from being sent into the wastes with a giant mask and no water.
