Over the span of four decades, George Miller has amassed a truly bizarre filmography, albeit one that generally maintains a respectable level of quality. The Australian filmmaker arrived on the scene with 1979’s Mad Max, a post-apocalyptic thriller that launched both Miller’s and Mel Gibson’s careers.
Since then, Miller has directed action-driven epics, family-friendly animated films, a horror short, and a movie about a pig visiting the big city. Miller is nothing if not versatile, even if the filmmaker tends to be mostly associated with the Mad Max franchise. When Miller is on his game, there are few directors who can measure up to him. In order to pay tribute to this legendary artist’s diverse resume, here are all of George Miller’s films ranked by their scores on Rotten Tomatoes.
10 Happy Feet Two (45)
2011’s Happy Feet Two deserves credit for not settling to be just another children’s movie with nothing to say. It touches upon themes of global warming and even tries to throw out a few philosophical ideas; unfortunately, the story itself struggles to build up much steam.
Considering it is Miller’s lowest-rated film, Happy Feet Two is far from a total wash. The animation is quite gorgeous and has aged relatively well, while the voice acting is largely solid. The film just happens to be very forgettable.
9 Twilight Zone: The Movie (58)
An anthology film featuring four main stories, each one directed by a highly regarded filmmaker, Twilight Zone: The Movie ends on a high with Miller’s remake of “Nightmare at 20,000 Feet.”
The best segment in the project, “Nightmare at 20,000 Feet” follows an airplane passenger, played maniacally by John Lithgow, who sees a gremlin on the wing of the plane. Building up the tension by only showing snippets of the gremlin while playing up the passenger’s innate fear of flying, this segment is so good that it will make most people wish that Miller had directed a full horror film at one point in his career.
8 Babe: Pig In The City (65)
While Miller wrote and produced 1995’s Babe, he did not take on directorial duties. That would have to wait until its 1998 sequel. Far darker than its predecessor, Babe: Pig in the City replaces the farm for a bustling metropolis, one expertly crafted to create a sense of danger and mystery.
Anyone expecting a film as wholesome as the original might fail to come to terms with the sequel’s more unsettling scenery and challenging sequences. However, when viewed in isolation, Babe: Pig in the City is a triumphant example of an intelligent film about talking animals.
7 Happy Feet (76)
Considering the trajectory of the original Mad Max trilogy, it was only a matter of time before George Miller found himself directing a family-friendly animated film. On the surface, Happy Feet is a cartoon about singing (or tap dancing) penguins that touches upon the well-worn subjects of bullying, love, and acceptance.
While Happy Feet is definitely all of those things, its rather conventional premise is elevated by Miller’s direction and willingness to touch upon social themes.
6 The Witches Of Eastwick (76)
Miller’s first full feature film to not include the words “Mad Max” in the title, The Witches of Eastwick is a delightfully fun time. The film tells the comedic tale of three single women who happen to have an affinity for witchcraft and their encounter with the devil, fittingly portrayed by Jack Nicholson.
The Witches of Eastwick grounds its many fantastical elements in a town that feels real, allowing the strangeness of the situations to be greatly heightened. Nicholson is hilarious in one of his first comedic roles.
5 Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome (80)
Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome can be split into two halves. The first part, which sees Max stumbling upon a settlement run by Tina Turner’s Aunty Entity, is great. This section culminates in Max taking part in a battle to the death against the Master Blaster combo in the Thunderdome, a move orchestrated by Aunty Entity.
At this point, Mad Max Beyond Thunderdrome takes a weird turn as its second half begins. Max becomes the caretaker of a ragtag group of kids reminiscent of Peter Pan‘s Lost Boys. This plot thread, along with the film’s PG-13 rating, dulls the franchise’s sharp edge, transforming it into an underwhelming echo of its former self.
4 Mad Max (90)
Compared to the movies (or games) that followed, the original Mad Max is a rather low-key affair. A revenge story born out of the Australian New Wave movement, Mad Max envisions a dystopian society that is gradually destroying the line that separates the riffraff from the “ordinary” folk.
Moments of tenderness only exist to make the flashes of violence all that more upsetting in Miller’s debut feature. Mad Max tears down its titular character so thoroughly, he would need multiple films to even hint at a recovery.
3 Lorenzo’s Oil (92)
A box office bomb, Lorenzo’s Oil is Miller’s most underappreciated movie, mostly because not enough people have even heard of it. Telling the real-life story of Augusto and Michaela Odone’s unrelenting push to find a cure for their son when he is diagnosed with ALD, Lorenzo’s Oil is an exhausting drama about human determination.
Although the dialogue comes packed with technical jargon, Lorenzo’s Oil is very much about the family rather than the disease. Miller delivers a film that is easy to follow but tough to watch.
2 Mad Max 2 (93)
Also known as The Road Warrior, Mad Max 2 sees its protagonist roaming the desolate wasteland where fuel is more valuable than gold. Expanding on its predecessor in every way, The Road Warrior delivers better action, more interesting characters, and all of the leather that a gang could ever want.
Closing with one of the greatest chase sequences of all time, Mad Max 2 is a truly epic experience. After ending the first film stripped of any humanity, Max starts his rehabilitation in this sequel, as he goes from a self-serving loner to a genuine hero.
1 Mad Max: Fury Road (97)
More than three decades after Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome, George Miller returned to the franchise that put him on the map, not in a desperate attempt to recapture the glory days but in an earnest need to create something revolutionary.
Mad Max: Fury Road is basically a long chase sequence. While that might sound dull on paper, the film is filled with jaw-dropping stuntwork, effective character moments, and gloriously eccentric personalities. Despite being the fourth entry in a franchise that has mostly delivered the goods, Fury Road is a singular project unlike any other.
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