Since Mel Gibson's second outing as Max Rocketansky in 1981's Road Warrior, Mad Max has been a leading franchise in the post-apocalyptic sub-genre. Following road rage action in the desert of Australia, the franchise is action at its finest. However, it's far from the only post-apocalyptic dystopia -- and a 2013 movie stands out as a great option for people who enjoyed George Miller's iconic franchise.

Since the original Mad Max movie, audiences have been treated to the thrill ride of one of cinema's best action heroes Max Rocketansky. Initially, a police officer who pursues a gang of killer bikers across the Australian outback, the hero's life is turned upside down when the country is turned into a post-apocalyptic wasteland. Reimagined as an unlikely hero to the oppressed people of an anarchist dystopian future, the drifter protagonist is among action's best characters. For people who enjoyed his 2015 revival, there's a brilliant dystopian thriller from just two years before that would be the perfect chaser.

Mad Max Has Reasserted Itself As The King Of The Apocalypse

In 2015, George Miller released his long-awaited follow-up to his Mad Max franchise in Fury Road. After spending years trying to get the project off the ground, the director reeled in a new generation with what is arguably the most fast-paced, high-octane action film of all time. The film takes place after the original trilogy and follows Max on his own as he's taken captive by desert raiders, part of the war party of local tyrant, Immortan Joe. Used as a blood bank for the half-life boys, Max is taken back to the desert when one of Joe's best warriors, Furiosa, flees with his concubines, desperate to find the Green Place and be free. When the war party gets disoriented by a sandstorm, Max breaks free and joins Furiosa in an uneasy alliance as they make their cross-country escape.

Mad Max: Fury Road follows Max and Furiosa, as well as Joe's wives and a half-life boy, Nux, as they use a war rig truck to try and stay one step ahead of their pursuers. When they realize their quest for the Green Place is futile, the heroes decide to turn around and make a play for the Citadel, a mountainside fortress where Joe has a stranglehold on a water supply. As they're surrounded on all fronts by Joe and his allies, they're left with no choice but to fight their way back, fending off an onslaught of warriors along the way.

Fury Road quickly -- and rightly -- earned the status of greatest action movie of the 2010s, thanks to its non-stop plot, unique designs, and stunning cinematography. Arguably the best work in George Miller's career, the film joined the likes of John Wick and Dredd in raising the bar for the action genre. While the film was only a modest success at the box office, its word of mouth in the years since has left the franchise in a perfect position to expand. Just two years before its release, audiences had a similar high-speed dystopian tale, one that focused more on philosophy and politics than combat.

Snowpiercer Is A Brilliant Dystopian Allegory

Snowpiercer takes place in the aftermath of failed efforts to curb climate change, with human intervention unwittingly plunging Earth into a state of endless winter. In a last-ditch effort to preserve the human race, a visionary inventor named Wilford designed a large train to house a group of survivors, forming a small, self-contained ecosystem. The train is self-sustaining, with each carriage being assigned its own role, from food production to the education of children down to the front, which houses Wilford. The rear carriage houses a small population of impoverished survivors, who boarded the vehicle at the last minute to stay alive. After enduring years of oppression at the hands of the guards, a hero named Curtis leads an uprising, intent on fighting their way along the train to take control.

As Curtis and a dwindling number of fighters push their way deeper into the train, they experience the differences between each carriage. With armed guards pursuing them, the revolutionaries inch closer to Wilford but incur the wrath of the train's residents as they go along. The film is a not-so-subtle commentary on political themes of inequality, class warfare, and the clash between freedom and safety, with some wanting to take their chances in the snowy wilderness. In Wilford's view, his train, flawed as its society may be, is the optimal survival mechanism for humanity, something that presents the film's heroes with a difficult choice.

Snowpiercer Inverts The Idea Of Fury Road

Snowpiercer shares some of the same themes as Mad Max: Fury Road, while also being a complete inverse of the story. Where Miller's film is an action-packed car chase through the open desert, Bong Joon-Ho's movie uses the confines of a train and the inhospitable threat of an endless winter to trap the heroes. Where one film uses the endless sand dunes to make the heroes feel trapped, the other plays up the almost claustrophobic captivity of a train. However, both maintain a kinetic, non-stop plot of heroes fighting tyranny in two unique takes on the dystopian and post-apocalyptic sub-genres.

Snowpiercer is a genuinely unique play in the dystopian thriller genre, especially considering the balance of human life in the film. Where movies like Blade Runner and Dredd explore potentially fascistic forms of government over society, Snowpiercer's plot is much more nuanced. The fate of Curtis' rebellion doesn't only impact their own fight for equality against tyranny but could threaten the survival of the entire species. As the characters push their way through the train, they disrupt the delicate ecosystem of the train and its population. While their struggle is the focal point of the film, Bong Joon-Ho doesn't allow his story to be as simple or low-stakes as the average dystopian movie.

The 2010s Were A Brilliant Decade For Post-Apocalyptic Dystopias

Snowpiercer and Mad Max: Fury Road were among the best post-apocalyptic dystopian movies of the 2010s, but were far from alone. The decade is also home to Dredd, the Planet of the Apes reboot, and even X-Men: Days of Future Past explored warnings of what may be in humanity's future. For a decade rife with global tension, anxiety over climate change, and political strife, it's understandable that the genre would reach its peak. Throwing in the fact that special effects are better than ever, it was only a matter of time before these high-concept thrillers would get more attention.

Snowpiercer may not have the room for the stunning wide shots and unique camerawork of Fury Road, but what it lacks in epic shots it more than makes up for in thoughtful storytelling. With carriages used as metaphors for economic and social class structure, from the opulent socialites to the security forces, the movie is great for audiences who enjoy political allegories like 1984. In that sense, the film does strike a contrast with the action-focused plot of Miller's desert movie, making the two films even more complimentary in a way.

Furiosa Will Continue The Mad Max Saga

After Fury Road climbed to the top of audiences' picks for one of the greatest action movies of its age, it was only a matter of time before studios would greenlight its continuation. In Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga, audiences will be shown the origin story of its eponymous warrior. Starring Anya Taylor-Joy as a young Furiosa, the movie will explore characters like Immortan Joe before the events of the 2015 film. While the Mad Max movies stand out brilliantly by themselves, Snowpiercer works as a fun inversion of the premise.

Snowpiercer is a must-watch movie for fans of both post-apocalyptic thrillers and dystopian political allegory as Chris Evans' Curtis commands a brilliant story. When viewed in conjunction with George Miller's Fury Road, the train-based movie offers a more serious balance to the story. Where one film offers viewers a car chase in the anarchist open desert of Australia, the other uses the confined nature of a training ecosystem to force its characters into an impossible situation. Both films use a delicate balance between a bleak outlook for the future of the human race and notes of hope and optimism for the future of their heroes.

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  Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga

  Action

  Adventure

  Sci-Fi

  The origin story of renegade warrior Furiosa before her encounter and teamup with Mad Max.

  Director

  George Miller

  Release Date

  May 24, 2024

  Cast

  Anya Taylor-Joy , Chris Hemsworth , Daniel Webber , Angus Sampson

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  Snowpiercer

  Thriller

  Where to Watch

  *Availability in US

  • stream
  • rent
  • buy

  

  

  Not available

  Not available

  In a future where a failed climate change experiment has killed all life except for the survivors who boarded the Snowpiercer (a train that travels around the globe), a new class system emerges.

  Director

  Bong Joon Ho

  Release Date

  July 29, 2013

  Cast

  Chris Evans , Jamie Bell , Tilda Swinton , John Hurt , Ed Harris , Octavia Spencer