Claim: Mel Gibson played a lead role in a movie.

Mad Max is an Australian dystopian action multi-media franchise created by George Miller and Byron Kennedy . It began in 1979 with Mad Max , and was followed by three films : Mad Max 2 -LRB- 1981 -RRB- , Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome -LRB- 1985 -RRB- and Mad Max : Fury Road -LRB- 2015 -RRB- . Mel Gibson starred in the first three films and Tom Hardy took over the titular role in the fourth film .   The series follows the adventures of Max Rockatansky , a police officer in a future Australia which is experiencing societal collapse due to war and critical resource shortages . When his wife and child are murdered by a vicious biker gang , Max kills them in revenge and becomes a drifting loner in the Wasteland . As Australia degenerates further into barbarity , this skilled warrior of the road finds himself helping pockets of civilisation , initially for his own self-interest , but his motives always drift into more idealistic ones .   The series has been well received by critics , with each film marked `` Certified Fresh '' on the film review aggregate site Rotten Tomatoes ; Mad Max 2 and Fury Road in particular have been ranked among the best action films ever made . Furthermore , the series has also had a significant influence on popular culture , most notably apocalyptic and post-apocalyptic fiction , and encompasses works in additional media , including video games and comic books . In 2016 , Fury Road became the first film of the Mad Max franchise to receive Academy Award recognition , being nominated for Best Picture and Best Director for Miller , and winning six of its ten nominations .