Every George Miller Movie, Ranked

The unexpected success of the original Happy Feet prompted a sequel that raised the stakes with the addition of a potentially deadly iceberg and the introduction of several new characters, including Will and Bill the Krill, voiced by Brad Pitt and Matt Damon. Emperor penguins Mumble (Elijah Wood) and Gloria (Alecia Moore aka P!nk replacing Brittany Murphy, who tragically passed before production) now have children, who must team with their Antarctic friends to avert disaster.

Critics complained about a lack of laughs and an unfocused narrative. The animated follow-up was devoured by The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn - Part 1 on its opening weekend and then doomed by strong Thanksgiving kids competition in the form of The Muppets, Arthur Christmas, and Hugo. It would make only a little over $150 million globally on a reported $135 million budget, and we never saw the Happy Feet franchise again. 

"Dazzling panoramas, no matter how impressive, are no substitute for the involving story Happy Feet Two has had to do without." —Kenneth Turan, Los Angeles Times

George Miller's most recent film prior to Furiosa was an adaptation of the 1994 short story "The Djinn in the Nightingale's Eye," about a genie/djinn (Idris Elba) who is freed from its bottle by a professor (Tilda Swinton). Once unleashed, he begins to tell her stories from his thousands of years of life. What follows is an episodic anthology film of sorts, with each section featuring another story.

Many critics complained that those stories didn't amount to much, but also felt that the two leads and impressive visuals were standouts. Longingreportedly cost $60 million to produce, but only made a little over $20 million during the pandemic and was perceived as a failure. 

"Three Thousand Years Of Longing unfortunately undercuts its own effectiveness as a singular piece, presenting less as a unified vision of an auteur director than a scattershot assemblage of motifs, philosophies, and themes in search of a spine to hold them together." —Leigh Monson, The A.V. Club

After the initial Mad Max trilogy was completed with Beyond Thunderdome, Miller moved on to an adaptation of Pulitzer Prize-winning author John Updike's 1984 novel, The Witches of Eastwick, about three women, initially oblivious to the fact that they are witches, who all have affairs with a mysterious man who is essentially Satan.

The film was a massive star vehicle at the time, featuring Cher, Susan Sarandon, and Michelle Pfeiffer as the witches and Jack Nicholson as the self-professed "horny little devil". What ensues is a supernatural battle of the sexes that received mixed-to-positive reviews upon its release, with many critics praising the cast but several criticizing the increasingly elaborate set pieces that take over the second half of the film.

"Unfortunately, after a terrific, deliciously devious first hour, this sophisticated, comic sex battle soars out of control, blown by its own creative excesses." —Duane Byrge, The Hollywood Reporter

George Miller produced and co-wrote the original Chris Noonan-directed Babe, which was a critically acclaimed, award-winning (Best Visual Effects Oscar) 1995 classic about a talking pig who wants to be a working sheepdog. Miller took the reins for the sequel, and with a reported $90 million budget—triple the amount of the original—proceeded to expand the universe (much like he did for The Road Warrior) and make a darker, more action-packed movie that was alternately criticized and praised by critics.

The film came out during a packed Thanksgiving that also included Pixar's A Bug's Life and The Rugrats Movie; audiences eschewed the grimmer pig, with the film ultimately only making a little over $69 million. The franchise has yet to resurface. 

"Miller is going to take some heat for making this new film inhabit a cruel world. But better that than sugarcoating the story. He's found a way to recycle a popular film—choppily perhaps, episodically perhaps, but provocatively." —Jay Carr, Boston Globe

The third and final film in the original Mad Max trilogy arrived right in the middle of the 1980s, and the delightful excesses of the time are represented in the casting of the Queen of Rock 'n' Roll herself, global pop sensation Tina Turner. Her portrayal of Bartertown's Aunty Entity was deliciously iconic, and her hit soundtrack contributions "We Don't Need Another Hero" and "One of the Living" only added to the bigness of the production.

Critically, the film is just barely the lowest-rated of the OG trilogy, with most critics complaining about the soggy middle section of the film. When the dust settled, however, Mel Gibson had ascended into a global superstar. 

"This film has showier stunts than its predecessors, and a better sense of humor. It also has Tina Turner, in chain-mail stockings." —Janet Maslin, The New York Times

This landmark feature debut put filmmaker George Miller and star Mel Gibson on the map and was a pivotal moment for Australian film. The Mad Max saga begins when Gibson's police officer Max turns vigilante after his family is tortured and killed. The film, shot for a then-reported $1 million, was lauded as a low-budget visceral sensation that today plays like a superhero origin story, with an emotional backstory that's largely absent from the rest of the action-packed series. The original U.S. release was notoriously dubbed to cover the thick Australian accents.

"The film belongs to the director, cameraman and stunt artists: it's not an actor's piece, though the leads are all effective." —Variety (uncredited)

The dystopian Outback aesthetic that most fans associate with the Mad Max series really originated with this film. The Road Warrior, or Mad Max 2, as it was titled outside of the U.S., was a leveling up in spectacle—the likes of which had rarely been seen in cinema. Miller co-wrote and directed the bigger-budget sequel, and in the process would expand the Mad Max world with an even grittier future filled with unrelenting sun, colorful allies, and iconic villains. The post-apocalyptic Wasteland vibes are manifest in the costumes and characters as well as the plot, and the set pieces don't just barrel down the road, but also take to the skies. 

Reviews were largely positive, except for lovable curmudgeon Pauline Kael, who referred to the film as "joyless." To each their own!

"The Road Warrior is ferocious and unpredictable. It's energetic. It's peculiar. It's big and it's dirty. But mostly it's cosmically irrelevant. Hey, but, one thing's for sure, we are driven." —Rita Kempley, Washington Post

Miller's first fully animated feature was the computer-animated penguin tale Happy Feet, which is about a tone-deaf penguin, Mumble (Elijah Wood), using his ability to tap dance to attract a mate when singing won't do. The film was an early example of the animated jukebox musical that uses several pop songs to fuel the story (like the recent Sing or Trolls franchises). The film also features voice talent from fellow Australians Nicole Kidman and Hugh Jackman in addition to Americans Robin Williams and Brittany Murphy.

Happy Feet was a global sensation, making nearly $400 million on a $100 million budget, and won the sixth ever Best Animated Feature trophy at the 78th Academy Awards. 

"A lot of director George Miller's film is gorgeous and exciting. Its craftsmanship and ambition put it a continent ahead of nearly every other animated feature of the last couple of years." —Michael Phillips, Chicago Tribune

The follow-up to Mad Max: Fury Road is a prequel that shows us how Furiosa got her scars, or rather, [spoiler] lost her arm. Anya Taylor-Joy replaces Charlize Theron as the younger, titular Furiosa, and Mad Max moves to the subtitle. Also joining this earlier version of the Wasteland is baddie Dementus, played by Aussie actor Chris Hemsworth. Apparently, an early version of the script was penned during the development of Fury Road. From the trailers, it looks like a younger version of Fury Road villain Immortan Joe will also make an appearance. Will Max show up? We've never had a prequel in this universe before. Does George Miller still have it in him to make it epic? As Dementus would say: Lady and gentlemens: start your engines!

"Once the politics of food and gas and guns have finally been sorted, Furiosa revs its engines and goes chasing after the grandeur of its predecessor. It doesn't quite catch up. But it comes close enough that we can at least glimpse Fury Road's tail lights in the distance." —Richard Lawson, Vanity Fair

A lone, non-genre dramatic outlier for Miller is this early '90s tearjerker based on a true story. Lorenzo's Oil stars Nick Nolte and Susan Sarandon as parents looking for a cure for their young son, who has been diagnosed with a rare fatal disease.

On paper, Miller might not have been the ideal choice to adapt this real-life tale, but many critics appreciated his energetic directing style that featured dynamic camera moves and bold use of classical music. Reviews, especially in the early '90s, were usually higher for dramatic movies in general, and Lorenzo's Oil was no different—it received some of the best reviews of Miller's career. The film was also nominated for two Academy Awards, for Best Actress and Best Screenplay. 

"In its own quiet way this is an astonishing film, both as a medical detective story that sustains taut interest over an extended running time and as a piece of cinema combining unusually resourceful acting and direction. If any movie of recent years deserves to be called inspirational—a much-abused term that one hesitates to revive apart from exceptional circumstances—-this one certainly does." —Jonathan Rosenbaum, Chicago Reader

The Mad Max franchise roared back to life 30 years after Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome with the universally acclaimed Mad Max: Fury Road. The reboot swapped out Mel Gibson for Tom Hardy as Mad Max, and Charlize Theron joined as co-lead Furiosa. Miller, who had not directed a live-action movie in 17 years, returned to the Wasteland after a tumultuous development process and shoot (profiled in Kyle Buchanan's excellent Blood, Sweat & Chrome: The Wild and True Story of Mad Max: Fury Road book) and the results were jaw-dropping.

Fury Road reintroduced audiences to the post-apocalyptic landscape replete with vehicular action, and introduced War Boys (including Nux, played by Nicholas Hoult), evil Immortan Joe (Hugh Keays-Byrne) and his enslaved wives, two of whom are played by Zoë Kravitz and Riley Keough. The film and reviews were shiny and chrome. 

"With Mad Max: Fury Road, director George Miller delivers the sort of jumbo-sized entertainment that makes you spontaneously break out in appreciative laughter: The breadth of his imagination and showmanship makes you giddy." —Rene Rodriguez, Miami Herald