MovieChat Forums > Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga (2024) Discussion > Mel Gibson shouldn't return either

Mel Gibson shouldn't return either

posted 6 months ago by [deleted]
27 replies | jump to latest

I see this argument that if they made a Mad Max flick with Gibson returning, that it would be a success.

Considering all the 30 years later sequels with geriatric performers pulled put of retirement just so we could get a nostalgia hit, it would still flop.

We've witnessed this done over and over again with 1 success to every 5 failures. The movies are always the same. Older character A Is troubled by the past. They meet young character B who pulls them into an adventure where a dark aspect of their past is revealed to be a mastermind manipulator of the present. In this case boomerang kid either comes back or one of the other kids from thunder dome.

Old dude either dies by the mastermind hand or gets gravely injured while character B helps with the finishing move.

Old guy helps and puts up a good fight for the torch to be passed.

The Arnold becomes a liquid Terminator, Batman dies after killing a kryptonian, Indiana jones get knocked out and sent home, Han Solo gets stabbed by his son, Yada Yada yada...

Lame

[–] ReelReviews14 (1220) 6 months ago

It's a mixed bag. There's a RIGHT way and a WRONG way to have actors reprise iconic roles they were known for decades ago.

The WRONG way includes stuff like Exorcist: Believer, Disney Star Wars movies, Terminator 5 & 6, Indiana Jones 4 & 5, etc.

The RIGHT way includes stuff like Cobra Kai, Rocky Balboa & Creed, Top Gun: Maverick, Spider-Man: No Way Home, etc., etc.

Mel Gibson back in action as Mad Max COULD be epic in the hands of the RIGHT people...

[–] Guitar King (4890) 6 months ago

Exactly, fans want Mel Gibson brought back like Maverick not Disney's Indiana Jones.

[–] [deleted] 6 months ago

Good luck with that. I stand by my 1/5 estimate.

[–] Guitar King (4890) 6 months ago

Every example you mentioned were examples of old heroes brought back as an old broken down loser denied one last win the audience wants him to have.

[–] [deleted] 6 months ago

That's the trend.

[–] Guitar King (4890) 6 months ago

So you have so little imagination, you can't envision Mel Gibson returning as Mad Max and getting heroic moments like Maverick?

[–] [deleted] 6 months ago

It's not about imagining. It's about what we continually see from studios. It's the "they're going to do it right this time" hope projected onto Gibson that continues to be unimaginative and lead to failed movies.

[–] ReelReviews14 (1220) 6 months ago

As I noted, it's been a mixed bag, and the results have been 50-50. There have been JUST AS MANY successful attempts at that as there have been failures. Saying we "continuously see" studios fail at putting old guys in movies to reprise their classic characters is being outright dishonest.

Literally NOBODY said "Man, Sly Stallone RUINED Creed!" or "Seeing Ralph Macchio put back on a karate uniform when he was 60 years old in Cobra Kai was embarrassing, man!" or "Top Gun 2 really crashed and burned at the box office, Tom Cruise was way too old to be doing that sort of thing, they should have recast with a younger actor"

[–] [deleted] 6 months ago

Cobra Kai was really embarrassing. Creed was fine but you forgot how the previous balboa flick was pretty lame. Plus. It's not Rocky training. Sure Tom Cruise does fine sitting in a cockpit, but few watched MI 5.

Yeah, it's a trend and the ratio is closer to a 1 out of 5 being okay.

[–] ReelReviews14 (1220) 6 months ago

>> Cobra Kai was really embarrassing. <<

Cobra Kai has been a huge hit that lasted six seasons and has spawned a NEW upcoming Karate Kid movie with Ralph Macchio and Jackie Chan (from the less successful remake). Your argument is invalid.

>> Creed was fine but you forgot how the previous balboa flick was pretty lame. <<

Rocky Balboa was ALSO very successful and 10X better received than the failed Rocky V, which everyone had assumed killed the franchise in '89. From Wikipedia: "Rocky Balboa exceeded studio expectations grossing over three times the opening night estimates of (at best) $2,000,000 and doing so despite a harsh spell of winter weather." More time passed between Rocky V and Rocky Balboa than between the original film and Rocky V, but Stallone STILL pulled it off anyway. Again, your argument is invalid.

>> the ratio is closer to a 1 out of 5 being okay. <<

Only in your own mind. With both professional critics AND the general public, the ratio is more like 50-50. It would be like claiming "only 1 out of 5 Planet of the Apes movies are successful" and "only 1 out of 5 Star Trek movies get good reviews", when in reality about half of them have been popular and successful.

[–] [deleted] 6 months ago

Nope 1 out of 5.

Don't forget the horror failures. Yeah, you can get an Halloween 2018, but then you're stick with two shit sequels. Then add the TCSM, hellraiser, child's play, pumpkin head, children of the corn, etc...

They all pull this card and the returns continue to degrade. I haven w en addressed the Disney issues yet.

Regardless of all this, you still have a geriatric performer with a marred reputation that people associate with racism, abuse, and extreme Christian values. His movies are actually decent, but no one watches them.

It's hilarious.

[–] avigalidou (611) 6 months ago

Gibson should return not just as Max but as Director too

[–] ReelReviews14 (1220) 6 months ago

>> Gibson should return not just as Max but as Director too <<

That would be pretty epic if Gibson produced, directed AND starred in a fourth "Mad Max" film. Clint Eastwood did the same thing in the 1980s AFTER he had "retired" from the role of Dirty Harry after the original trilogy, and they said he was now "too old" to reprise the character. The result was the now iconic film SUDDEN IMPACT and Harry's famous line "Go ahead, make my day"

[–] Ripkens25 (2014) 6 months ago

It's a moot point.
George Miller has already said in interviews that he has no interest in bringing Mel back as an old Max.

[–] ReelReviews14 (1220) 6 months ago

Too bad. "Cubby" Broccoli was the producer of the James Bond film series since the very beginning in 1962. 20 years later, in 1983, he had ZERO interest in bringing back Sean Connery to play Bond again after a hiatus of 12 years. He had moved on long ago with Roger Moore as the "current" face of Bond.

So Kevin McClory and Irvin Kershner got the legal rights to make a Bond movie, simply went around him, and did it anyway.

And THEIR Bond movie ended up making more money!

I would LOVE to see the look on George Miller's face if an "unofficial" Mad Max movie STARRING Mel kicked Furiosa's butt at the box office!

[–] [deleted] 6 months ago

And you think that would change the theater trends?

Lol. Good luck with that.

[–] bozo_500 (13104) 6 months ago

Octopussy made more than NSNA
https://www.the-numbers.com/movie/Octopussy#tab=summary
https://www.the-numbers.com/movie/Never-Say-Never-Again#tab=summary

[–] [deleted] 6 months ago

That was in a market where the only place to see movies was in theaters. That market doesn't exist anymore. With streaming, illegal downloads, and shit theater experiences, you're not going to be successful. Especially with the inflated cost of Hollywood productions, you got another stinker.

Yep, it would fail too.

[–] [deleted] 6 months ago

https://x.com/JackPosobiec/status/1795787505146495216

[–] [deleted] 6 months ago

So because someone posts an opinion that you agree with, it makes that true?

Nope. Don't buy it. It would be more like this:

https://youtu.be/ifYK21xsVtI?si=7ZRRuvbHYhRr9ppg

[–] [deleted] 6 months ago

Don't over think it. It's just an interesting picture. No I dont think Mel should come back.

[–] [deleted] 6 months ago

That's fair. I think this would have a similar outcome had he been in it.

[–] [deleted] 6 months ago

Bringing a geriatric old Man into a fight used to be a punchline.

https://youtu.be/Hwz8vlZUL4E?si=_JaY9XQw6SJBEaX8

It's supposed to be funny, not serious.

[–] bozo_500 (13104) 6 months ago

Mel should do Maverick: Maverick

[–] contreras (470) 6 months ago

Maverick: Top Gun

[–] Gd5150 (11747) 6 months ago

Mad Max: Maverick

“Max, every time you go out there you’re unsafe!”

“That’s right!!! Papagallo, I am dangerous”

[–] Ripkens25 (2014) 6 months ago

Mel is way too big a star now for it to work. Back in the first two (and even the third one, to a certain degree), he was still a cool outlier, not overexposed or really well known yet. If he played Max now, it would be hard to watch him onscreen dressed as Max, and separate your thoughts from "There's Mel the movie star playing Max", (if that makes sense). To a smaller degree, it was like when Samuel L. Jackson played a Jedi in Star Wars. For me, I couldn't suspend disbelief and accept him as a Jedi. I just kept thinking..."what's Samuel L. Jackson doing in a Star Wars movie"?

It would be like The Rock playing James Bond. He's just too big a star now for anyone to buy it. All you'd see onscreen is...The Rock, not James Bond. Mel's too big a star and has too big a resume to be Max. For some reason....returning as Riggs seems different. I think THAT return to a role could work.