LogFAQs > #982703235

This is from before the apocalyptic setting. You get to see how Max becomes the way he is later.

It is all one long continuity. You gotta watch the sequels.

This one ends with him losing important things and becoming quite merciless to those he feels deserves it. And the sequels add to that. The apocalypse comes later.

And while the movie might seem like a generic 70s/80s action flick, it was one of the first to do it this way. Other movies copied it after. So try to understand the significance and keep that in might that it was unique for its time.