Mad Max (1979) Review

 

Mad Max (1979)

Set in the anarchist near future, Mad Max follows Max Rockatansky, a hard-nosed cop sent on a war path with a motorcycle gang following the murder of his wife, son, and partner.

Mad Max is one of those films that with each passing year, it gets just as corny, but it is still so entertaining to watch. And how can you not love it? Raging lunatics, unbelievably fast cars, intense action scenes, and a total badass in Max Rockatansky. One could say this (and all the others that followed) are just as much about speed and adrenaline, as they are about Max saving the day. It’s something I don’t usually like (see the Fast and Furious movies), but here it gives it character and purpose, as it’s all people really have in the desolate roads of the future. Gone are sprawling cities and decency, and replacing it is the anarchy and chaos of those that rule the road.

The villains, led by the iconic Toe-Cutter, are done remarkably well, being a group of truly vile and disturbing people who cause a deep anger to form every time they’re on screen, something that makes Max hunting them down and killing them off all too satisfying.

All that said, the pacing, while never letting off the gas, is really funky and the natural progression of things is either exciting or awful, theres no in-between. Any dialogue outside of a few lines by Max and Goose, and those of Toe-Cutter, are usually pretty ridiculous and is definitely the weakest part of the flick.

It features a, at the time, well rounded cast of newcomers that included Joanne Samuel, Tim Burns, Hugh Keays-Byrne, Steve Bisley, and Mel Gibson. I really like Gibson as Max, as he is just as much a speed junky as those he enforces, and his relationship with Bisley as Goose, who is the highlight of the film, is really fun to see.

Directed by George Miller on a shoestring budget of $350,000, Mad Max is high speeds and raw power put to film, being a groundbreaking picture of revenge and the amoral struggle of trying to enforce the law in a lawless land. Its’ thematic struggle between doing what’s right and doing what needs to be done, never gets old, especially in its heart pounding finish.

8.6/10