Product: Mad Max (1979)
Rating: 4.0
Break on Through to the Other Side.
In the dystopian world of the future as seen through MAD MAX, the tough and crazy world we live in has become a lot rougher. Bandit gangs of motorcycle riders rule the roadways. They claim that anarchy and bedlam are the way to go. They steal cars, run over people, and rape women. The only thing stopping them from completely having their way is the Main Force Patrol (MFP), the last embodiment of law and order in the land. Driving vehicles full of swift and speed the MFP is the last line of defense in a world gone mad. The best member of the MFP is one Max Rockatansky (Mel Gibson) a cool officer with nerves of steel, a heart of gold, and a jewel of a sense of humor. Max succeeds in killing more thugs and bringing in more criminals than anyone else on the patrol. But even Max has his limits. After the death of a notorious criminal known as the Nightrider (Vincent Gil), his second-in-command takes over, Toecutter (Hugh Keays-Byrne) and vows revenge. First they kill Max's partner and then they come for Max but kill his family instead. That puts Max over the edge and he doesn't just get even, he gets mad. At the end he drives away in his Interceptor and the legend of the Road Warrior begins.MAD MAX will always be known as the film that made Mel Gibson an international star. Until THE BLAIR WITCH PROJECT it was also known as the motion picture with the highest cost-to-profit ration: the movie was made for less than $400,000 and earned well over $100 million. The shoe-string budget was even throughout the filming. For instance many of the cars used as police interceptors were constantly repainted for different scenes to pass as other cars and the blue van that is smashed in the opening car chase was writer and director George Miller's personal vehicle.The style of MAD MAX feels like BLADE RUNNER, but without all the cool gadgets. The world has fallen apart and each man must defend his own, but it's never explained why things are the way they are. Outside communication with the rest of the world has been completely cut off and though there are pockets of happiness to be discovered, one has to brave the roads and the roads are a dangerous and many times lethal place.The acting in MAD MAX isn't anything extraordinary, but it doesn't have to be. The movie has a solid script with several impressive car chases. The cheap budget helped grand the film in the bleak atmosphere it is portraying and gives it a grainy quality that is lacking in the other Mad Max films.I enjoyed MAD MAX and was quite impressed by how much the filmmakers were able to accomplish with so little. I think that ROAD WARRIOR (aka MAD MAX 2) is a better movie, but MAD MAX isn't a film to be messed with either.