Product: Mad Max (1979)
Rating: 4.0
The Saga Begins...
... and I don't just mean the Mad Max saga but the Mel Gibson story. I'd heard this movie got Mel Gibson noticed among the big players - seeing it today made me believe it.The movie begins with a car chase, with some really gutsy destruction sequences, somewhere amongst which, Gibson makes his entry as an "Interceptor", a cop from the near future - where this story is based - trying to make order in this "Anarchie" (no kidding! that's the name of the Ln mentioned in the first few shots of the film!). The government is pretty much non-existent in this futuristic flick, and gangs of roadies have taken up terrorizing and literally ruling the outlands.Max, along with his partner - Office Jim Goose, takes his work seriously, and intends to clean the scrounge of the town, before his partner becomes a casualty of the war. Max suddeny is afraid for his family, and realizes he's not ready to take this war to its bitter end, and decides to take a break from his cop-career.What follows is an eerie rendition, out on the Australian outback, of the origins of the character of Mad Max, before it got the adjective Mad; with some really slick editing and heart-pumping action. The chase sequences are simply great and the lack of dialogues makes it that much more watchable. Not much to speak - if you're into killing amd ambushing for a living.This movie is the first of the trilogy of Mad Max, and is a good one at that. You get to see where Gibson learnt the conviction and grittyness that has since marked so many of his roles, notably Lethal Weapon, Conspiracy Theory, and The Patriot.Must see - for Gibson and Mad Max fans!