Mad Max (1980)

Mad Max3 And A Half Out Of 5Mad Max is a sci-fi thriller about an inadequately working officer who is a worried vulnerable family man that is on the verge of going rogue due to its surrounding that literally defines dog-eat-dog world. The effort and hard work that went on creating the future world pays off and the primary reason to that would be its accuracy and lunacy towards the resemblance with practicality which is not created to please the viewers but stand on its definite ideology. It is rich on technical aspects like choreography of all the chase sequences, background score, sound effects, art design and editing. The script is unpredictable, thought-provoking and goose-fleshing filled with nail-biting action sequences and three dimensional characters that are perfectly cooked and served to the audience. The screenplay by James McCausland and George Miller (the director) keeps the audience engaged with unexpected twists and turns and mind-shattering visuals where Miller's brilliant execution not only supports but celebrates it into a whole new level. The performance is decently handled by Mel Gibson although it could have been a lot better. Mad Max is sanely ingenious and bolder as much as glorifying and adventurous the journey is, for this is a long drive that every moviegoer has been waiting for buckling its seat.

I've been hearing a lot about this franchise and decided to start at the beginning. This movie is not worth watching. There isn't a plot. Its just a collection of really, really boring scenes. Can this even be called a movie? That's a genuine question. This is a huge confusing mess. What am I supposed to get out of this movie? Its a series of shots of people standing around sometimes talking (usually not) and not having actual conversations. I guess its not a movie for people with brains?I've been reading other people's reviews and the only reason I can see as to why its good is the sequels. I can't find any reasons why people like this? I get the sequels are good, but why do you like this particular movie?

Mad Max is a film that spawned a new genre of post-apocalyptic sci-fi movies and the career of Mel Gibson. This movie also gave birth to three sequels and a variety of spinoffs. Its been years since I first learned of this franchise, but it took me awhile to actually get around into seeing these movies. I have now seen this movie twice. The first time, I did not really like the film. While still an imperfect film, I appreciated the film much more. The story isn't spectacular-it's a just a road trip action/thriller with Mel Gibson killing all the bad guys who get in his way, but the characters are what make this movie work.So Mel Gibson plays a man named Max, a cop in the wastelands of post-apocalyptic Australia. To say Max is a savage cop to those who undermine him is like saying I only merely like watching movies. This man is ruthless when it comes to his career, but what makes Max a bigger character is the other side of himself. He is a happy family man with a loving life and child and they mean the world to him. But his world crashes down on him when a family tragedy occurs thanks to the work of a vicious motorcycle gang led by a dude named "The Toecutter" (Hugh Keays-Byrne). Then the story turns into a revenge movie and a rather good one at that.This movie starred Mel Gibson before he was a well-known movie superstar. This was only a small Aussie film and at the time, Gibson was only known in his Australian continent and then just barely as he was new to acting. But you can see why he blossomed into such a lovable (for a time) movie star. He added the emotional gravitas that his character needed. Gibson made Max his own and he really kicked ass when it came down to it.One thing you have to understand about the movie is how utterly violent it can be. You wouldn't expect this much violence to be in a 1980 film, but give credit to George Miller because he did not hold anything back. From the opening chase sequence to witnessing the harsh actions of The Toecutter and his gang, it can be hard to watch. But the action is built for high-octane action, raw power, and insane speed. That is really all we want in a film like this.My biggest issue with the film is how outdated it can get. This film was released in 1979 overseas and 1980 here in the States, so it's an older film obviously. But sometimes I was jolted away from the film thanks to the old-fashioned costuming and hairstyles. The cinematography is fine for when it came out, but it really does not hold up too well and it can be distracting when there are not any high-speed chases going on.I thought Mad Max was a thoroughly fun film. I viewed the film as an experiment and it works very well in that regard. After all, it came out with three sequels and dozens of similar sci-fi films. Even though the film is filled to the brim with brutal violence and crazy action scenes, it really works because of the emotional themes at its core about family. That really made Max the hero worth watching. It's not perfect, but it's good enough for the low-budget unknown film it was at first.My Grade: B

Having reviewed already the later installment of the Mad Max series it is high time to review the original trilogy of this cult series that has left such an impact to our global culture. The first of them was Mad Max of 1979 a film that also, was among many other of the late seventies that brought the Australian cinema to the spotlight.For starter the film had, for twenty years in the role ,the highest box office to budget ratio and was award multiple awards for its effects, directing and in general its style as a whole. Even nowadays people modify their cars in order to be like them ones of the film. What also is a fun fact about that film it that the majority of the stunt doubles and drivers of the vehicles ,they were paid for the labor with beer. No, for real I didn't make this up the pay many of them with some dollars and a six-pack! Granted it doesn't sound such a bad of an idea.All these fun facts end to one single fact about the directorial debut of George Miller and Mel Gibson. It was really low budget, to be precise the film cost 350 to 400 thousand Australian dollar which was roughly around 180000 to 200000 us dollars, so the crew was forced to be crafty. One of the methods they used to save on the budget was to call real motor gangs for the shooting for the criminals of the film (don't wary the real-life motorcyclist aren't psychos), directing everywhere they could without gaining first permission in order to not to pay for the needed permit, the so called guerrilla film-making . And the crazy part is that the Victoria Police actually found them out and intend of arresting them they help them by closing roads for them to do their work with out any third person been put in danger.But for me it isn't a perfect film for it is often corny and over the top. Some stunts are quit obviously faked, although the ones they real happen are quit cool. And my last negative is that the post-apocalypse part isn't so big in the film even though so many films of this genre have took inspiration of it.All in all if you like it, good for you ,if you didn't like then at least respect it for its legacy and as for the action and dystopia part, the next installment was way more in to that.