This was the second time I had seen Mad Max. I first saw it about year ago, during study leave for my GCSE’s – it was somewhat marred in the viewing experience by me being forced to watched the second half of it online as I needed sleep for some exam in a subject I couldn’t even recall doing now. I’d seen Mad Max 2: The Road Warrior (1981) as a child and loved it. The post-apocalyptic movie was big news in the 80’s and some of my favourite cult films are of that era – Escape from New York (1981) stands out – the difference with the original Mad Max (aside from the budget, illustrated painfully in the score and laughably in the script at times) is that although it has this post apocalyptic vibe it is not as explicit as in the sequals (the film being of the late 70s – the post apocalyptic craze taking off in the 80s), probably exacerbated by the fact that many non-aussie viewers probably won’t need much persuasion to believe that this is Australia – overrun with violent, clearly homosexual bikers and barren as fuck.
To move things on a little in this rant, the plot follows Max (sane for now) who is part of a dilapidated police force – clad in tight leather with beastly motors for chasing down the rampant criminals that seem to blight George Miller’s low budget world. And if you’re into car chase films, this wont disappoint – it’s a strong suspicion of mine that the majority of the budget for this film was spent at a scrap yard. There are plenty of crashes and ‘plosions. Nice. In a turn for the cringe-worthy, a gang of bizarrely dressed but still genuinely scary bikers move into town. I’m guessing there’s a homophobic undertone in this film seeing as the bad and eventually dead guys appear more than a little gay. But still, it kinda works. Anyway, Max suffers attack after attack on his fellow police men – or whatever vaguely quasi-futuristic title this film dubs them – friends and family until he – you’ve guessed – goes a bit mad and revenge is the best, and most entertaining option.
The film has a great gritty aesthetic which is nicely achieved, considering – but also partly due to – the low cost film making. I wouldn’t say the acting is strong or believable but for a violent cult romp the characters are, shall we say, well played. However, lines that could merely seem as if some 21 year old screenwriter was running it all out in one night, over 20 cigarettes and 6-pack of Fosters; resulting in the romance scenes, that feel like padding at best, are pumped to the brim with cheese, like a melodrama fondue kit, by the god-awful music score. Yet somehow it’s enjoyable to see this hastily built family motif play off when Max is forced to gay-bash… I mean seek justice for his terrible, terrible losses.
Overall the chase/crash scenes are the highlights along with the enjoyability of a thrown together film clearly having the feel of a classic from the start. For such a cult film where there is no trust to be placed in the film maker, the film isn’t overly graphic but feels nasty enough, overall and pretty grisly at moments. In comparison to the sequal it’s full of holes and poorly thought out but nevertheless a must see. George Miller stated that he would consider making a sequal/remake but that “[Mel Gibson] is too busy recreating the works of Hitler”, but one things for sure, he’s cool as funk in this movie.
To move things on a little in this rant, the plot follows Max (sane for now) who is part of a dilapidated police force – clad in tight leather with beastly motors for chasing down the rampant criminals that seem to blight George Miller’s low budget world. And if you’re into car chase films, this wont disappoint – it’s a strong suspicion of mine that the majority of the budget for this film was spent at a scrap yard. There are plenty of crashes and ‘plosions. Nice. In a turn for the cringe-worthy, a gang of bizarrely dressed but still genuinely scary bikers move into town. I’m guessing there’s a homophobic undertone in this film seeing as the bad and eventually dead guys appear more than a little gay. But still, it kinda works. Anyway, Max suffers attack after attack on his fellow police men – or whatever vaguely quasi-futuristic title this film dubs them – friends and family until he – you’ve guessed – goes a bit mad and revenge is the best, and most entertaining option.
The film has a great gritty aesthetic which is nicely achieved, considering – but also partly due to – the low cost film making. I wouldn’t say the acting is strong or believable but for a violent cult romp the characters are, shall we say, well played. However, lines that could merely seem as if some 21 year old screenwriter was running it all out in one night, over 20 cigarettes and 6-pack of Fosters; resulting in the romance scenes, that feel like padding at best, are pumped to the brim with cheese, like a melodrama fondue kit, by the god-awful music score. Yet somehow it’s enjoyable to see this hastily built family motif play off when Max is forced to gay-bash… I mean seek justice for his terrible, terrible losses.
Overall the chase/crash scenes are the highlights along with the enjoyability of a thrown together film clearly having the feel of a classic from the start. For such a cult film where there is no trust to be placed in the film maker, the film isn’t overly graphic but feels nasty enough, overall and pretty grisly at moments. In comparison to the sequal it’s full of holes and poorly thought out but nevertheless a must see. George Miller stated that he would consider making a sequal/remake but that “[Mel Gibson] is too busy recreating the works of Hitler”, but one things for sure, he’s cool as funk in this movie.
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