MAD MAX

Review by Andrew L. Urban:
Road movie, revenge movie, buddy movie . . . and now a classic of Australian cinema, Mad Max is fascinating to see more than 20 years after it was made. Although set in a future of some sort, the film carries some visual clues that link it to the 70s (and a score that cries out for reworking), but the themes it canvasses do not age. Max Rockatansky (a name from a multicultural society, that) is a sort of lawman, a motorised hero whose sense of justice is revved into overdrive by traumatic events. Motors – whether on two, three, four or more wheels – provide not only transport but the very artillery of an eroded society in an arid landscape. Life has dried up in almost every sense. The film owes its fame more to what it triggered than to its own achievements, although that’s not meant as a put down. The exploration of screen violence that led to the making of Mad Max gives the film a haunting echo, as if it draws its lifeblood from past films. Mel Gibson is young and innocent, his good looks standing out in a sea of bent, macabre or quirky faces, except for Joanne Samuel, his sweet young wife. One of the big questions posed by the film’s violence and plot resolution remains valid today and is often referred to in films with similar structures: do we justify violent revenge when the sword is in the hero’s hand, if lawful remedies are not readily available? But that may be a moot point for those who want to get a charge out of this reminder of how it all began for Mel, for George Miller, and in some ways for Australian cinema itself – Mad Max was one of the many films made in the 70s that took Australia to the world. Only Mad Max was nothing like any of the others.

Review by Louise Keller:
Filled with enough raucous energy to ignite a fireworks display, Mad Max is truly a benchmark in Australian cinema. George Miller's futuristic road movie is set in a bizarre world where edgy stunts and bravado filmmaking raise their flag in an uplifting and energising way. Mad Max is far more than a cult phenomenon, skyrocketing 22 year old Mel Gibson with his baby blues onto the road to superstardom. Gibson may look young and fresh, but his rich, deep voice is the same, albeit with an Australian twang; he had that great screen presence even then. Great characters such as Hugh Keays-Byrne's Toecutter are imprinted in our minds – how can we forget that look with one eyebrow shaved, and a striking white lightning streak in his unruly mop of hair. Steve Bisley's Jim Goose makes for a credible partner, and the 'crazy about you' relationship between Max and Jessie is heartfelt. The stunts are wild and there's a great sense of the unpredictable. Tension-plus and heart-stopping action keep the pulse beating, and by the time Max resumes his black leather pants and jacket on the road to revenge, we are with him all the way. Brian May's frenetic orchestral score never stops and the Australian landscape has never seemed so vast and empty. Interesting to note that Gibson is not given star billing, but appears as one of the strong ensemble cast in the striking black and white credits. A reflection on the censorship of the seventies, the film’s R Rating would be probably be MA in today's climate, although the scene where a man's hand is ripped off is as shocking as you would expect. Mad Max's popularity rose after the success of its sequel, and remains a true original. It's a real blast to catch it on the big screen. Catch it while you can.