Classic Review - Mad Max

Welcome to the first of our Classic Reviews, where I take a look at older movies.

First up in our Classic Movie reviews, we have Mad Max. The name Mad Max might conjure up images of sprawling desert compounds, tankers carrying precious oil, and gangs dressed like S&M lovers. That, my friends, is Mad Max 2 - The Road Warrior, an awesome movie. Mad Max is part one of this series, and it's slightly different.

Click below to find out how different...


PREMISE

It's sometime in the future in Australia. A crazy motorbike gang is terrorizing the neighborhood and it's up to the MFP (the Motha Fuckin' PO-lees) to put a stop to them. Dressed from head to toe in tight leather, the police don't mess around. They drive souped up cars, and basically try to run over bad guys.

It was a different time. Things were different, man.

Mood Level : Annoyed Max

One of the gang members is caught by the police. I can't quite remember why he was caught or what he was charged with. Possibly raping a guy and his girlfriend. After the gangster's high powered lawyers arrive, he's set free. It's a case of paperwork and red tape winning over real justice.

Mood Level : Upset Max

After this fiasco, and seeing his best friend get burnt to a crisp, Max decides to quit the police force but his boss tells him to take a holiday and just think about it instead. We are then treated to watching Max take a holiday with his wife and kid.

Mood Level : Content Max

Luckily, we get back to the action when Max's family runs into the gang during their holiday. Australia is a small place, and the gang really gets around. Unfortunately for this family, the gang likes to play rough, and ends up killing Max's wife and son.

Mood Level : Enraged Max

Max decides to take revenge on the gang. He takes a turbocharged hot rod from the police station and chases down the gang, until he eventually causes the gang leader to run head first into an oncoming truck. The movie ends with Max finding the same gang member who was let go from custody. The way he deals with this last guy shows max's final descent into craziness.

Final Mood Level : Mad Max

MY TAKE

I don't think I had ever actually seen this movie, just bits and pieces, because it was a lot worse than I remembered. First of all, if you've ever been to Australia, this dystopian future looks pretty much like anytime you go there. This isn't so bad though. It was a budget movie and considering the cars and crashes, I'm impressed they did so much with so little.

What I couldn't understand, though, was the movie itself. It's seems really badly edited. Things just kind of happen suddenly, and people stand around doing nothing quite a bit. Nothing shows this better than the final showdown between the gang leader and Max. In case you haven't seen the movie, here's a spoiler. Max finds a wrecked bike by the road and gets out to check. It's Australia, there is nothing around him.

Better be careful Max. Someone might be hiding behind that telephone pole.

Then out of nowhere, Max goes down with a bullet hole in his leg. From the guys who were hiding...uh... on the horizon?

"Why didn't I check the horizon properly?"

It's not a big deal, just kind of the whole point of the ambush. And it's just an example of the kind of editing we get.
In the end, I'd recommend watching Mad Max, just because it's kind of a classic, and it's cool to see what leads up to The Road Warrior.
I'd also just recommend it because it reminds us of a time when Mel Gibson played characters who were on the edge, dangerous and ready to do anything.

Another actor, typecast for eternity.

FINAL SCORE- A warm can of Fosters. It's Australian for crap.