Set in a self-destructing world, Mad Max follows a vengeful Australian policeman, who is tired of his job, when he sets out across the barren wastelands in search of revenge after his wife and child meet a grisly end at the hands of a motorcycle gang.
Stunts themselves would be nothing without a filmmaker behind the camera and George Miller, a doctor and film buff making his first feature, shows he knows what cinema is all about.
It's a tough little piece, just a little grimy, full of ambiance (love the crumbling sign over "Hall of Justice") and attitude and occasionally sparked by an inspired flourish.
A solid and entertaining spectacle, filled with brilliantly staged action scenes and made all the more fascinating for its oracular indication of the age of bold movie science fiction that was to follow.
The tone sometimes wavers into self-parody, and there are occasional crude patches, but overall this edge-of-seat revenge movie marks the most exciting debut from an Australian director since Peter Weir.
While it may not be as slick as Miller's other films featuring Gibson's iconic anti-hero, Mad Max still remains a timeless classic and one of the more remarkable films of its (or any) time.
[The] film has been consigned to the grind houses, where audiences are responding as Miller wants them to. From there Mad Max will find its way to the film schools and revival houses, where its tough-gutted intelligence may be appreciated.
