Mad Max

Believe it or not but there was actually a time when Mel Gibson wasn't one of the world's most loathed celebrities, but was among Hollywood's most prominent actors. With starring roles in Braveheart, The Year Of Living Dangerously and the Lethal Weapon series, Gibson was beloved by movie-goers everywhere. So to celebrate the man that (once) brought us so much joy, I'm going to take a look at the film that single-handedly propelled him to super-stardom, the Australian thriller Mad Max.

Directed by George Miller, previously a doctor from Victoria, Mad Max was released in 1979 and stars Mel Gibson, Joanne Samuel, Steve Bisley, Hugh Keays-Byrne, Tim Burns and Roger Ward. Initially receiving very divided reactions from critics, it was a huge financial success, and is still considered by many to be one of the greatest and most influential movies in history. So let's see what this masterpiece of cinema is all about.

The film is set in a dystopian, quasi-post-apocalyptic Australia, where the Earth's oil supplies have nearly been exhausted, and law and order has broken down, and the streets are ruled by violent and sadistic motorcycle gangs. A member of one of these gangs, The Nightrider, is attempting to evade the police in a stolen Pursuit Special. The officers have no luck in apprehending him, so they call in their top pursuer, Max Rockatansky (Gibson), who out-drives The Nightrider, resulting in his crashing and burning to death in the car.

Max and his close friend and fellow officer Goose (Steve Bisley) are after the gang, and manage to arrest one of it's members, Johnny Boy (Tim Burns), a new member, who was found at the scene of a rape from which the gang had just fled from, but Johnny was too stoned to ride. Unfortunately, with no witnesses turning up at his trial, the courts are forced to dismiss the case. An enraged Goose attacks Johnny, and this leads the gang's leader, The Toecutter (Keay-Byrne), to convince Johnny to partake in a plot to kill the Goose, who dies in a similar manner to The Nightrider.

Mortified by the death of his friend, and disillusioned with the Police Force, Max announces to his boss Fifi (Ward) that he wants to leave the force. He takes his wife Jessie (Samuel) and their son away on a vacation and tries to forget about the biker gang. But this doesn't work out quite how Max had planned, as the gang attack both Jessie and the baby, forcing Max back into action, this time with a very personal vendetta.

                                      A replica of Max's Pursuit Special, a Ford XB Falcon 

Upon it's release over 30 years ago, the film was called 'ugly and incoherant', 'depressing' and 'a film for sadists'. But since then it has become known as a landmark for modern cinema. A movie that reinvented the revenge flick and subsequently epitomised it. Max's retribution is biblical. The build up is griping, the action intense and the pay off leaves you to draw your own conclusions about what could possibly follows such a brutal and unforgiving affair.

This movie has so much going for it, it's not hard to see why it is so beloved. Slick direction, dark and gritty themes, great action, authentic atmosphere, a terrific turn by Gibson and very realistic antagonists. All in all, it's a perfect story taking place in a perfect setting; truly one of Hollywood's finest achievements. And as an added bonus, next week, I'm going to be reviewing the sequel, The Road Warrior, so stayed tuned.