OK so today is actually my birthday (41 years young as they say!) but I thought I would do a review anyway and this post will be on the first Mad Max film, strangely enough called Mad Max, which sparked off a successful franchise. But is the original any cop??? Well let's gear up, get in the car and take a look....
And oh and the usual warning applies as it does for most posts on this blog:
SPOILERS ARE AHEAD!!!
STORY
So the film is set in Australia and it starts with a crazed motorbike gang member named "The Nightrider" (Vincent Gil) who has killed a rookie officer in the Australian highway patrol, MFP (Main Force Patrol). The Nightrider is persued by other patrol officers and he tries to evade them in a stolen Pursuit Special car (a.k.a V8 Interceptor). The Nightrider does manage to evade the first wave of persuers however he is soon chased by the MFP's top pursuit man, Max Rockatansky (Mel Gibson). The Nightrider is then drawn into a game of chicken against Max but the crazed rider loses his nerve and is unable to regain his composure as he soon crashes into a highway wreck and is blown up.
The following day, Max is called in by his fellow officer and good friend, Jim "Goose" Rains (Steve Bisley) as he takes to a police garage where a mechanic is working on a Police Special car, which a V8 engine with a supercharger that would make it the faster car on the road. Max is taken in by the car and agrees to drive it once the work on it has been completed but it is soon revealed that a hidden wiretap has been placed on the car by the force's captain, Fred "Fifi" Macaffee (Roger Ward) who has had the car built as an incentive to keep Max on the force.
Meanwhile the gang that the Nightrider belonged to, lead by the Toecutter (Hugh Keays-Byrne) and his second in command, Bubba Zanetti (Geoff Parry) run roughshod over a town where they steal fuel, vandalise property and terrorise the town's people. Max and Goose arrive at the scene of where an assault by the gang took place and they find and arrest one of the gang, Johnny "the boy" Boyle (Tim Burns) who was too high to have left the scene where the rape of a young couple took place. However when none of the townspeople, or the gang show for Johnny's trial, the federal courts throw out the case much to the chagrin of Goose who violently threatens Johnny at the city police station.
Later on, Johnny sabotages Goose's motorcycle while he is at a nightclub in the city and the next day, Goose, while on patrol, is flung into a field from his bike when it locks up on him. Goose, who is not injured, calls a towing service and hires out a vehicle to tow his motocycle back to the station. However Goose is soon ambushed by the Toecutter and Johnny, who throws a break-drum at his windshield, which causes his vehicle to crash into a field. And with Goose now trapped in the car, upside down, the Toecutter pressures Johnny to light a match and set the vehicle alight, which Johnny reluctantly does and as a result leaves Johnny severely burned.
Max then goes to see Goose in the hospital and is horrified by what he sees and this lead him into making the decision to quit the MFP. Max then goes to see Fifi to tell him the news but Fifi asks that Max think it over and let's him take a holiday to get away for a while. Max while on holiday with his wife, Jessie (Joanne Samuel) and his young baby son, Sprog (Brendan Heath) stop off at a garage to get a tyre changed on their car and Jessie leaves with Sprog to go and get an ice cream for themselves and Max. Jessie however encounters Toecutter and his gang after she stops off at a shop to get ice cream, Toecutter tries to molest Jessie, who knees him in the balls and flees with her son and she picks up Max and they to retreat to an old farm owned by an elderly friend, May (Sheila Florence). However the gang soon learn of their whereabouts from the garage mechanic (Nico Lathouris) and they follow them.
And its from here the fate of Max and his family at the hands of the Toecutter and his gang are decided......
THOUGHTS
Mad Max was in itself something of a landmark film in that established the career of its director, George Miller and also the career of its star, Mel Gibson and to this day it remains a gripping one. Even though this film isn't quite as good as its sequel, Mad Max still offers plenty of great moments, tense action scenes aswell as the general suspense that is built up in the film's latter stages when Max and his family are forced to flee from the gang.
The gang's main members are also fairly well drawn out and the Toecutter makes for a memorable and somewhat chilling villain whereas Max in contrast makes for a somewhat offbeat hero (or antihero even) with his quiet manner and despite his skills as a pursuit driver, it remains a game he wants to get out of but ultimately its one that Max pays a hefty price for.
PERFORMANCES AND NOTABLE SCENES (Warning: this section contains spoilers!)
As for the performances, things are pretty good here and it features a largely unknown cast (for its time) who all do a fine job.
And to start off there is of course the film's main star, Mel Gibson, who is excellent as Max, who starts off as a quiet, highly skilled pursuit driver but later becomes a bitter and burnt out man who is desparate for revenge.
Gibson has quite a few good scenes in the film that include the one where Max goes to see Goose in the hospital are he has been burned by Johnny in the car wreck. And in the scene Max goes into Goose's room and he sees his friend's body has been covered over and he pulls back the cover and looks on in horror at what he sees. And after Max comes out the room and says to his fellow officers "That THING in there....that's not the Goose! No way!" and he walks out angrily.
Then there is the scene where (SPOILER!) after Max's wife and son have been killed, he sets about to get his revenge on the gang members that did it and to start off he goes back to the garage mechanic and interrogates him for information. And in the scene Max stands over the mechanic who is working underneath the car, who delivers one of the film's best lines "You arshole! What the Molly fuck do you think you're DOING??!!". And Max coldly says "You and me are gonna to talk about the Toecutter" and as the mechanic says "Never heard of him" Max kicks the mechanic's work trolley under the car again, causing the mechanic to hit his head on the underside of the car and Max says "I want to know about the tattoo!" (referring to the gang member's small tattoo they all have on their faces). And as the mechanic pleads with Max, Max then uses the car lift device to press it down on the mechanic, hurting his chest and he lifts it up again and pulls the mechanic out and grabs him and says "I'll say the names and you say yes or no...." and he says the gang members names one by one as the mechanic spills the beans.
And lastly (ANOTHER SPOILER!) there is the scene where Max after having wiped out most of the gang members, finds Johnny at the scene of a car accident, looting the car, Max stands over Johnny with a sawn-off shotgun pointed behind him and he tells Johnny to handcuff his ankle. Max then drags Johnny over to the side of the car, chains the other cuff to the side of the wreck noticing the petrol pouring out of the car, uses a lighter to create a makeshift timebomb and Max then walks over to Johnny with a hacksaw. And Max says to Johnny "The chain in those handcuffs is high-tensile steel. It'd take you ten minutes to hack through it with this. Now, if you're lucky, you could hack through your ankle in five minutes. Go!". And Max limps off (having been shot in the leg earlier) back to his car leaving a terrified Johnny to his fate as Max drives off we see an explosion in the distance.
Hugh Keays-Byrne next is very good as the main villain, the unhinged and sadistic Toecutter and he plays the part in a very creepy and intense manner and the Toecutter remains as one of the most memorable villains of the genre.
Hugh also has some good scenes that include the one where the Toecutter and his gang arrive at a train station to pick up the coffin containing the late Night Rider. And the Station Master calls the deceased Night Rider a "Poor bastard" which prompts the Toecutter to sharply say "The Nightrider. That is his name... the Nightrider! Remember him when you look at the night sky!". The Toecutter then says to the Station Master to take his hat off who says "Anything you say" and the Toecutter sarcastically replies " Anything I say. What a wonderful philosophy you have. Take him away!".
Another good scene is when the Toecutter and Johnny stand near the Goose's wrecked Ute vehicle, which is upside down and Toecutter insists that Johnny set the vehicle on fire. And the Toecutter says to Johnny "This is a threshold moment, Johnny. Do it for freedom and the Night Rider!" but as Johnny is reluctant to, the Toecutter grabs Johnny roughly and says to him "You scum sucking trash!! Throw it!! THROW IT!!" and Johnny reluctantly does, which sets the car afire.
And lastly there is the moment where the Toecutter and his gang, having followed Max, Jessie and Sprog to the remote farm, have taken Jessie's baby son, Sprog and they wait for her outside the farm. And in the scene Toecutter taunts Jessie, who pleads for him to give her son back and he says "Jessie, Jessie, Jessie. You've not got a sense of humor! You've got a pretty face, though. Awful pretty. Awful pretty. I suppose you don't need a sense of humor with a pretty face. The only trouble is though, Missy, if you should...lose the face!".
Steve Bisley is also pretty good as Goose, Max's friend and fellow MFP officer who becomes a victim of the Toecutter's gang.
Bisley too has some good scenes but I will only mention a couple and the first one being the scene where Goose sits in a diner, eating his food and he tells a customer a graphic story about an accident he witnessed. And Goose says to the customer "It was like slow motion. He leaves his seat and goes through the windshield, headfirst straight into the tree, right? And then bounces back through the windshield. And by the time we got to him, he was just sitting there, trying to scream with his face ripped off!". And the customer puts his own food to the side and Goose asks him "What's the matter?" and the customer says "Not hungry anymore".
And lastly there is the scene where the Goose entices Max into the police garage by showing him the suped up pursuit vehicle which is intended for Max. And Goose says to Max in the scene regarding the car's supercharger "You can shut the gate on this one, Maxie... it's the duck's guts!" and as Max stares transfixed at the car, Goose waves his hand infront of the oblivious Max and says "He's in a coma!". And as Max asks about the car, Goose laughs and says "You've seen it!... You've heard it!... and you're still asking questions??!".
Joanne Samuel also is good in her role as Max's wife, who is clearly not happy about him being part of the MFP (and possibly also plays a part in his wanting to resign from the force itself).
And Joanne has some good moments too but I will only mention the scene where Jessie and her son, Sprog go for an ice cream but Jessie is accosted by the Toecutter and his gang. And in the scene, Jessie let's Toecutter lick her ice cream lightly before she knees him in the balls and she shoves the ice cream into his face before fleeing in the car with her son.
Geoff Parry who has a fairly brief role in the film also is quite good as the creepy second in command next to the Toecutter, Bubba Zanetti (who is complete with a bleach blonde hairdo!).
And Parry's most notable scene comes when Zanetti spies from behind a wired fence a car that his gang had wrecked earlier on that is being towed to the Halls of Justice. And a young teenager asks Zanetti "Hey Mister! What happened to the car?" and Zanetti says almost sarcastically "What do you think happened?" and the teenager says "It looks like its being chewed up and spat out!" and Zanetti says "Perhaps it was the result of anxiety!".
Tim Burns is also very good as the unstable Johnny, who is part of Toecutter's gang and is his protege, however his reckless beahviour get's him in hot water.
Burns has some good scenes that include the one where Johnny is released by the MFP when no one showed for his trial and in the scene Johnny taunts Goose. And in the scene Johnny says to Goose as he leaves the station "See ya later, Goose...." and he taps the back of his head and says "....its been a pleasure!" which prompts Goose to go apeshit and try and beat Johnny only to be held back by Fifi and Max.
And lastly there is the scene at the end where Johnny is handcuffed by Max to a car wreck, which is spilling petrol and Max takes Johnny's lighter and uses it as a make shift timed bob. And in the scene Johnny, scared asks "What are you doing?? I want to know what you are doing??!" and as Max doesn't answer him, Johnny panics and shouts "Jesus! You can't kill me!!".
And lastly Roger Ward is very good as the MFP Captain, Fifi, who is keen to keep Max on the force as Max is their best patrol driver.
And Ward has some good moments also that include the one where Johnny is taken to court but is let go because no one showed up for his trial (connecting to the rape of the girl). And in the scene Fifi angrily tells Goose how no one showed up and says "They didn't show! The punks didn't show, the girl didn't show, the townspeople didn't show! NOBODY SHOWED!!".
Then there is the scene where Max turns up at Fifi's apartment to tell him he is quitting the MFP but Fifi advises Max to take a holiday and think it over. And in the scene Fifi tries to encourage Max by saying "They say people don't believe in heroes anymore. Well damn them! You and me, Max, we're gonna give them back their heroes!". And Max laughs and says "Ah, Fif. Do you really expect me to go for that crap?!" and Fifi says "You gotta admit I sounded good there for a minute, huh?!".
DIRECTOR
As for the film's director, George Miller on his debut film here does a great job and he keep the action and pacing close and taut so the film rarely ever lags at just 94 minutes long. Miller manages to bring up the suspense very well as the film progresses until the film reaches its vengeful climax. Miller himself was formerly a medical doctor in Sydney and he saw many victims of car accidents and he himself had even lost friends in car crashes when he was a teenager so the film was certainly based on real life experiences.
And even though the film was made on a modest budget of 400,000 Australian dollars it actually looks great for its time and it was also one of the first Australian films to be shot using widescreen anamorphic lenses. And the film is actually worth getting on Blu-ray (or to download in HD from an online service like I did from the Playstation store) as it shows off the impressive visuals of the Australian outback very well.
MUSIC
Getting on the film's music score which was by the Australian composer, Brian May (not to be confused with Brian May of Queen!) which overall is very good. The film's score has an almost medieval feel to it and it is suitably melodramatic but it also features some romantice overtones to it that relate to the scenes between Max and his wife, Jessie. May would go on to compose the sequel, Road Warrior, which is also a fine score in its own right so they are both worth checking out in fact.
FLAWS
As for Mad Max's flaws....yeah OK there are one or two here and there.
And start off I think even though it looks fairly impressive for its time it has to be said that it also looks rather dated aswell as you can clearly see the 1970's hairdos on display here, it dates the film to that period. Not to mention there is the scene in the nightclub with the female singer, which emphasises that this film, even though it is supposed to be set in the near future does very much have a 70's feel to it given the choice of music in that scene! And it also emphasises just how Mad Max 2: The Road Warrior did much better in this respect as that film has a more timeless feel to it.
Then plot wise one issue I had was to do with Jessie's choice to even go for an ice cream with Sprog without Max, which given that there is a chance that she might bump into a gang of nomad bikers, its a thought that never crossed her mind, especially as Max is a marked man by the bikers (as Fifi told him earlier in the film). So this to me suggests that Jessie really should have exercised alot more caution before she decided to go off with her baby son.
Another issue I had with the film was to do with the scene when Jessie runs on the middle of the road with her son, fleeing from Toecutter's gang when surely she would have been wiser to have run OFF the road to try and evade the gang! I mean, yeah OK, they most likely would have still run her over but at least she wouldn't be a blatant sitting duck for them out in the middle of the bloody road!! And just perhaps Jessie might have been able to have evaded them just long enough for Max to catch up and take a shot at the gang with his own shotgun.
This also highlights another daft moment in this scene where the elderly woman, May, who tries to help Jessie, has a double barrelled shotgun which she aims directly at the gang and fires but ends up missing them! I mean she was almost at point blank range so I can't quite see how she could have missed from that distance! Ah well I guess it serves as a useful plot ex-machina to allow the gang to run over Jessie in the first place.
And lastly this brings me onto another issue....why do the MFP and other gangs only have access to shotguns??? Its like there are never any machine guns of any kind in the film, which would definitely be more useful than having to slowly reload shotgun shells into double barreled shotguns! Now I don't know if this is just down to the region they live in as its not like America where you can pick up an Uzi at your local supermarket but you think if they had access to more than just shotguns it might help them take down the gangs easier. But then again this would raise the issue of gun control and then the gangs will have access to too many guns too, so perhaps that's why there are hardly any.
Anyway that's it for the flaws.
SUM UP
So to sum up, Mad Max is still a gripping and effective action thriller, which kick started the careers of George Miller and Mel Gibson. It is also visually quite stylish, features some great chase scenes and good performances from its virtually unknown cast (well at that time) and it all ends on a rather downbeat but nevertheless intruiging climax, which sets up the film for a sequel. And if you haven't seen Mad Max yet then I'd recommended giving it a watch as its a film that still works well to this day.
Right, so that's it for now and I will be back on here with another post soon, untill I'll try and enjoy the rest of my birthday! :-)
So until the next un, bye for now!
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