Mad Max

Pros: Gibson
Cons: none

The Oracle says: Mel Gibson has a Bacon number of 2.

Mel Gibson was in Hamlet (1990) with Helena Bonham Carter
Helena Bonham Carter was in Novocaine (2001) with Kevin Bacon ***


This could have easily been my first...

Pros: action-packed without being gratuitous, some good characterizations.
Cons: Simple, somewhat underdeveloped plotline

I’m not exactly a big fan of really violent movies. Could this be why that copy of the Mad Max DVD had been lying around inside the apartment for the past year? Occasionally, I’ll suffer a slight bout of shopping fever and may purchase a...

Pros: Great opening chase, some powerful moments, good concepts.
Cons: Undeveloped plot points, mixed execution, soundtrack and audio track.

The action film is oftentimes one of the most predictable genres that cinema has to offer us. Even though the basic ingredient (the action) is usually successful in entertaining the audience, there is a loss of originality and empathy. So many of these ...

Pros: Stunts.
Cons: No plot until the last 20 minutes---and the film becomes redundant long before that.

If you want to see Mel Gibson in a time where he wasn't the man without a face (or a known anti-Semite), pop in Mad Max. He looks so virile and unpocked that you'll probably turn to an older person in the room and say, "Dude, is that Mel Gibson?" ...

Pros: Innovative, exciting, and different; Well-acted
Cons: Dubbed voices; Occasionally Campy

After Star Wars blew audiences away in 1977, everyone was lining up to try and make something dramatically different in hopes that it might catch on as well. This occurred to such a degree that an individual had to look hard for a movie that was...

Pros: Pure old school stunts, original premise
Cons: Ending is a bit unsatisfying (maybe it's just me)

Early on in "Mad Max" is a recipe that's a breeding ground for disaster. A police pursuit more reckless here than "Worlds Wildest Police Chases" is in progress while all the elements are conveniently in place to become a stuntman's dream situation. A...

Pros: direction, stunts, chase scenes, characters
Cons: dubbed, script is average, story is not original

I once went to an Australian restaurant, where the waiter greeted me by saying "Raowwwugh Arrghurrrah Gurrarraugh!" Thereafter, I communicated with him by pointing at menu items and my water glass.

Probably, not all Australians sound like a...

Pros: They had a really cool car at the end for Max.
Cons: Poor character development, bad climax. Are they serious?

Mad Max was Mel Gibson's big break. Filmed down under in Australia way back before he became the object of lustful desire of so many women world over. And of course the envy of us who don't have those blue eyes which we guys have to hear about. Note to...

Pros: Mel Gibson's performance, action scenes, originality
Cons: breaks between reels, dragged in spots, dubbing

The ravages of nuclear war did not spare Australia. It was a few years later and the social breakdown was beginning to reach its adolescence. Darwinistic principles of survival of the fittest extended to society as packs of criminals preyed freely on...

Pros: Great first of its kind movie
Cons: Strong violent content

It's a "few years from now" in Australia and the last vestiges of law and order fight against the ever growing outlaw gangs who prey on the motorists and small towns of the population. One of these fast driving, cold hearted cops is a man named...

Pros: Good action movie, good characterization, early performance by Mel Gibson.
Cons: Peculiar dubbing of American over Australian English; humor can be offensive.

"Mad Max" burst onto the American movie scene in 1980, and featured the then unknown Mel Gibson in a dark and depressing version of the near future. Besides being an excellent action movie, "Mad Max" is a good reminder...

Pros: I laughed my head off and generally had a good time.
Cons: Everything's so clumsy you can't take it seriously.

This movie is a good part of the reason that science fiction isn't respected widely in film. This cheap-looking campy romp through Australia plays at psychological depth the way a poodle plays at being a Doberman. The plot is mediocre, but what awards...

Pros: Young Mel, a few decent car chases
Cons: Terrible plot, anticlimactic

Earlier this summer, a new, unedited version of Mad Max was released in small circulation. The reviews all stipulated as to how Mad Max was such a ground breaking film that set an as-yet unmatched standard for post-apocalyptic flicks. With all this...

Pros: Good action movie
Cons: Not enough plot - buy the later movies.

Imagine a post-nuclear future where fast-driving criminals rule the road, causing death and mayhem, as they hijack the highways. The police are overpowered and almost ineffective. Enter our hero, Max, on a vacation with his wife and baby. They are...

Pros: Oh my - finally the Australian English!
Cons: Many folks think it's still too depressing.

Videophiles from waay back have been looking, waiting and pleading for Mad Max to be released in the US with the non-dubbed English dialogue.

Dubbed, you say? Don't they speak English in Australia? Yes, they do, but someone decided that the...