Mad Max (1979)

IMDb plot summary: In a self-destructing world, a vengeful Australian policeman sets out to stop a violent motorcycle gang.
Directed by George Miller. Starring Mel Gibson, Joanne Samuel, Hugh Keays-Byrne, and Steve Bisley.

One of the things I found so fascinating about Fury Road when I saw it this summer was how little it explained about the world we were in. No quick recap of what the situation was like, no expository dialogue on who most of these characters were and how they got to be there. You were left just kind of watching and taking everything as it came.

That is even truer of Mad Max. All we know about it is that it is set a few years in the future, but there's really hardly any hint of post-apocalyptic future in this movie. For all I know, it could be just about 1979 Australia... except for these little hints that something's a little off. Granted, I would have liked *more* of those hints to keep it feeling more futuristic and less vigilante action flick, but I've got to give it kudos for its restrained vision of the story.

The movie is pretty slow-moving, though. The titular Max is not mad at all until the last 20 minutes or so, while the rest of it slooooowly builds up. Lots and lots of shots of people just driving across the wasteland, and that gets pretty tiring. Nevertheless, now that I've seen the first and the last, I definitely want to see the in-between ones. From what I've heard, they may be a bit more up my alley than this.

3 stars.

How it entered my Flickchart:
Mad Max > Melinda and Melinda
Mad Max < Pretty Woman
Mad Max < A Separation
Mad Max > Broken Arrow
Mad Max > Clueless
Mad Max < Wild Hearts Can't Be Broken
Mad Max < The Man Who Wasn't There
Mad Max > John Dies at the End
Mad Max < Marooned
Mad Max > Seeking a Friend for the End of the World
Final spot: #960 out of 2395.