| Apparently the popular version of Mad Max is edited because the producers didn't think americans would be able to understand or fully appreciate the aussie version of english. Which, in '79, made a little sense I guess. Nowadays though I'm sure most people would have no problem appreciating the film. The movie is almost sci-fi, but really is more in the horror genre. Max is a policeman in the Main Force Patrol, a group of cops with souped up mustangs for cars. After a bad guy called "The Night Driver" gets killed in a high-speed pursuit, his buddies (a motorcycle gang) decide to take revenge. Max and his family try to evade them but it just makes them more mad, and this leads to many violent scenes and car chases. Max slowly evolves from a high-performance pretty boy good cop, to a crazed madman (which sets up the highly superior sequel well). The movie takes place in the "near future", relative to the 70's, so there isn't any real high tech or sci-fi beyond a souped up car. This is one of Mel Gibson's earliest performances, and he wasn't that good in it. Strangely though he learned quickly, as Mad Max 2 (1981) is a hundred times better. |