Mad Max,
written and directed by George Miller
8.8 out of
10
Mad Max is a
legendary motion picture, included on The New York Times’ Best 1,000 Movies
Ever Made list:
now that we
have the more recent Mad Max Fury Road, it is interesting to compare, to see
how far the sequel has reached, what the differences are, if any.
Although 40
years old, the original Mad Max is still impressive in its use of stunts and
the technology of the time.
For instance,
there is an outstanding scene wherein Mad Max aka the iconic, if controversial
over the past years, due to his rants when drunk and stopped by the police, Mel
Gibson, is chasing a motorcyclist.
The latter
ends up facing a truck, which is coming from the opposite direction and the
crash is credible, making the viewers think about what they used, a plastic
body, how on earth have they managed to pull it off?
Max is a
police patrolman that has to see horrors on the road, or as a result of
confrontations that take place there, between the law and the gangs, or the
criminals and civilians, innocent people that have some gasoline, or they just
happen to attract the attention of these lunatics.
In the opening
scenes, a deranged individual, calling himself Nightrider, is on the loose on
the highway, with his woman partner, when they meet their gruesome end, in an
explosion caused by their excessive speed, mishandling of the car and the
resulting crash.
The gang
sets to welcome the body arriving in a coffin, at railway station, where horror
is combined with post-apocalyptic humor, just as the lunatics show up for the
last rites for their fellow gangster.
Jim Goose is
a colleague and friend of Mad Max, a fierce enemy of the vicious criminals,
trapped in a car wreck at one point, when the Ultimate Villain, Toecutter is disputing
with a fellow gang member, Johnny the Boy, over the murder of the immobilized policeman.
Johnny the Boy
does not want to set fire to the gasoline which is spilling from the overturned
car and thus murder the man who is shouting in pain and asking them not to
start the fire.
However, the
monstrous, disgusting beast starts the fire and the victim is tortured nearly
to death.
He is taken
to the hospital, where is kept under a protection when Mad Max – who is perhaps
Max, but not yet Mad at this stage, when he comes close to losing his patience
and mind – comes to see him.
He is devastated
and protests on the corridor, once he comes out of the room of the patient:
This is not
Goose…it is terrible it cannot be him…or words to that effect
Mad Max
might eventually have a chance to take revenge, but for spoiler alerts reasons,
let us just consider the possibility.
Alas, his
wife and child come under attack, for this band of murderers know no limit and
enjoy tormenting and causing pain.
In one
instance, as the hero is fixing his car in a garage, the wife takes the son to
get some ice cream and meets the gang.
She is followed,
harassed by Toecutter, but in the first instance, she manages to kick him in
the groin, get to the car and drive away, just as the crazies throw chains and
try to grab and mount the car.
Soon after,
she is out at the beach with their dog, but on the way back she is followed by
the deranged tormentors through the woods, barely making it back home, where an
old woman has to use her shotgun.
Again, let
us stop here in this scene and not continue to see what happens to her, the old
woman or the baby.
Let me end
with a moment of joy – well, a guilty pleasure, showing the dark, disgusting
side of humans – when one of the villains is trapped, near a burning car, which
would soon explode – this is after all a road movie, just like the last sequel
Fury road – and Mad Max comes to him, making him tie himself with handcuffs to
the car and then offering a saw, with the words:
You can saw
it off – no question about it, he refers to the man’s limb – in about five
minutes…
Think 127
hours, where trapped Aron Ralston aka James Franco had the choice of keeping
his hand and die, or severe it.
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