Mad Max (1979), directed by George Miller

The Trailer
and
The Appropriate Tune: "Hot Rod Lincoln", by Commando Cody and His Lost Planet Airmen

     Poor Mel Gibson, things just haven’t been going his way for the last couple of years. After a couple of social faux-pas, including sexually harassing a female police officer after being pulled over for a DUI, claiming that Jews are responsible for all the wars in the world and telling his wife that she should be gangraped by a pack of racial epithets, his star in the Hollywood sky has dimmed considerably. I mean, when your most notable movie film role in recent memory is from Expendendables 3, which is itself notable for being three times shittier than the original, you know shit has turned south for all intents and purposes. You’d think that if you’re the kind of person who thinks a secret cabal of Jewish folk control Hollywood, you probably don’t want to accuse their people of being the basis for world conflict if you’re interested in job security. By the way, if any secret Jewish leader in the film industry is reading this, I totally have no problem with you guys running Hollywood. So if you just happened to have a movie deal or a full scholarship to film school or something just lying around, I’d be more than willing to take it off your hands for you. I also accept cash and money orders.

     Much like his buddy Robert Downey Jr., ol’ Mel is a fine actor whose career as of late has marked by his excessive lifestyle (plus that whole ultraconservative antisemite thing). Unlike RDJ with Iron Man however, Gibson never got that dramatic redemption story that completely redeemed him in the eyes of the public. Not everyone gets one of course, and not everyone deserves one either, but I’ve decided to cut that Australian dick a break and grant him the honor of writing about a movie he was in for the internet. As of this writing the only film of his that I had seen previous to this was Lethal Weapon (which is damn good buddy cop movie), so I decided to go with the franchise that put Mel Gibson on the action hero map. Before we went Beyond Thunderdome, and before he was Mad Max 2: The Road Warrior, Mel Gibson was... Mad Max.

     A few years from now’, in a postapocalyptic world (that somehow manages to have electricity, running water, nightclubs, television stations, broadcasting equipment, a functioning bureaucratic legal system and enough gasoline to power dozens of automobiles), small towns in what is presumably Australia are terrorized by gas-stealing motorcycle gangs, as is their wont. The peace-loving citizens’ only defense in these trying times are the police, who wear leather jackets and drive sports cars for some reason, but the conflict seems to be at a standstill. The greatest officer of them all is Max Rockatansky (seriously), who always works alone and manages not to crash his car at every available opportunity. When he’s not in the leather though, Max is a sensitive and caring family man with his wife Jessica and infant son Sprog (with a name like that, he’s sure to be a winner). It’s as close to idyllic as life can be, in a world where everyone dresses like the cast of Easy Rider wandered into a Doctor Who convention.

     As is the case with all media however, happiness is only a construct to be destroyed to provide dramatic tension, and so it is with Mad Max. In this case, the inevitable conflict begins when Max causes the death of the Night Rider, a psychopathic criminal and member of a particularly rapey and cultish motorcycle gang. This sets off a series of events that see great tragedy come to Max, friends get fucked up etc., which eventually spur him to violent and bloody revenge on those who did him wrong. It’s a pretty simple plot, one that’s been replicated in hundreds of other films over the years, so don’t expect any masterful twists or anything like that. Not to say simplicity is bad, depending on how it’s utilized it can even be preferable but it’s pretty easy to see where you’re heading when your path is a straight line.

     Which bring me to my ultimate impression of Mad Max: it’s bad. Not Manos, the Hands of Fate shithouse horrible, just kind of stupid and ultimately disappointing, like Saturday Night Live after the 90s. All the villains feel like they studied at the feet of Cesar Romero’s Joker, and the ‘good; characters are far more vehicles for situations rather living breathing humans we are supposed to identify with. It seems like George Miller was attempting to craft a campy action flick in the vein of Death Race 2000, maybe even one with a poignant social message in the wake of the petroleum crisis in the 1970s, but it just doesn’t work. It’s too campy to take seriously when the actual drama is attempted, and it’s too sluggish to be all that engaging. For a movie that implies it’s about fast cars and high-octane action in a post apocalyptic setting, it doesn’t really get to those implications at any point in the movie. Sure, there are some car crashes and such sprinkled throughout, to remind you that this movie is supposed to be exciting I guess, but anything resembling real action doesn’t take place until around the last 18 minutes of the film, which isn’t all that satisfying even when it does happen. The rest of the movie Max doesn’t really do much of anything to distinguish himself as a protagonist or make him worthwhile to the audience. In fact he does so little throughout the movie that you have to look at the title of the damn movie to remember he’s the main character of the movie. Yes, you want to save the biggest action for the climax of the film, but if the only slightly interesting part of your 90 minute movie is the last 15, maybe even 10, then why even bother trying it? Watching Mad Max was such a slow trudge of an experience that I actually started opening other tabs to find something more entertaining. Hell, the thought of writing this article left me with such a sour taste in my mouth that I had to take a walk after starting it up. I bought some nonpareils at the local store, tried to forget my troubles.

     None of my problems with Mad Max have anything to do with Mel Gibson per se. Whenever he gets the chance to actually act, you can see that the man has the chops to be a leading man, but everything around him is pretty much just garbage. Perhaps the later films are better, but in my opinion this is not the film to start with if you’re looking to explore the work of the man. I’d say go with Lethal Weapon or Braveheart, or maybe even go for his directorial work, as I’ve heard some say that he’s a better director than an actor. We better hope so, if that ‘RDJ wants Mel to direct Iron Man 4’ thing ever comes to light. Who better to direct a film about a rich alcoholic who alienates his friends and family than Mel Gibson?

     #ohsnap #dropthemic

RESULT: NOT RECOMMENDED