Crazy gonzo revenge exploitation movie MAD MAX was Director George Miller's 1979 debut that spawned a multi-film franchise and propelled Mel Gibson to Hollywood stardom. Inspired by real-life fuel pump shortages and outbreaks of civil disobedience during the global oil crisis in the 70's, Miller conjured up a grim vision of civilisation on the edge of apocalypse, with the fabric of society collapsing and morality correspondingly decaying. A world where murderous gangs of highway roaming bikers led by villains named Toecutter terrorize rural communities, with only the under-funded Main Force Patrol around to uphold the law, and a place where hotshot cop Max Rockatansky (Gibson) will eventually set out to exact a very personal revenge.
It doesn't take a lot of imagination to think of Australia as a barren, irradiated wasteland but that's not where Miller's genius and ingenuity ends as he conjures up an inventive world - ripe for expansion as further instalments of the franchise will prove - and spectacular stunts which imbue the film with a constant sense of motion and pushed the envelope of guerrilla action film-making. Though time leaves the original MAD MAX feeling a little crude and raw in comparison to its bigger budget sequels, this is still an exciting and often intense slice of genre film making which makes for continuing compelling viewing.
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