Mad Max Retrospective Part 1 (Mad Max 1979) *spoilers*

With the release of Mad Max: Fury Road, many fans are excited to see an old friend return to the screen. I grew up watching Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome not having any idea what it was about. I was young and I idolized Mel Gibson (before he went crazy). When I got older I got a chance to watch Mad Max and The Road Warrior, and I fell in love with the mythos and character. Max was "the man with no name" of a post apocalyptic world.  My girlfriend had never heard of Mad Max and seeing the trailer left her with questions like "What is that movie about?", "Who is Mad Max?", "Why are you drooling?". So for my girlfriend's benefit (and mine) we have decided to watch the Mad Max trilogy in anticipation for the upcoming reboot. Obviously we started with George Miller's breakout hit; Mad Max.

You ain't cool unless you wear leather

Mad Max takes place in a future where civilization still exsists but many small towns between larger cities are being terrorized by nomadic biker gangs. Max is part of the MFP (Main Force Patrol) who are charged with keeping order between these desolate hamlets. Max is the best on the force making him a hero in a time where there is no such things. The movie  begins with Max chasing down a hooligan by the name of "The Night Rider" who had just killed an MFP officer. During the pursuit, Night Rider is killed by accident with Max to blame. He will be avenged by his friend "The Toecutter" and his bad of miscreants. On a rampage mourning their lost comrade, one of Toecutter's men, Johnny the Boy, is left behind and captured by Max and his partner Jim Goose. Later, Jim becomes enraged when the MFP have to let Johnny go because no one would show up to testify. Jim, beats on Johnny and makes himself an enemy of the Toecutter's gang. Goose will later be burned alive by the gang and Max loses his will to stay on the force. Max wants to live his life with his wife and child and not be the hero people see him as. Leaving the force, Max and his family run into the Toecutter and his gang. They are terrorized and eventually Max's wife and child are killed. Max, having lost everything he held dear, goes on a one man mission of revenge. Max kills all the members of the gang with little remorse in his supercharged V8. The movie ends with him driving away after he left Johnny the Boy handcuffed to a wrecked car that was rigged to explode. He gave Johnny a hacksaw saying it would take him ten minutes to cut through the cuffs but only five to cut through his leg. Max wanted a normal life, but instead he became a reluctant hero in a world that sorely needed one.

he's the hero we need but don't deserve

Mad Max at the time was a highly profitable movie opening a new genre, a new film market, and Mel Gibson's career. Having seen The Road Warrior and Thunderdome before with movie I was a little dissappinted at the content. Seeing it now, it is a movie based on showcasing it's main character and his story before he became the lone wolf hero of the future. For the first movie in a highly profitable series, it's great but feels out of place. This movie does something that the sequels do not, which is tell the story in the here and now. Later movies, will have someone at the beginning and end talking about how they met Max, how he saved them, and how he was never seen again. This is the Evil Dead of the series; the sequel explains just as much as the first and true fans only go back to watch it. The movie is excellent but I could see where people would find the sequels superior. I happen to really enjoy the movie, even if I think The Road Warrior is the most superior movie of the trilogy.

We're way to sassy for this

This movie it isn't overly violent, it has a refined story, and itallows an opening for later movies. From my girlfriend's stand point this was a nice way for her to wade into the pool, until she watches Roadwarrior and gets dunked head first into something Fury Road will be more like. Mad Max gets seven nomadic bikers out of ten. A must see for anyone trying to get into Mad Max mythos. Check back next time to see part two of the Mad Max retrospective, The Road Warrior.

One down, two to go