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Mad Max
Mad Max
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Mad Max

Mad Max

1979
Sci-fi, Action
1h 28m
In a dystopic future Australia, a vicious biker gang murder a cop's family and make his fight with them personal (imdb)

Mad Max

1979
Sci-fi, Action
1h 28m
Your probable score
Avg Percentile 50.68% from 7179 total ratings

Ratings & Reviews

(7226)
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Rated 02 Apr 2018
80
77th
Peter Jackson was able to take a story about a mythical place and somehow turn it into a tourism commercial for New Zealand. Every single Australian movie I've ever seen starts out with the premise: You know what would be awful? Being in Australia.
Rated 19 Sep 2009
10
6th
The most boring car chases I've ever seen, and characters that don't really seem worth caring about. It's basically a western except they have bikes instead of horses, and instead of a simple story you've got a steaming pile of BS that meanders aimlessly for 90 minutes. A lot of the time it isn't even clear what's going on or why people are acting so weird. Not a good film.
Rated 30 Apr 2015
73
60th
The plot is primitive, the filming is B-grade, and the acting is sloppy. However, that adds to the potency of this film, which is a direct product of 1970s revenge action/horror films being mashed together. The machismo and homoeroticism in Mad Max is also rather fascinating, with its leather-bound policemen looking like borderline gay porn stars (handlebar mustache, really?) and the overall palpable sexual tension between the predominantly male cast. Also, Mel Gibson is a total babe in this...
Rated 01 Jun 2015
72
64th
Has a nice 70s exploitation feel, although some of the direction and execution give it a lift above the normal B"-movie standard . I hadn't realised that the BR I was watching also had the original Aussie dialogue; I watched the dodgy American dub by mistake. Overall, it's a bit bleak, and takes some time to get going, but is good, grimy entertainment. It also has Lizzie from Prisoner: Cell Block H in it, which pleased me no end.
Rated 24 Aug 2016
85
62nd
Obviously limited by its low budget and exploitation roots, but the promise of director Miller and star Gibson is apparent throughout. The series would obviously go on to much bigger and better things, but the raw, stripped-down ferocity of this entry shouldn't be ignored.
Rated 14 Aug 2007
71
45th
It takes a while to build up to its impressive action sequences (excepting, of course, the opening Night Rider sequence) , which would be fine except the characterization in these early scenes is not very effective or interesting. The second half is pretty thrilling, though.
Rated 20 Nov 2019
65
32nd
Very promising. Its mythos is great, but its execution is clunky and leaves a lot to be desired.
Rated 10 May 2015
70
77th
Mad Max has very little plot. It has amateur actors in many of its roles. It's rudimentary. Despite all these things, it's a lot of fun. It provides some delectable supporting characters, instantly turns Mel Gibson into an action star, provides an interesting look into the future, and it delivers some great action. Even with a limited budget, director George Miller packed the inaugural installment with a great deal of over-the-top action, showcasing creativity and insanity.
Rated 05 Sep 2014
58
26th
Extremely lopsided plotting, made worse by its short running time. We spend too much time focusing on things that don't really matter, while never building a dystopic atmosphere. The revenge - the actual plot - is left to a few montages near the end. Odd editing choices and a jumbled sound mix also don't help.
Rated 03 Feb 2011
52
47th
It has quite a few great scenes (including the first and last), but there are some realism issues at different points and some other scenes that I found lacking. Overall, a pretty good blending of different genre cliches.
Rated 16 Nov 2021
74
48th
A lukewarm first installment, Miller hadn't yet fully explored the world he was making in the series and it comes off like a schizophrenic interpretation of the real world. It's still a fun watch and it holds up a heck of a lot better than most of it's peers in ozploitation, or even 70's exploitation in general.
Rated 01 Mar 2021
97
89th
Goddamn! Mad Max is the greatest action franchise ever. The chase scenes, the stunt work, the storytelling through images, the world building, a small feminist presence even this early on, the open acknowledgment of homoerotic male bonding. Incredible.
Rated 01 Aug 2020
40
23rd
The last 30 minutes were enjoyable, but the rest of it just dragged on. There was a scene where I had no idea why Goose was riding down the highway at full speed with suspenseful music playing and then he just crashes into a ditch... Was that supposed to be suspenseful? Also, the plot description on here and on Netflix is a huge spoiler.
Rated 24 Mar 2020
72
51st
Mad Max has a tone more inline with Last House on the Left than it does with The Road Warrior that would come two years later. The film's bizarre structure starts with its biggest stunts and sets up a mythical hero in a pretty great way. It then follows this with 60 minutes of an aimless plot steeped in suspense. The guts this movie has and how good it looks for its minuscule budget still makes the film quite enjoyable, even if it might be my third favorite in the series.
Rated 14 Aug 2019
25
3rd
Amateurish and all around bad. Choppy, paceless, and ugly, without a thing to recommend it.
Rated 24 Dec 2018
80
78th
Top badass moment? To earn money to buy films, I often drive food delivery vans around that're speed limited to 56mph. I once collected a Tesco one... and discovered its limiter wasn’t working! At that moment I WAS Max in the last of the V8 Interceptors, roaming the M3 looking for Ocado vans (speed limited to 60mph) to run off the road, to avenge all the times I’ve been humiliated by one (slowly) overtaking me. Now that really is real-world badass. No cats, chainsaws or decapitations.
Rated 01 Feb 2018
88
66th
Starring: The road, the horizon, blue eyes, fire.
Rated 16 Jun 2015
7
58th
The film that launched a series of some really cool apocalyptic films. Despite its shoestring budget, Mad Max is pretty badass and oozes with an admirable old school charm. Also, all bad guys need to be hilariously awful from now on.
Rated 28 May 2015
30
21st
Characters in Mad Max are deep. Like the Night Rider. He screams "I'm the Night Rider" and laughs maniacally. And Toecutter. He says you should respect the Night Rider because he's the Night Rider. Oh, and there's a lot of editing. I'm still not sure what the plot is.
Rated 24 Apr 2015
75
65th
Camp, cheesy, crazy fun, unfortunately it takes about an hour before Mad Max becomes a noteworthy character.
Rated 12 Mar 2015
76
12th
After some elderly leader regaled his community with a story of how, long ago, a drifter helped their group escape a band of bandits in the post-apocalyptic world, someone asked, "who was that guy? What was he like before you met him? What's his backstory?". So right then and there, the leader made something up that wasn't quite as impressive or made much sense, but his people listened. And when he was done, the community asked him to never tell that story again and stick to the tanker one.
Rated 13 Nov 2014
90
82nd
Strange tone poetry, surprising homoerotic undercurrent and the most white knuckle camera-on-the-pavement car chases in the world. It seems amazing that Miller remains at the top of the heap with regards to freaking car chases, a subject hardly unexplored in film.
Rated 10 Aug 2014
7
57th
Mad Max is the first installment of mastermind George Miller's post apocalyptic trilogy. It hasn't aged particularly well but considering it's over 30 years old and the budget it was made on, it remains an iconic and essential action film. The action here feels experimental compared to the much superior set pieces that 'The Road Warrior' boasts. But Mad Max is a different film to it's sequels and it's primary focus is establishing Mel Gibson's character and his journey to revenge and madness.
Rated 07 Aug 2014
75
64th
A bleak and violent world that is masterfully created by Miller and given life by Gibson. With a typical story of loss and revenge, Gibson thrives and delivers a powerful role as Miller brings in iconic scenes and cinematography. The rest of the acting is alright and the story ok but this movie and its world, thrive.
Rated 03 Aug 2014
50
27th
The car crashes are cool, everything else about this film is surprisingly awful. The acting ranges from okay to very bad, the writing is lazy, the editing and direction are horrible and the scope of the "dystopic future" is not explored at all, actually ending up being mostly pointless. The handful of cool moments this movie has doesn't come very close to saving it.
Rated 22 Dec 2013
95
87th
Staging the improbable car stunts and crashes to perfection, director George Miller succeeds completely in bringing the violent, post-apocalyptic world of Mad Max to visceral life.
Rated 17 May 2011
45
21st
The universe seems a bit underdeveloped and the plot moves along way too slow. If you're gonna murder the mans family, don't wait until there's only 15 minutes left for him too hunt you down. Also I could have used some more chase scenes and more explicit violence. But points for trying.
Rated 29 Sep 2010
40
71st
An assured and energetic visual style, reliant almost to the point of over-reliance on short tracking shots and quick dissolves, makes this futuristic Born Losers worth watching. It is set not so far in the future as to pose problems of production or imagination for the filmmakers, just far enough to explain away any bit of mindless chaos and destruction as the breakdown of civilization as we know it.
Rated 25 Sep 2010
69
73rd
Amazing low budget post apocalyptic revenge flick. Dated now but still a pretty amazing accomplishment.
Rated 28 Mar 2010
7
75th
It truly is hell being Mel.
Rated 10 Mar 2010
40
26th
Typically tacky 70s/80s B-movie view of dystopia (where 'the future' is just an overly-camp pantomime version of the present) that mainly relies on the sound of gunning engines to cover a thin and often nonsensical plot. The vast majority of the acting is really amateur stuff, the score doesn't seem to fit at all, and we only see 'Mad' Max for the last 5-10 unfulfilling minutes. Has it's moments, but how it spawned two sequels is beyond me.
Rated 06 May 2009
70
40th
Mad Max seemed to me a kind of real world comic book--with the cartoonish villains and a simple good vs. evil structure, but also keeping its hero firmly rooted in reality rather than tied down by a cape. Miller's mostly spare style works well in both creating drama and adding to the ambiguity of the film's conclusion. Occasionally, Miller plays on sentiment and cheap horror movie tricks, and while that hampers the movie somewhat, it also isn't enough to doom an otherwise solid action movie.
Rated 03 Apr 2009
63
28th
I love revenge movies, but not with revenge in last 10 minutes.
Rated 21 Oct 2007
66
47th
Some good scenes thoughout but overall I'd consider it spotty. A good poriton of the time I found myself thinking "so what does this have to do with anything?" Knowing the very modest budget the film was made with this is certainly an impressive film. I just think that viewing it now doesn't do it justice as Mad Max hasn't really aged all that well. With that said it's merciless portrayl of the demise of Max's wife and child is horrifc and really shows how our "good cop" protagonist goes "bad."
Rated 14 Aug 2007
28
28th
Should have been entitled "Mad after seeing his wife get harassed by crazy bikers when she is alone, lets her go off by herself twice Max"
Rated 20 Mar 2007
65
54th
The worst part about this low budget, sort of dull, torture porn pseudo-revenge flick is that it has plenty of redemptive qualities.
Rated 28 May 2024
70
75th
Without a doubt a low-budget film - it shows in a lot of ways - but nonetheless a rich cinematic experience. It's a seriously impressive feature film debut by Miller. Yes, it's about outlaws and revenge etc., but most of all it's about the power of kinetic energy. I know the countryside around Anakie Road (although it's referred it as 'Anarchie Road' in the film) very well as I have driven from Melbourne to Warrnambool (my hometown) hundreds of times, although I've never seen an Interceptor.
Rated 15 Nov 2021
50
28th
An okay film that spawned two great sequels and one okay sequel. Lets go through the cons first: This film has a lot of worldbuilding going on that's easy to miss. The acting is okay, the plot is pretty barebones, the vacation was pace breaking, the revenge plot takes forever to get to, and the dubbing of American accents was a mistake. The pros: It has a very unique feel to it, the world it's set in is interesting, when max goes on his revenge it's highly entertaining,
Rated 02 Nov 2021
70
36th
The original Mad Max is great because it is full of badass car chases and tons of hokey blood scenes. It is amateurish is all of the best ways. The story is interesting but there isn't really enough backstory for it to make a lot of sense. A lot of the acting is really good too. Most of the cops have a ton of personality that I wished they had dwelled on some more. The biker gang has a lot of characters too. Some of their quirks may have been inspired by A Clockwork Orange. It's a fun movie.
Rated 30 Jul 2021
40
21st
Sloppy; middle of the film was a slog to get through and the ending was rushed. Still, not a terrible effort for something made on pennies and dimes.
Rated 11 Jul 2021
38
29th
A 70s film about explosions, cars, and violence.
Rated 11 Jan 2021
54
16th
Pretty rough and completely cheesy grindhouse action movie. There's a interesting framework for a world (which later movies would use well) but this movie just does nothing with its world. Its unclear how dangerous the world is or what state its even in (dystopic doesn't feel like a thing unless it suddenly means "lots of leather"). The script meanders and doesn't start its plot till the final act. The action scenes at least feel pretty cool with how low budget they are.
Rated 19 Nov 2020
60
19th
kind of a jumbled mess that doesn't get to the real meat of the story until towards the end and is a cut below other revenge thrillers in terms of investment and pay off. i enjoyed the use of the radio for worldbuilding
Rated 11 Oct 2020
80
65th
George Miller's original apocalyptic thriller with insane stunt work and a freshman acting performance by Mel Gibson. The film was really ahead of it's time, and still works for modern audiences. Max's journey from a dutiful policeman to a vengeance seeking vigilante send jolts off the screen, and by the end, no one is really sure who the good guys are. Great midnight movie.
Rated 13 Aug 2020
36
13th
The dystopian future setting is largely unexplored. Characters lack motivation, until the end. An overbearing score, a lousy excuse for an antagonistic gang, an odd, abrupt ending. This movie is subpar.
Rated 15 Jul 2020
40
15th
A postmodern Book of Job.
Rated 15 May 2020
95
80th
One of my all-time favorite action films.
Rated 20 Apr 2020
32
2nd
I'm not entirely sure why this became a hit in Australia. Were movies THAT bad there that they considered this an instant classic? It's just a cop and a biker gang with inconsistent music choices. I not only don't understand how this needed to become a trilogy, nor a reboot, nor did I feel like it was the same world. It...was just...a movie about a cop...and a biker gang. That's it. At least I know why he's mad now. Biased Score: 18% | Unbiased Score: 46% | Criticker Prediction: 76% (WHAT?!)
Rated 04 Jan 2020
60
35th
Decent for a low-budget film -- it's clear that the car chases were conceived first, and then a passable plot molded around them. There's barely any character development, although the biker villains do seem to have their own personalities.
Rated 10 Aug 2019
21
9th
Ideologically corrupt and completely idiotic. There's very little to redeem it.
Rated 22 May 2019
67
51st
Old school exploitation instead of apocalyptic wasteland was definetly not what I expected. But it works well within it's own state of mind and has some spectacular car crashes.
Rated 02 May 2019
50
11th
Max: "The chain in those handcuffs is high-tensile steel. It'd take you ten minutes to hack through it with this. Now, if you're lucky, you could hack through your ankle in five minutes."
Rated 18 Sep 2018
62
64th
Despite the budgetary issues and Miller's complete inexperience as a film maker this works surprisingly well. The villain is less mustache-twirling and more feral creature which fits the concept of the world on the edge of the apocalypse.
Rated 03 May 2018
75
35th
A visually appealing film that seems to be trying to find its footing. There is potential that will be explored in sequels. A good film about rage and revenge and how one bad day can turn someone around.
Rated 12 Apr 2018
80
57th
I have a serious case of selective amnesia concerning this particular movie, I have no idea why. I've seen it so many times, but the only thing I remember is that it was good.
Rated 03 Mar 2018
95
85th
Fucking love this one
Rated 08 Nov 2017
40
12th
leather clad cops do battle with evil camp bikers & a shit script
Rated 09 Aug 2017
80
88th
Still the best in the franchise, economically made with a pitch-perfect performance by Gibson, blending good set pieces with nice, if not ground-breaking, character drama.
Rated 16 Jul 2017
20
3rd
Figured I should watch this before getting to the acclaimed recent installment - but really shouldn't have.
Rated 17 Sep 2016
27
11th
Mad Max starts to steer toward a fairly interesting (and intelligible) direction near the end, but its opening hour or so is too much of a trainwreck for it to make much of a difference. They got a lot of out of super tight budget, to be sure, but the direction just isn't good, and character relationships (except the one between Mad Max and his wife) + anything character-related is just a complete mess, poorly explored, explained and realized. Way too much F-level stuff for it to be worthwhile.
Rated 04 Jun 2016
79
57th
It's more of a prologue for what's to come in the series, but Mad Max is visceral and technically impressive.
Rated 02 Mar 2016
4
12th
The pivotal event and its tense build up should have started the film and made the most of its resulting revenge plot; instead, we get a meandering story without a protagonist for half of it, featuring mostly bland car chases and a painfully cheesy main villain (although his gang of psychopathic motorcycle riders is admittedly terrifying). Gibson looks good but he's a little awkward too, delivering some pretty bad lines ("Peanut butter and honey"; "He always kept 'em reaaaaal shiny").
Rated 12 Feb 2016
68
41st
Nice low budget exploitation with plenty of character, energy and awesome stuntwork. Structure is weird and the story seems stretched even at 93 mins but the dystopic setting is interesting and well realised.
Rated 07 Jan 2016
60
45th
Jumbled and only momentarily engaging; but Mel Gibson is essentially exactly what Fury Road lacked. Charisma.
Rated 15 Jun 2015
79
49th
How Max got his Mad back.
Rated 29 May 2015
50
19th
My main thought is that this is too old for me to enjoy, but beyond that it's just boring - how does this little police/vengeance movie turn into awesome stuff like Master-Blaster and Thunderdome? Seriously, Fury Road is one of my favorite movies.
Rated 27 May 2015
70
48th
Why is it called Mad Max? I thought it was the biker gang that was mad. Angry Max would have been more apropos.
Rated 22 May 2015
50
19th
Its vision of a future where the bottom hasn't dropped out yet, but has definitely passed the point of no return, is well-conveyed; it's a golden age where degeneracy is possible without the requirement of hard-core survivalism, and old-school punk is the perfect style for it. But the first half in particular is an incoherent slog, memorably weird though it may be, and the rest, when the plot actually starts, is corny and formulaic.
Rated 22 May 2015
15
10th
I don't like Mad Max.
Rated 15 May 2015
42
21st
I'm writing this as the credits roll, and I genuinely can't remember anything that happened. I'm not even sure it exists.
Rated 15 May 2015
69
57th
Diesel and dust, to quote a phrase. Plot is on the thin side and the pacing seems odd today, but for an ultra-low-budget exploitation film, it packs a hell of a punc.
Rated 11 May 2015
60
35th
Like a lot of people have already noted, when this finally turns into a revenge movie, it's pretty great. But that doesn't happen for a good while. The stunts definitely still hold up, though, even if the rest of the movie's pacing really doesn't.
Rated 05 Jan 2015
70
61st
The first movie in the Mad Max series is quite different than the sequels. It's actually a pretty solid home 70's invasion-ish horror film. On a sidenote Max and his wife are probably the worst parents in the world. I was surprised that the baby didn't die during the first act.
Rated 16 Dec 2014
3
38th
A cool concept that plays out as a thinly-sketched anticlimax.
Rated 22 Mar 2014
77
66th
I could complain about a lot of things with this movie, but honestly, this script being made with such a low budget overrides a lot of it. The fact that Mad Max isn't two Hot Wheels crashing in a sandbox is a miracle.
Rated 10 Aug 2012
20
12th
Didn't like it. Watched it again as part of my pre-"Fury Road" marathon and really couldn't wait for it to end. Like "Evil Dead", this is a series that really starts with the second film. Can you find me a thinner story and characters in film history? And the music is crap, the score is ridiculously overdone and you often can't hear the dialogue over it. Honestly, this is like a student film. It's a post-apocalyptic world in which they make a stop for some ice cream. SERIOUSLY?!??!? (2015)
Rated 10 Jul 2012
82
74th
Staging the improbable car stunts and crashes to perfection, director George Miller succeeds completely in bringing the violent, post-apocalyptic world of Mad Max to visceral life.
Rated 04 Oct 2010
70
29th
I must say, given how often it's referenced, I expected a bit more. Most of the time, I was confused as to just what was happening or why. It just took too long to get to the goods, and when you do, the movie's pretty much done.
Rated 01 Jun 2010
43
40th
I didn't think it was too great. There were many "wtf-just-happened-and-why-is-it-in-the-movie"- moments. I also thought the beginning, after the chase, was very cheesy, and some of the music they used was awful (saxaphone bit.. UGH). The build up was so long for a quite dissapointing ending. However, I did like Gibsons acting. But there's something just so awkward/wrong about men in leather trousers and was the kid's name Spock? Or Frog?
Rated 20 Apr 2010
69
17th
It seems to be an aimless love letter to automobiles until it finally becomes about Max in the last half hour. The world created in the film is interesting enough though.
Rated 19 Dec 2009
40
37th
This movie is worth seeing for the cars alone, and I'm not even into cars that much.
Rated 28 Jul 2009
72
25th
First "Blade Runner" and now this? Who is assigning "classic" status to these things? For all of the praise that's heaped upon this "dystopic" vision of Australia, it looks remarkably like the 1979 outback to me. Except with yellow cars. Oh! And they're not called police, they're called the bronze now. Look, the chases are all well-executed, yes, but too many lapses in logic and inexplicably campy moments keep this from being anything more than a competently made,but forgettable 70s chase flick.
Rated 26 Jul 2009
78
66th
Cars go vroom.
Rated 04 Jul 2009
79
66th
It isn't as good as the Road Warrior, but it is still a well made film with a good performance by Mel Gibson.
Rated 07 Mar 2009
6
55th
Uneven but pretty good, especially considering the budget. The main villain is such a joke - he's fat with highlights in his hair. Mel Gibson is a badass though and I imagine the sequel would be a lot better cause they wouldn't have to go through all the jarring character development.
Rated 14 Jan 2009
60
34th
Apparently I mixed up The Road Warrior and Mad Max. Pay attention to every scene in this movie. Somewhere, whether up front or in the background, is something completely and totally baffling. Spotting these oddities is more amusing than the revenge story that takes an hour to begin.
Rated 18 Nov 2008
35
37th
When I moved to Australia, this film was actually a mandatory requirement of obtaining my visa.
Rated 08 Aug 2008
88
52nd
A great and realistic look at what the future might hold. True Sci-Fi.
Rated 15 Mar 2008
95
96th
This is how you make a low budget movie. (Awesome) The pacing is a little off during the family scenes, but everything else makes up for it.
Rated 14 Jan 2008
53
27th
There are some pretty decent chase scenes, but the movie is pretty aimless for the most part. The best thing about this movie is that it was the pre-cursor to one of the best movies of it's kind.
Rated 21 Aug 2007
65
60th
Very Good
Rated 14 Aug 2007
81
42nd
This is a must-watch as a child, and as an adult I should probably watch it again now that my skull is hard and my brains are more than mush.
Rated 12 Apr 2007
73
36th
Feels longer than it is, but more entertaining than I used to think. The gang-members really seem a bit over the top.
Rated 25 Mar 2007
74
62nd
Not as good as the sequels, but still really, really awesome.
Rated 22 Jun 2024
70
66th
Bon film, même si les événements dans la deuxième partie ne m'ont pas semblé être en raccord avec ceux de la première partie du film. Le couple part en vacances, et très facilement, ils sont confrontés au gang. J'ai adoré Mel Gibson, très sexy dans des tenues légères. Ce Mad Max là, c'est l'anticipation avec un mec sexy.
Rated 15 Jun 2024
43
10th
Give an honest look at this movie without thinking that it's the beginning of a franchise. It sucks. Lots of things don't make any sense, from small details to the actions of characters. It's very predictable. It uses textbook tropes. There are a couple of signature bad things like the speeding up of scenes or "poppy eyes". Anyhow, on itself, a waste of time, only interesting for historical value.
Rated 26 May 2024
33
29th
#24#, rw2, popcorn, franchise-rewatch, oldies(2) }*{ 80s, popcorn!
Rated 01 Apr 2024
81
87th
Economical, inventive and effective. Remember that Comic-Book Movie makers?
Rated 27 Aug 2023
35
13th
So boring I skipped to the end.
Rated 08 Jun 2023
80
45th
An incredible opening salvo in what is perhaps the most nonchalantly gay movie franchise of all time. Toecutter clearly has the hots for Johnny the Boy. One of the most entertaining films of all-time for various reasons, but mostly due to the off-kilter vibe, low budget, and leather daddy overtones.

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