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Movies / Upcoming / Mad Max
Mad Max

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Mad Max (1979)

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Reviews Counted:37

Fresh:35

Rotten:2

Average Rating:7.6/10

Consensus: 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.

Runtime: 1 hr 34 mins

Genre: Science-Fiction/Fantasy

US Box Office: $0

Synopsis: Futuristic tale set in Australia, which has become a wasteland where vicious, fast-driving criminals cause death, destruction, and mayhem on the highways. The police do their best to maintain... Futuristic tale set in Australia, which has become a wasteland where vicious, fast-driving criminals cause death, destruction, and mayhem on the highways. The police do their best to maintain control, but their attempts prove futile. As a result, one cop named Max quits his job and goes on a vacation with his family. However they are terrorized by a gang of malicious speed-demons, who kill Max' wife and baby. Angry, Max rejoins the force, revs up his motorcycle -- and seeks bloody revenge against the fiends who murdered his family. [More]

Starring: Mel Gibson, Joanne Samuel, Tim Burns, Steve Bisley

Starring: Mel Gibson, Joanne Samuel, Tim Burns, Steve Bisley

Director: George Miller

Director: George Miller
Producer: Bill Miller
Composer: Brian May
Screenwriter: George Miller

[See More Credits]

Reviews for Mad Max

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1 - 20 (sorted by date; Australian critics are listed first)
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Click to read the article

Full Review Source: In Film Australia | comment Comment
01/09/09
In Film Australia
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

The most impressive feature film debut by any Australian director is also one of the best action-exploitation films ever committed to celluloid.

Full Review Source: Urban Cinefile | comment Comment
08/17/02
Urban Cinefile Critics
Urban Cinefile Critics
Urban Cinefile
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

This is brutal, exciting stuff, all the more impressive for its budget constraints.

Full Review Source: Channel 4 Film | comment Comment
05/06/08
Channel 4 Film
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

No review available.

comment Comment
11/14/07
Cole Smithey
Cole Smithey
ColeSmithey.com

Classic cult fun made famous by director Miller and then new star Gibson.

comment Comment
08/03/07
Steve Crum
Steve Crum
Video-Reviewmaster.com

The stunt work is spectacular.

Full Review Source: Ozus' World Movie Reviews | comment 1 Comment
07/04/07
Dennis Schwartz
Dennis Schwartz
Ozus' World Movie Reviews

Simple, but effective.

Full Review Source: Empire Magazine | comment Comment
05/30/07
Empire Magazine
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Overnight, Mad Max went from being a U.S. cult hero to a mainstream figure, and Mel Gibson's place in the firmament was secured.

Full Review Source: ReelViews | comment Comment
05/30/07
James Berardinelli
James Berardinelli
ReelViews

Australia exported this creative, original, exciting, low-budget genre landmark which gave the young Mel Gibson his first starring role.

Full Review Source: TV Guide's Movie Guide | comment Comment
05/30/07
TV Guide's Movie Guide
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Stunts themselves would be nothing without a filmmaker behind the camera and George Miller, a doctor and film buff making his first feature, shows he knows what cinema is all about.

Full Review Source: Variety | comment Comment
05/30/07
Variety
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Some of the most determinedly formalist filmmaking this side of Michael Snow.

Full Review Source: Chicago Reader | comment Comment
05/30/07
Dave Kehr
Dave Kehr
Chicago Reader

This was a great movie!

Full Review Source: JoBlo's Movie Emporium | comment Comment
08/04/06
JoBlo
JoBlo
JoBlo's Movie Emporium

The tone sometimes wavers into self-parody, and there are occasional crude patches, but overall this edge-of-seat revenge movie marks the most exciting debut from an Australian director since Peter Weir.

Full Review Source: Time Out | comment Comment
06/24/06
Derek Adams
Derek Adams
Time Out

Though director George Miller took the post-apocalyptic tough guy Max a lot farther in the sequel The Road Warrior, Mad Max still packs in Miller's particular brand of black-comedy thrills.

Full Review Source: Combustible Celluloid | comment Comment
05/26/06
Jeffrey M. Anderson
Jeffrey M. Anderson
Combustible Celluloid

No review available.

comment Comment
07/25/05
Jules Brenner
Jules Brenner
Cinema Signals

No review available.

comment Comment
07/14/05
Emanuel Levy
Emanuel Levy
EmanuelLevy.Com

Encompasses the essence of the sexy revenge flick.

comment Comment
07/08/05
Gregory Weinkauf
Gregory Weinkauf
ÜberCiné

No review available.

comment Comment
01/05/05
Jay Antani
Jay Antani
Los Angeles Alternative

Cult low-budgeter that benefits from Miller's direction and Gibson's then lack of self-importance.

comment Comment
07/19/04
Ken Hanke
Ken Hanke
Mountain Xpress (Asheville, NC)

No review available.

comment Comment
07/01/04
Randy Shulman
Randy Shulman
Metro Weekly (Washington, DC)
 
 
1 - 20 (sorted by date; Australian critics are listed first)
Text View | 1 2 >> >|
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Latest News for Mad Max

November 16, 2009: Eric Bana talks Love the Beast - RT Interview
Not a lot of people know that actor Eric Bana, familiar to most from roles in the likes of Star Trek, Munich and Ang Lee's Hulk, is a massive petrol head. With the release of... More...

October 30, 2009: Charlize Theron, Tom Hardy Set for Mad Max 4 Opens in new window
George Miller's fourth "Mad Max" movie could have its stars: Tom Hardy is in talks to take over the title role, and Charlize Theron is negotiating for the female lead. More...

October 26, 2009: George Miller Talks Mad Max 4, Shows Off New Cars Opens in new window
George Miller is in pre-production on "Mad Max 4" -- and to prove it, he invited ABC Australia into his studio to show off its cars (and talk about the movie, of course). More...

May 19, 2009: Mad Max 4 Rumbles to Life Opens in new window
Nothing much in the way of actual information has been released, but according to AICN's sources, George Miller is officially at work on a fourth "Mad Max." More...

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