HCR Rates The Movies #62: MAD MAX

[DTM]

So, our next film, Classic or Crud, Hit or Miss, what say you ALL?

Our next film open for discussion, and ultimately an Overall RATING by you all:

MAD MAX
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Let the discussions flow. Likes, dislikes, classic film or overhyped trash, and DONT FORGET to place an Overall Rating when youre done.

Its easy, just give a Rating from 1 (Jaws 4:The Revenge) to 10 (Jaws), and thats it. Course I'd love to have you all give reasons as to why you feel it deserves this Overall Rating, and more than encourage discussions with us all about them.

So, what say you all?

Next Film: ??????

[Mjolnir]

The Road Warrior was on TV the other night....... it's an impressive movie that really is not dated, if you can imagine that. That movie could be made today and blend in.... except now they'd have larger more cgi action sequences with impossible slo-mo footage shots.

I'd like to see this one left alone.....

Mad Max? an interesting movie...... a lot of malevolence in this movie..... not much outright violence....... The bald Officer who wears feather boas is a bit too much.....
It's a low budget movie, you can tell......

I like it:
9

[DTM]

I actually liked this film the least overall over its 2 sequels (The Road Warrior and Beyond Thunderdome), but thats not to say its a bad film itself. Overall it was a pretty simple and straightfoward storyline, not to mention a bit short and lowish budget as well, and certain scenes and dialogue just didnt do it for me. It definately had its entertaining bits, and Mad Max himself is a very cool character (moreso in his later films, again), though overall I just didnt love this film (and I think I really wanted to).

Mad Max - 7.25 / 10

[Mjolnir]

You like Mad Max beyond Thunderdome better than Mad Max? How can you say that after the curdling scenes with the kids?
Mad Max had some low budget bad acting scenes........ Thunderdome had the kids...... I equate the kid scenes to the ewok scenes in Star Wars..... completely unnecessary.
Thunderdome had the awesome Bartertown sequence though...

[DTM]

Oh the kids in Thunderdome didnt bother me in the slightest. Unlike what youd expect from "kids" in an action picture, none of them were whiny or annoying, if anything they were too quiet, very tough and could take care of themselves for the most part. Didnt bother me in the least.

And yes, I definately say that Thunderdome is a better overall film than Mad Max. Better acting, better characters, better pacing, music, pretty much everything in my opinion. Sure the ending was very similiar to Road Warriors end, but I didnt mind personally, and I probably like Thunderdome and Road Warrior pretty much the same, for different reasons.

[DTM]

CURRENT HCR MEMBER RATING:

MAD MAX - 8.13 / 10

(2 members rating)........lowest number to date

[tidge]

It's been too long since I've seen this, so I abstain.

I do remember liking it MUCH more than any of the sequels, which is not always a given for me.

[Mjolnir]

It's been too long since I've seen this, so I abstain.


Watch it. Mels Character is more rounded.

[tidge]

Watch it. Mels Character is more rounded.

You know, I cannot recall if Mad Max or Road Warrior was first!

I do recall that you are 100% right about the character being more rounded...but I have an appreciation for more 1-dimensional characters in certain films...my vague recollection of these two films was that I liked the simplicity of the first movie a little better than the second.

[hail_eris]

And yes, I definately say that Thunderdome is a better overall film than Mad Max. Better acting, better characters, better pacing, music, pretty much everything in my opinion. Sure the ending was very similiar to Road Warriors end, but I didnt mind personally, and I probably like Thunderdome and Road Warrior pretty much the same, for different reasons.
I'll agree with you on every point, except that I liked Thunderdome quite a bit more than Road Warrior. Sure the endings are similar, but you get a lot more story before that ending. And the closing scene with Tina Turner is fantastic. "Well. Ain't we a pair? Raggedy Man... Goodbye soldier." Max is a lot of things, but I think this is the first time (with only a couple minutes left in the final movie) that he's referred to as a soldier. There's a lot of connotation to that word, and I think Tina Turner does a great job of selling every ounce of it. Bartertown has more character than some of the actors in the original, and Dr. Dealgood steals every scene he's in with that fantastic, over-the-top delivery (probably half the lines that people can remember from Thunderdome are his). I saw the kids as a lot more "Lost Boys" than Ewoks. And the prophecy of Captain Walker added a very satisfying element of doomed hope to the story. Anyway, the original Mad Max was a fun stunt ride that introduced us to a great character and a compelling setting (a setting that would be fleshed out as a lot more post-apocalyptic in subsequent movies - the Cold War helped the mood of this trilogy a lot). Sure, the budget was low, but it still looked better than Hollywood's Deathrace 2000, which was released a few years before it. I'll give Max's debut effort a 7.0.

[EmperorNorton]

5/10

A few weeks ago I was looking for movies that are considered classic or good or at least have some recognition. Since a friend had mentioned watching Mad Max again I decided to check it out. I had heard it mentioned a couple of times, but had never watched it.
And I'll never watch it again.

I thought it was boring. The setting wasn't established well, most of the characters are bland, the car doesn't do anything for me.
It wasn't awful, but I didn't enjoy it, either.

[the itsy bit]

6,5/10

like most people I liked the sequels better (hooray for sequels !!:classic: ), mostly because Mad Max was too much a cop show and the others where more stand alone futuristic movies.

[Drunky]

9/10

Pros : The movie is just BRUTAL! The fact that the world described in it is so close from ours (well, at least when the movie was released - I wasn't even born yet :p) compared to its sequels makes it even more impressive and dreadful.

Cons : Poor acting. Some lack of rythm from time to time. But I'm quite indulgent on short budget movies so it doesn't really matter.

P.S. : I love the Road Warrior, though I don't think it's as good as the first one, but the Thunderdome is REALLY a bad movie (well, in my opinion of course).

[lensnart]

Even as a kid I thought this movie was lame and seeing again not too long ago it has only gotten worse.

4 out of 10

[iameleveneight]

5.5/10 Its OK but I agree its too much cop and not enough apocalyptic road warrior for me.

[AlienFlanders]

Mad Max is one of those "genre" films the critics talk about. Years ago I read a series of letters to the Editor of Fangoria (yes kiddies they did exist), there was quite a heated debate over what sort of car it was, it was quite funny reading all the guesses until someone from Australia wrote in what it was.

For what it is 8.5/10.

As an aside I always wanted to know what "the Dark One" had done to earn his nickname/location.

[labria4]

8/10

Very dark film. Great acting by a bunch of no names (even Gibson at the time).