MAD MAX (1979) 1/2* Maloveolent, inspid, misogynistic, sadomasochistic, stupid, mean spirited, uninspired film by people who think that a Ford is the epitome of the motor car, and whose primary efforts are ineffectually put towards filming any interesting car chase. George Miller must be named as co-writer and director, and his efforts to portray women in a variety of ways; object, victim, and hospital patient; denounced. Forfeits any possibility of artistic sensibility, admittedly severely limited from the outset, in an effort to attain even the slightest sense of '70s edge. Which, like everything else, fails miserably. No edge, no class, no script, no acting, no interest. The desert looks kind of cool and there are a few good shots, and several amusing lines nearly half of which could possibly have been intentional. The world must have really been ready for Australia. Whoever saw anything in Mel Gibson from this was working more on instinct than eye. Whoever saw anything in Miller eventually got their just deserts. A mental disease should be named after guys with these problems, Mad Max' Syndrome.
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