JAM Reviews Mad Max from MGM Home Entertainment

Mad Max: Blu-Ray/DVD Combo: Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Home Entertainment
Review by JAM

Before Lethal Weapon, before Braveheart, and way before all the crazy stuff that has come recently, Mel Gibson was an Australian actor that crashed his way into the American scene through an Australian bleak apocalyptic action trilogy starting with the movie Mad Max. MGM Home Entertainment has decided to break open the vaults and release this classic onto Blu-ray for our enjoyment.

A member of paramilitary type police force in a dystopian society, Max Rockatansky (Mel Gibson) finds himself in the crosshairs of a speed-freak motorcycle gang set on revenge for a fallen comrade. But when the gang destroys those Max cares about, they learn that hell hath no fury like Mad Max. Full of car chase action, explosions galore, and violent vengeance filled attacks fill this low budget but well shot movie.

JAMS Ink on Mad Max

I remember having seen The Road Warrior before and Beyond Thunderdome, but I think this actually may have been the first time I watched Mad Max completely through. I have to say, it was a fun movie to watch and one which I would definitely recommend to someone who enjoys good filmmaking with violent action.

80s movies (this was made in 1979 so it’s basically an 80s movie) can tend to go the classic route which are fun to watch even still or the camp route where they are so hard to get through (like Troll 2 which I just reviewed previously). Max is the kind of character that you can get behind, likable with his wife, cordial with his friends, professional at his job and an overall all-around good guy. But those crazy Mel eyes showed even with this character, and the actions of Toecutter (Hugh Keays-Byrne) was just too much for a sane man as Mad Max, afraid of becoming the very criminals he pursues, breaks into a shell of a man pursuing vengeance.

Speaking of the crazy eyes, Mel Gibson has always seemed to play character often right on the edge and this is no exception. Watching the movie, I took notice when that look crazy eyed look took place (and I’m not talking about the crazy eyed special effects during the motorgang’s deaths. They looked like eye-popping claymation). I do not know if Mel has always been a little off his rocker, but the man could make some really good movies.

EXTRAS

MAD MAX Blu-ray/DVD Combo Pack:

DISC ONE (Blu-ray):
• Filmmaker Commentary by Jon Dowding, David Eggby, Chris Murray & Tim Ridge
• Documentary: “Mad Max: The Film Phenomenon”
• New-To-The-U.S. Original Australian Language Track
• Two theatrical trailers
• TV Spots

DISC TWO (DVD):
• New Digitally Remastered Transfer
• "Mel Gibson: The Birth Of A Star" Documentary
• "Mad Max: The Film Phenomenon" Documentary
• New-To-The-U.S. Original Australian Language Track
• Theatrical Trailers"Road Rants" Trivia & Fun Fact Track
• Photo Gallery
• TV Spots

Besides the Mad Max: The Film Phenomenon extra which is a lot of fun to watch, the Australian language track is kind of cool. The low budget aspect of the movie paired with the language track the way it was originally meant to be makes it a little more fun to watch.

MAD MAX
Street Date: October 5, 2010
Screen Format: Widescreen
Audio: Australian English (original audio track) 5.1 DTS HD Master Audio
English 5.1 DTS HD Master Audio
French Stereo
Spanish Mono
Subtitles English, French and Spanish
U.S. Rating: R
Total Run Time: 93 minutes
Closed Captioned: Yes

Mad Max from MGM Home Entertainment crashes into stores on October 5, 2010 so pursue a copy and speed on home with it.

Remember check out this review and more from JAM at www.hollywoodteenzine.com for teens and tweens, and at http://jammoviereviews.blogspot.com for movies of all genres and ages.