In a forsaken, post-apocalyptic Australia, chaos reigns in the form of vile biker gangs who pillage and plunder the vapid wasteland. When a policeman's wife and infant child are brutally murdered, the officer (Mel Gibson) turns instantly cold and swears unyielding revenge on the Toecutter (Hugh Keays-Byrne, repulsively terrifying) and the rest of his loathsome cohorts. George Miller's "Mad Max" is a kinetic Outback western that made Gibson a star and features some of the most brilliant stunt work and chase sequences ever committed to film. The pulse pounding score by Brian May (not of Queen, as I initially assumed) is also a particular standout.
*** 1/2 out of ****
*** 1/2 out of ****
