Mad Max: Beyond Thunderdome (1985) - by J. Molotov

Wow. I don't think I can evaluate this movie in anything resembling a systematic manner.

First, I think it is important to note that I now realize that I've never seen the first half hour to forty-five minutes of the film before. Having now see the beginning, several of my questions concerning plot have been answered: why Max was in Bartertown, how he got involved with Aunty, why he was fighting in the Thunderdome, why the midget (Master) was imprisoned in pigs, why Max had to kidnap the midget, and even the biggest mystery of them all, WHY THE PIGS WERE THERE! If you remember, I said in my previous treatise on the The Road Warrior that I had an inkling of the connection between the pigs and the gasoline shortage. Well, I was right. It's the methane gas from the pig shit that fuels Bartertown's crude civilization. I think during the many questioning sessions, one of you must have told me this, but I didn't believe you. It was too much for me at the time, and I apologize.

The thing is, it was all of these questions that were blocking me from truly seeing this film. I needed to understand the basic plot points in order to even get into the movie enough to really watch it. And now that I did, it is all so clear:

This movie is INSANE. I mean, total fucking madness.

I now have a whole new set of questions, ones that stem from a deeper level than simple plot discussion:

1. I don't really understand the children. I know they were in a plane that crashed, and that they obliquely refer to them going with Captain Walker and splitting away from the other people, but I could not understand where all the parents were. And when did Captain Walker leave them in order for him to supposedly come back like a messiah in the form of Max? And what the hell is with that creepy one with the black and white face paint?

2. I don't understand why the main mechanism for pig shit refinery or whatever in Bartertown is a train which is somehow still functional as a vehicle for Max, the children, the Pig Killer, and Master to escape on. Who built those train tracks? Why did they lead to the middle of nowhere and then stop?

3. I DO NOT understand why "Jedediah the Pilot" was a character in this movie, when he was clearly the same actor (Bruce Spence) who played "The Gyro Captain" in The Road Warrior. He was obviously not meant to be the same person, because when he and Max finally see each other face-to-face, there is no recognition. What the fuck is that about?

4. I don't understand Max's punishment chosen by the wheel ("bust a deal, face the wheel"). He spins it and it lands on "gulag". I wasn't completely sure what a gulag was (dictionary.com says, "the system of forced-labor camps in the Soviet Union; any prison or detention camp, esp. for political prisoners"), but I was pretty damn sure that it was NOT "tying someone backwards to a horse, putting a Bob's Big Boy head over his head, and sending him out into the desert with no supplies".

5. Perhaps my biggest question regarding this film is: WHY DOES AUNTY LET HIM GO AT THE END?!?!?! I've never understood this. I wonder if I ever will. She's chasing him, and then the children and Master get away, and Max is there, and she lets him go. Is it because she just wanted to get the midget back, and now that he's gone it doesn't matter? But isn't she angry that Max stole the midget, AND that he basically destroyed Bartertown, which she worked so hard to build and create civilization in? I just don't know. I just don't.

I don't know if I can talk about this anymore. My brain is severely damaged from it. It has been for years and I think that this whole attempt to find understanding has merely exacerbated it.

Mad Max 2: The Road Warrior (1981) - by J. Molotov

This movie was lame.

It was just not at all engaging. There was an unconvincing villain, generally unsympathetic characters, no psychological motivation for the protagonist's actions...just nonsense.

To begin, this movie was much more clearly set in post-apocalyptic Australia than the first one. They even give a little bit of exposition into Max's past (basically just a quick synopsis of "Mad Max") and a quick overview of the war and the fight for oil that has led the world to this sorry state. Instead of filming in the grassy lands outside of Melbourne, they shot this one 800 miles west of Sydney, which is a complete desert. I don't even have a clue how or why there were roads constructed out there, because it's just miles of nothing. But the red sand and the rockiness provided a much more convincing post-apocalyptic backdrop. 

However, everything that was great about the first movie was utterly disappointing in the sequel.

The suspense was thin. While exciting to watch and again filled with some pretty good stunts, the major chase scene lacked suspense because of one major oversight: at any time, the gang could have (and should have!) simply shot the tires off the rig, and it would have been over. Instead, there is a long, protracted scene where they waste man after man trying to shoot Max from their little dune buggies, as he's driving the Mack truck. I mean, come on.

The villain is The Lord Humongous, who is not any fun at all. After the brilliance of the Toecutter, I can't believe this is all they could come up with: He's just a steroid-fed huge guy in S&M gear and a Jason mask. There is nothing interesting about him. There is one scene where they keep focusing on the back of his huge, veiny head, which led me to believe that later his face would be revealed and that there would be some story of how he was horribly disfigured...but no. Even that trite plot device was too much to hope for.

Then there is this freakshow: the "feral kid" that lives within the camp of people that Max is helping. His presence is unexplained, but he forms a deep attachment to Max because Max gives him a small musicbox device that he found on a dead guy when scavenging for gasoline. Despite it's small size and inability to speak (other than to make ape-like grunt-laughs whenever it sees a bad guy get shot), the midget thing is fairly helpful in a fight. But I still hate it. I think Mel Gibson does too; his disgust is almost palpable.

But perhaps my biggest problem with this movie is the lack of psychological motivation for Max to be helping these people. In the first movie, the motivation is simple: vengeance for his partner and family. In this movie, he first helps the people as a bargain to get his car back and to get as much gasoline from them as he can carry. Once that contract is fulfilled, he leaves. Then, when he is inevitably taken down by the Humongous's gang and brought back to the camp by The Gyro Captain, he agrees to drive the rig for them. It seems that he only agrees to do so because he has fuck-all else to do now that his car is gone. But then at the end, he obviously refuses their offer to accompany them to wherever the hell they think they're going, and remains standing alone in the road. He's certainly not going anywhere without a vehicle.

I understand the concept that he has become this loner and outsider after the death of his family and the subsequent killing spree. However, he doesn't come across as the dark, enigmatic figure that such a back-story entails. He's just a dude. I barely care what he's doing. It's odd, because back then Mel had the potential to be a real firecracker...remember Riggs? Similar character...dead wife, nothing to lose...and he's riveting. Max is just not in this movie. I vaguely remember him being more so in Thunderdome, so I will look forward to the little red envelope in my mailbox, and I will be sure to have lots to say about that one, as it is the nexus around which most of the mysteries of my universe revolve.

Oh, speaking of those mysteries...I did have one revelatory moment regarding the gasoline shortage and pigs during this movie, but I don't want to expound upon it until I watch Thunderdome and can be totally sure of the connection.

Mad Max (1979) - by J. Molotov

Last night I watched "Mad Max". I have seen "Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome" a couple of times, at least in a fragmentary sort of way. If you're close to me, you know this because as a test of our friendship, I have probably asked you to try to explain the plot of that movie and answer all of my questions without getting angry at me.

So, even though everyone warned me that the three movies in the trilogy have little to nothing to do with one another, I decided to attempt to unravel the mystery for myself.

First off, there was nothing in this movie to make me understand that this was supposed to be "post-apocalyptic Australia". Part of that is that most of Australia is a wasteland (albeit a beautiful one), and for lack of money, the filmmakers decided that merely shooting on the long, abandoned stretches of highway outside of Melbourne would convey that "end of the world" feeling. It didn't, but I appreciate the attempt. I was just confused because "Beyond Thunderdome" is much more clearly post-apocalyptic, and I wondered what the hell could possibly happen in "The Road Warrior" that leads us from personal vengeance on a motorcycle gang to the apocalypse. But I get it now, it's already happened. It's just so hard to tell! Bartertown in the third movie is so completely alienated and full of madness. In the first movie, yeah, the crazy gang will kill you on the highway and the police station is pretty dilapidated, but in that world there are houses, and people have families and go on beach vacations and can purchase ice cream.

That being said, there are three great things about this film.

1) The suspense. I spent the better part of an hour thinking "they're gonna get her now...oh...no, now. wait. NOW!" Even knowing the plot beforehand, I haven't seen such an unpredictable movie in a long time.

2) The effects/stunts. Although (and happily for squeamish me) almost all personal violence was artfully kept off screen, the car and motorcycle action was often really awesome, especially given that this was 1979 Australia and on a tiny budget. This led a lot of people to comment that the cars were, in a way, the real stars of this movie. But I beg to differ, which leads me to:

3) The Toecutter. The Toecutter is one of the most fascinating villains I have ever encountered. I think if this film had been made in America and a little bit later, they would have gotten Kiefer Sutherland to play this role, with much less success. Supposedly the actor who did play him, Hugh Keays-Byrne, modeled his performance on Genghis Khan. He comes off as this sort of Simon LeBon-looking, half-feral, yet psychologically astute cult leader, complete with repellent/alluring charisma. This was award-winning work, if you ask me.

One last piece of trivia that I think is cool:

As of 1998, Mad Max is listed in the Guinness Book of Records for the highest profit-to-cost ratio of a motion picture (it cost approximately $400,000 to make, and made over $100 million). I believe that record has since been broken,  but it is nonetheless impressive.