I think its time for a new presentation then. But instead of one Im going to give a whole trilogy. It might turn out to be quite long, but bare with me. This week's entry is ...
Mad Max trilogy
Made in Australia back in 1979,
Mad Max could have been just another action movie with less reason then excitement. But boy, did things turn out quite the opposite. Directed by
George Miller and starring the then-relatively-unknown
Mel Gibson in the title role, set in dystopian future and based in the western genre. It tells the story of Max Rockatansky, a highway cop in the lawless Australian countryside. The world is in the brink of a new are as the energy crises has escalated and western society is about to collapse. The film has magnificent car chases, brilliant costume design and intriguing look to the possible future. It has the least action in the trilogy, focusing more on character build and the setting. Max has to deal with a motorcycle gang terrorising the local highways. As the picture unfolds, Max looses both his best friend and his family and decides to leave the force and take matters into his own hands. Its also one of the highest crossing Australian movie ever made.
The Road Warrior
Made in 1981 and again featuring Miller as the director and Gibson as Max. Set a few years after the events of the previous film, the film takes place in post-apocalyptic future, where the energy crises has finally caused the collapse of the country and society. Max has become a lone wanderer, who drives around the countryside and looks to salvage whatever he can. Finally he gets in the way of two gangs who are at war with each other. As Max is looking for fuel that one of the gangs possesses, he gets involved in the conflict and decides to help the more civilized group. The character of Max has become more hardened and darker, he trust no one except himself and his dog. Again the film makers demonstrate their innovative ideas on visual design and their ability to picture the post-apocalyptic future. The main car chase takes up most of the action in the movie and its probably the most epic car chase you'll ever see. The film was exceptionally well received by critics and holds a 100% rating on Rotten Tomatoes.
Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome was made in 1985 and also featured main
ensemble from previous installments. It gives some additional background information and tells us that the energy crisis was followed by a nuclear war. Set 15 years after the previous film, Max makes his way to a newly built settlement called Bartertown. He decides to to a job for the leadership in order to get his equipment back, but soon finds himself betrayed. Later he teams up with group of children who have survived a plane crash in the middle of a desert. Eventually Max helps them to make their way to the ruins of the old world, where they start rebuilding their society. Although its the weakest part of the series in both the plot and action sequences, it helps to complete the trilogy and put some more light on the post-apocalyptic future.
The series share a great many similarities with Sergio Leone's Dollar trilogy. Max is most probably based on The Man With No Name played by Eastwood. Its also one of the best depictions of post-apocalyptic future seen on silver screen. The Road Warrior has developed into a cult film and is probably the only sequel that is one the same level with the original, the other one obviously being Godfather II. I really hope you appreciate this little summary of mine.
And those of you who are fans of the Fallout series, this trilogy is a must-see. I can say that roughly half of the Fallout franchise is based on this trilogy. If you've seen these movies and played the games, then you most certainly have noticed numerous references and homages.