George Miller’s Mad Max is set in a future in which lawlessness is abundant. Max (Mel Gibson) is a young cop battling with a motorcycle gang who are bringing chaos to whomever they cross paths with.

There’s lots to like about Mad Max. Miller’s comic book dystopic vision of the future, the stylisation not being over-stylised, Miller’s gorgeous direction and framing, the action sequences to name but a few.

There’s also a great cast that includes Sheila Florence aka Lizzie Birdworth from Prisoner Cell Block H. In one scene she even rocks leg braces whilst firing a shotgun! She’s a classy lady. Other Prisoner luminaries include Vincent Gil (who played Bazza, Margo Gaffney’s boyfriend) and Paul Young who played Captain Barton.

I love that Brian May’s soundtrack sounds like the most bombastic and over-the-top library music you’ve ever heard.

But the thing that stops me from loving Mad Max is the fact that it’s such a strange beast regarding its structure. It’s so disjointed and even feels like scenes are missing. Miller knew what audience he was aiming at, primarily Drive-In aficionados who are probably stoned. In fact, I’m presuming to achieve this effect he employed an editor who was equally wasted. The first half of the film is the most disjointed and then we have an ‘ending’ that occurs out of nowhere. ‘Is that it?!’, I thought as the end credits appeared.

A bizarre experience but well worth seeing at least once.

2 and a half out of 5 stars