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Parents' Guide to

Mad Max

By Jeffrey Anderson, Common Sense Media Reviewer

age 16+

Outlandish post-apocalyptic action is too brutal for kids.

Movie R 1979 93 minutes
Mad Max Poster Image

A Lot or a Little?

What you will—and won't—find in this movie.

Community Reviews

age 13+

Based on 7 parent reviews

age 17+

Mad Max is a lot of violence and crashes

Mad Max is a film that relishes in its explosions and in both austerity/minimalism and in being over the top. The film is able to grasp all of these concepts at once. The film implies a lot of horrendous violence although does not necessarily show a lot of the violence. But the implications make a strong impression. There is also a lot of tension as we move through and identify with Gibson's character. The speed, the crashing, the chaos, and the empty shell that Gibson's character becomes stays with the viewer.
age 18+

This title has:

Too much violence
Too much swearing

Is It Any Good?

Our review:
Parents say (7 ):
Kids say (26 ):

Mad Max is a memorable, groundbreaking low-budget exploitation hit that established a certain set of rules for action movies and inspired many sequels and knock-offs. Today, it's perhaps more interesting historically than it is aesthetically. Certain sequences still dazzle, and Miller's close-to-the-street cinematography captures the thrill of speed in highly effective way, but the film doesn't really establish the rules of its post-apocalyptic future, and it's too uneven in tone; the scenes of cartoonish violence are a lot more interesting than the idyllic home life images of Max and his family.

It's the least of the trilogy; the sequel, The Road Warrior, is darker and more streamlined, with a more sustained atmosphere, and the third film, Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome, is more imaginative and fantasy-based.

Movie Details

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