Mad Max

Lemme tell you why Mad Max: Fury Road is only doing OK.

First, a primer. 

The Road Warrior is a cult classic among people my age, part of the list of essential movies for boys in the 80's. This list also includes The Terminator, Conan, Aliens. Lets just say, if on summer afternoon in 1984, you and your friends were breaking mom's broomstick over each other's head because you wanted to be Conan, you saw the Road Warrior, a lot.

The Road Warrior takes place in a post-apocalyptic Australia. It is a western, for sure. One man, a road warrior, comes to the rescue of a town, except the Indians are barbarians and instead of horses they ride makeshift cars. Everyone is killing each other for the gas that's left. It is a world utterly lacking in humanity and compassion. When the barbarians capture a quartet of townspeople trying to break out, they stake one of the townspeople to a car by putting arrows through his shoulders, tie two more to the hood, and rape the woman with them before killing her for kicks. 

It is brutal, and shocking and can be hard to watch. I wonder why my friends and I were allowed to see this.

Mel Gibson, of course, is our hero, the cowboy riding into town who will drive a big rig full of gas against the barbarians. This is the 'Indian attack on a wagon train' component of the movie.

What happens next is epic. And its all live. If the reader hasn't seen this sequence watch it. Amazing stunts. Stupendous car crashes. Crossbows, sawed off shotguns, fire bombs. Gibson is up a tree, out on a branch with the branch about to be sawn off. He could be a cowboy, or a knight, heck, he could be Gilgamesh. Gibson here is full of manly vigor and virtue. Remember, this movie was made in 1981. Its all live, no CGI whatsoever.

Lord it was awesome.

People my age just don't trust Hollywood to do this right anymore. And that's why Mad Mad Max: Fury Road has only done OK at the box office.