If punk is a sensibility as well as an adjective, Mad Max is a punk movie. Its Australian setting enhances it, authenticating its futuristic aura.

[The] film has been consigned to the grind houses, where audiences are responding as Miller wants them to. From there Mad Max will find its way to the film schools and revival houses, where its tough-gutted intelligence may be appreciated.

Simple, but effective.

Mad Max is a dynamic debut feature from George Miller, rich with the visual ingenuity his later films would be known for in spite of its budgetary limitations.