Netflix’s Hard-R, Hardcore Sci-Fi Thriller Full on Mad Max

Written by Robert Scucci | Published 13 seconds ago

Given the influence of the Mad Max franchise on the pop culture landscape since its debut in 1979, it’s easy to call any post-apocalyptic road thriller set in the Australian Outback a cheap imitation. The way I’ve made peace with that kind of testing is to appreciate the fact that Max is crazy creates its own unique genre, where there is plenty of room for filmmakers to use the same concepts while still giving their own take. in 2014 The Roverwritten and directed by David Michôd, it is a shining example of using the punishing Australian desert as a backdrop to tell his story about a society well in its continuing decline.

With Guy Pearce leading the charge with support from Robert Pattinson, The Rover it is a violent journey across the desert inhabited by people who have been forgotten by the rest of the world. It’s a lawless world, but there are still clear power structures at play. Watching those buildings slowly deteriorate makes for a satisfying watch because society has deteriorated so recently that people can remember earlier times, but not so recently that they don’t know where things are headed.

Stolen Car Rampage

Before The Rover’s the conflict is well established, we are introduced to Archie (David Field), Caleb (Tawanda Manyimo), and Henry (Scoot McNairy). They escape a robbery, and along with them is Rey (Robert Pattinson), Henry’s younger brother. Injured during the robbery, Rey is pulled from the car and left for dead. During the argument, their car collided, causing them to steal a new car.

Unfortunately, this gang steals the car of a lonely man named Eric (Guy Pearce). Having lived through the first social collapse almost 10 years earlier, which led to the loss of his family and his farm, Eric does not take kindly to thieves and quickly seeks them out, inhibitions must be discarded. Finding a badly injured Rey, who he knows was responsible for the theft of his car, Eric takes him to the doctor to nurse him back to health before telling him where his brother is.

Along the way, Eric encounters violence with a young gunman who works in an opium estate, members of a traveling circus, and the remnants of the Australian Army, who are still trying to exercise power over the country’s citizens despite their lack of firepower. Rey, dragging herself and not fully putting herself together because of her injuries, proves to be too much of a burden, which complicates things for Eric, who just wants to get his car back and go back to being a sad drunk wandering the wasteland.

Standalone Madmaxian Action Flick

While the obvious Mad Max setup can be found in The Roverit never once felt like a carbon copy of the franchise it inspired. We have the Australian desert, car chases, and shows full of firemen, but given how broad the lore is in Mad Max, there’s plenty of room for films like The Rover staying in a place with the same topics while walking a completely different road. Using that template as a jumping off point, The Rover it tells a very personal story about loss and revenge that would work well in any other setting.

Michôd made a similar statement, saying, “You put cars in the desert in Australia and people will think about it. Max is crazyand with all due respect to that film, I think The Rover it will be terrifyingly true and dangerous. ” He’s not wrong in that assessment because there are no nitro trucks and masked robbers here. There’s no history that feels almost biblical. Instead, we get glimpses of humanity that’s not at all flawed, and we see the ongoing breakdown of society while it’s happening.

As of this writing, The Rover is streaming on Netflix.