Most critics agree that George Miller’s first film earns its reputation on economy. The praise clusters on the chase sequences: low-to-the-ground camerawork, stunt work that reads as dangerous because it plainly was, and a knack for building tension out of almost no money. Several reviews call it a lesson in doing more with less, and the bare Australian landscape is credited with work a bigger production would have paid for. Mel Gibson’s early presence is noted approvingly throughout, and Collider finds its picture of a society about to collapse uncomfortably plausible now.
The reservations are minor and consistent. Eye for Film finds the acting uneven and the dialogue crude, and The New York Times notes elements that have dated. Variety, reviewing on release, treats it as a fast exploitation picture with a simple revenge plot, admired mainly for its craft. The spread is narrow, from respectful to warm, with The Ringer the most enthusiastic; nobody argues against it.