Skip to main content
Games Radar
  • Newsarama
  • Total Film
  • Edge
  • Retro Gamer
  • SFX
Total Film The smarter take on movies
Sign in
  • View Profile
  • Sign out
flag of UK
UK
flag of US
US
flag of Canada
Canada
flag of Australia
Australia
  • News
  • Reviews
  • Features
  • More
    • PS5
    • Xbox Series X
    • Nintendo Switch
    • Nintendo Switch 2
    • PC
    • Platforms
    • Tabletop Gaming
    • Comics
    • Toys & Collectibles
    • SFX
    • Newsarama
    • Retro Gamer
    • Newsletters
    • About us
    • Features
Gaming Magazines
Gaming Magazines
Why subscribe?
  • Subscribe from just £3
  • Takes you closer to the games, movies and TV you love
  • Try a single issue or save on a subscription
  • Issues delivered straight to your door or device
From$12
View
Trending
  • Best Netflix Movies
  • Best movies on Disney Plus
  • Movie Release Dates
  • Best Netflix Shows
Recommended reading
Predator: Badlands
Sci-Fi Movies The Predator: Badlands trailer actually makes the eponymous alien the protagonist
Predator: Badlands
Sci-Fi Movies Predator: Badlands is "not just a slasher movie" or "a generic sci-fi", says director Dan Trachtenberg: "It's a hardcore, brutal survival tale… but also crazy fun"
sisu
Action Movies WWII John Wick-style revenge movie Sisu has a sequel scheduled for this year
Matt Damon in The Odyssey
Action Movies The Odyssey stunt performer says the Christopher Nolan film will be "an epic of all epics"
Weapons
Horror Movies Weapons director says the upcoming horror movie is "fun, scary" and even "weirder than Barbarian"
A still from a Weapons teaser
Horror Movies Weapons keeps its crown as one of 2025's most mysterious movies – thanks to this teaser that's just two hours of Josh Brolin watching creepy CCTV footage
Elle Fanning as Thia in Predator: Badlands
Sci-Fi Movies Predator: Badlands release date, cast, trailer, and everything else we know about the sci-fi sequel
  1. Entertainment
  2. Movies

The Evolution Of Mel Gibson

Features
By Joshua Winning published 28 January 2010

From the Aussie wastelands to the Scottish highlands and beyond...

When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Here’s how it works.

Mad Max (1979)

Mad Max (1979)

The Film: D irected by George Miller, this dystopian nightmare figures the MFP (Main Force Patrol) into a post-apocalyptic world where insane boy racers have take possession of the roads.

The Role: It’s the one that put Gibson on the film map. Max (he doesn’t have a last name) doesn’t say much.

But as the world heaps injustices upon him, he takes remorse-free revenge. What makes Max mad? Watch and learn.

The Threads: Very creaky black leather, in keeping with the uniform of the MFP.

Page 1 of 10
Page 1 of 10
The Year of Living Dangerously (1983)

The Year of Living Dangerously (1983)

The Film: Considered an epic by Australian standards back in the ‘80s, this drama cost MGM just $6m to make. It’s set in Indonesia during the overthrowing of President Surkarno.

Access to film in Indonesia was denied, and Gibson received death threats from Muslims who believed that the film would take an anti-Islam stance.

The Role: Gibson plays Australian journalist Guy Hamilton, who is sent to report on the situation in Jakarta.

The Threads: Heat-battling unbuttoned shirts and loose ties.

Page 2 of 10
Page 2 of 10
Lethal Weapon (1987)

Lethal Weapon (1987)

The Film: Buddy cop action flick, in which Gibson co-stars with Danny Glover. It's dedicated to one of the film’s stuntmen, who died shortly after filming.

The Role: Gibson beat the better-known Bruce Willis to the role of Detective Riggs. Maybe it was the mullet.

Sparring with Glover, Gibson brings his own inimitable charm to loveable rogue Riggs, who hates the fact that he’s ended up with a partner. He loved the role so much he returned for three sequels.

The Threads: Threadbare denim that’s very high-wasted

Page 3 of 10
Page 3 of 10
Braveheart (1995)

Braveheart (1995)

The Film: Gibson’s second time in the directing chair earned him his first Oscar. Not bad at all.

Factual inaccuracies aside (we went into them here ), the Aussie emboldens his story of William Wallace with some sweeping imagery and a strong central turn as the man himself.

The Role: Essentially transporting Max (the Mad one) to medieval times, Gibson dons a wig and blue war paint as Wallace.

He’s the kind of hero who sticks to his principles even when his guts are spilling out. Impressive.

The Threads: A lovely kilt and one heck of a big sword.

Page 4 of 10
Page 4 of 10
Ransom (1996)

Ransom (1996)

The Film: Remake of the 1956 thriller of the same name, which was in turn based on an episode of The United States Steel Hour called ‘Fearful Decision’.

When airline owner Tom Mullen’s son is kidnapped and held ransom, a drawn out negotiation could end in tragedy.

The Role: Gibson earned a Golden Globe nomination for his portrayal of a rich everyman faced with an extraordinarily terrible situation.

The Threads: Like Simon Cowell, he’s rich, but his threads don’t reflect that. So it’s mostly a black t-shirt, in keeping with his mood.

Page 5 of 10
Page 5 of 10
Chicken Run (2000)

Chicken Run (2000)

The Film: Set in Yorkshire in the ‘50s, this Aardman claymation was originally called A Few Good Hen .

It translates the plot of The Great Escape to the lives of chickens, where the inhabitants of a chicken coup on Tweedy farm hatch a desperate scheme to get out before they’re made into pies.

The Role: Voicing Rocky Rhodes, the rooster. Literally crash landing into the coup, Rocky is an arrogant, swaggering American who might hold the key to the hens’ escape.

The Threads: We don’t know what he wore in the recording studio, but Rocky doesn’t wear very much at all.

Page 6 of 10
Page 6 of 10
What Women Want (2000)

What Women Want (2000)

The Film: Does Gibson know what the fairer sex want? He sure finds out in this rom-com, in which his character begins to hear their thoughts.

It had a budget of $70m. It took a belief-beggaring $374m worldwide. Guess Mel really does know what women want.

The Role: “What's the difference between a wife and a job? After 10 years a job still sucks.”

Gibson reveals he is still funny with the role of alpha male Nick Marshall. Cue rom-com hijinks aplenty.

The Threads: Tights. Oh yes.

Page 7 of 10
Page 7 of 10
We Were Soldiers (2002)

We Were Soldiers (2002)

The Film: Following the 1965 Battle of la Drang, which kick-started American involvement in the Vietnam War.

Director Randall Wallace reeled over 150 hours of film during production.

The flick’s body count comes to a staggering 305.

The Role: Gibson re-enters the battlefield as Colonel Hal Moore, displaying a staggering range of emotions as the Colonel is faced with the horrors of war.

The Threads: Army uniform, natch.

Page 8 of 10
Page 8 of 10
Signs (2002)

Signs (2002)

The Film: Gibson jumps aboard the Shyamalan Express for the director’s fifth big screen outing, his first after Unbreakable .

Set in Pennsylvania, it’s the story of a family who find a crop circle in the corn field by their house. Did aliens really put it there?

The Role: Showing off his softer side, Gibson plays a preacher who has lost his faith.

The part was originally scripted as much older, but Gibson came onboard when both Clint Eastwood and Paul Newman turned down offers.

The Threads: Flannel shirt. Because he lives in the country, or something.

Page 9 of 10
Page 9 of 10
Edge of Darkness (2010)

Edge of Darkness (2010)

The Film: Back to acting after a few years spent flexing his directorial muscles, Gibson heads up Martin Green Lantern Campbell’s thriller.

It’s released over here on 29 January.

The Role: Investigating the death of his daughter, a political activist, Gibson's Detective Craven discovers she had a secret life. Digging deeper, he uncovers government corruption and a sinister cover-up plot.

Gibson loves these revenge roles, and excels in taking Craven to the edge and threatening to topple him over it.

The Threads: A very serious trench coat.

Page 10 of 10
Page 10 of 10
Joshua Winning
Social Links Navigation

Josh Winning has worn a lot of hats over the years. Contributing Editor at Total Film, writer for SFX, and senior film writer at the Radio Times. Josh has also penned a novel about mysteries and monsters, is the co-host of a movie podcast, and has a library of pretty phenomenal stories from visiting some of the biggest TV and film sets in the world. He would also like you to know that he "lives for cat videos..." Don't we all, Josh. Don't we all.  

See more Movies Features
Read more
Predator: Badlands
The Predator: Badlands trailer actually makes the eponymous alien the protagonist
Predator: Badlands
Predator: Badlands is "not just a slasher movie" or "a generic sci-fi", says director Dan Trachtenberg: "It's a hardcore, brutal survival tale… but also crazy fun"
Matt Damon in The Odyssey
The Odyssey stunt performer says the Christopher Nolan film will be "an epic of all epics"
sisu
WWII John Wick-style revenge movie Sisu has a sequel scheduled for this year
Weapons
Weapons director says the upcoming horror movie is "fun, scary" and even "weirder than Barbarian"
A still from a Weapons teaser
Weapons keeps its crown as one of 2025's most mysterious movies – thanks to this teaser that's just two hours of Josh Brolin watching creepy CCTV footage
Latest in Movies
The Justice Gang flying in Superman
James Gunn's Superman quietly revealed some of the new DCU's 300 year legacy of superheroes
Henry Cavill as Superman in Man of Steel
Superman discourse has already reached the playground argument stage: who would win in a fight – David Corenswet's Superman or Henry Cavill's Superman?
David Corenswet as Superman
With both of James Gunn's DCU projects imprisoning major Superman villains in Belle Reve, fans hope we're building towards a Legion of Doom team-up
Nicholas Hoult as Lex Luthor in Superman
After Superman, I'm convinced that Lex Luthor is already a more exciting supervillain than Robert Downey Jr.'s Doctor Doom
James Gunn
After embracing Superman's Silver Age heritage, James Gunn says some comic book movies can be "pretentious" and "distance themselves from the source material"
Tom Holland in as Spider-Man holding onto a car in Spider-Man: No Way Home
Tom Holland says Spider-Man: Brand New Day will "lean into that old-school filmmaking" and use "real locations" after COVID affected No Way Home: "We were really restricted"
Latest in Features
A screenshot of PUCK eating an enemy during the upcoming Xbox Series X game, Shadow Labyrinth.
The best retro remakes and reboots out there aren't afraid to get weird with it – as Shadow Labyrinth being a dark and gritty Pac-Man game shows us
Nicholas Hoult as Lex Luthor in Superman
After Superman, I'm convinced that Lex Luthor is already a more exciting supervillain than Robert Downey Jr.'s Doctor Doom
Laezel BG3 evil ending
After 2 years, I've renewed my love for turn-based RPGs with these 5 games like Baldur's Gate 3 I can't stop recommending
A screenshot of Total War: Warhammer 3 showing grave guard soldiers jumping out of a siege tower beneath a grey sky
After 2,537 hours of playing Total War: Warhammer, I'm almost ready to say goodbye to Creative Assembly's best strategy series
Fallout: New Vegas
I'm going back to the five best post-apocalyptic games I ever played, thanks to Death Stranding 2 giving me a taste for the terrible
The Sims 4 Enchanted by Nature fairy
After 2000 hours of creating a fantasy save file in The Sims, I've decided to rank all 8 Sims 4 occults, including the new Enchanted by Nature's fairies
  1. Zion Wright grinds along a wooden balustrade in in Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3 + 4's San Francisco level
    1
    Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3 + 4 review: "A nostalgic, must-play hit for fans"
  2. 2
    College Football 26 review: “Thanks to rivalries and dynasty, this is the greatest show on turf”
  3. 3
    Mecha Break review: "This mech battler makes up for lacking customization with a varied roster that lets me live out my Evangelion fantasy"
  4. 4
    Death Stranding 2: On the Beach review: "This tarpunk delivery epic is more Metal Gear Solid than ever, for better and worse"
  5. 5
    Rematch review: "As with Rocket League, the just-one-more-game pull is magnetic"
  1. David Corenswet as Superman inside the Fortress of Solitude in James Gunn's Superman.
    1
    Superman review: "A triumphant reinvention and a promising start for the DCU"
  2. 2
    Jurassic World Rebirth Review: "An unscary sequel that needed a little more time in amber"
  3. 3
    M3GAN 2.0 review: "A bold sequel with a slightly underwhelming conclusion"
  4. 4
    28 Years Later Review: "Enough terror, splatter and suspense to satisfy”
  5. 5
    Predator: Killer of Killers review: "Great characters, thrilling action, and gorgeous Arcane-esque animation"
  1. Lee Jung-jae as Gi-hun in Squid Game season 3
    1
    Squid Game season 3 review: "A staggeringly excellent final season wraps up one of the greatest Netflix shows ever"
  2. 2
    Ironheart review: "A relic of Marvel's content-at-all-costs era"
  3. 3
    Star Trek: Strange New Worlds season 3 review: "The show's most assured run of episodes to date"
  4. 4
    Doctor Who season 2, episode 8 spoiler review: 'The Reality War' is "a mix of the good, the bad, and the truly baffling"
  5. 5
    Doctor Who season 2, episode 7 spoiler review: 'Wish World' is "an exciting and ambitious" start to the season finale, with hints of WandaVision

GamesRadar+ is part of Future US Inc, an international media group and leading digital publisher. Visit our corporate site.

  • About Us
  • Contact Future's experts
  • Terms and conditions
  • Privacy policy
  • Cookies policy
  • Advertise with us
  • Review guidelines
  • Write for us
  • Accessibility Statement
  • Careers

© Future US, Inc. Full 7th Floor, 130 West 42nd Street, New York, NY 10036.

Please login or signup to comment

Please wait...