Mad Max 2: The Road Warrior (1981)

Directed by: George Miller | 94 minutes | action, adventure, thriller | Actors: Mel Gibson, Bruce Spence, Michael Preston, Max Phipps, Vernon Wells, Kjell Nilsson, Emil Minty, Virginia Hey, William Zappa, Arkie Whiteley, Steve J. Spears, Syd Heylen, Moira Claux, David Downer, David Slingsby

When ‘Mad Max’ came out in 1979, the film became a huge success and marked the breakthrough for Mel Gibson. This low-budget cult classic cost just $400,000 and has grossed over $100 million worldwide, earning it a place in the Guinness Book of Records. There has never been a film made that has such a good cost-benefit ratio as ‘Mad Max’ and so a sequel was inevitable. Now in general it is the case that a sequel is often a lot less than the first part, but fortunately there are exceptions here and there, think of ‘The Godfather: Part II’ and ‘Terminator 2: Judgment Day’. ‘Mad Max 2: The Road Warrior’ can also be included in this list because this is a fantastic, spectacular action film that is even better than the first part.

Mel Gibson is Mad Max, the embittered ex-cop who has nothing to live for and roams the Wasteland with his brutal V8, constantly looking for petrol, a scarce commodity in post-apocalyptic Australia. At one point he stumbles upon a small oil refinery that is passionately protected by a small community from the cruel Lord Humungus and his gang. Max brings a man victimized by Humungus’ gang members to the refinery in exchange for gasoline. After all, the sun rises for nothing, Max does not bring the man back to the community out of compassion, but purely to exchange him for fuel. In this harsh, desolate world, gasoline has become the most valuable asset. The community, led by the sympathetic Papagallo, want to flee with the fuel and in the end Max decides to help them.

There is clearly nothing left of the agent Max Rockatansky from the first part. Mad Max is a hurt, taciturn man who only thinks of himself. Only when he really has no choice left does he help Papagallo to retrieve a truck that can carry a large oil tanker. Mel Gibson managed to get Max pretty shady in this part. He is a lot more silent than in the first part and has no more than twenty lines of text. In part one he was largely the agent Max Rockatansky and only became Mad Max after his family was murdered and in the third (inferior) part (‘Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome’) Max shows a little more compassion than in ‘The Road Warrior ‘.

It is good to see that more money was available for this film. The entire refinery in the desert was built especially for this film. In addition, the vehicles all look equally spectacular and impressive, especially the “”Interceptor”” from Max, the last of the V8’s is a brutal bomb on wheels. The dressing of the entire cast is well done, the gang members all look pretty terrifying, much more than in the first part. Lord Humungus in particular is a real creep, which is underlined by the gun he uses. The logo of the SS, the Totenkopf, is clearly visible in the briefcase that contains it.

The story is pretty simple, but that’s not a problem, on the contrary, just by keeping the storylines simple, there is more room for the chases and the intense action scenes.

‘The Road Warrior’ is a fantastic action film with a lot of speed, the entire film also mainly takes place on the road, which is well represented in beautiful shots of cars and motorcycles speeding on a dead straight road in the desolate Australian landscape. The music, composed by Queen guitarist Brian May, is very good and only adds to the tension. A succession of action, the film never gets boring and especially the last twenty minutes in which Max drives the truck, chased by the gang are truly phenomenal.

‘Mad Max’ was good, an instant cult classic, but ‘The Road Warrior’ is a crazy nonstop action movie and by far the best part of the trilogy. ”