Mad Max 2: The Road Warrior (1981)

Genre

Action | Sci-Fi

Director

George Miller

Country

Australia

Cast

Mel Gibson, Bruce Spence, Vernon Wells, Emil Minty, Michael Preston, Virginia Hey, Kjell Nilsson, Max Phipps, Arkie Whiteley, Moira Claux, David Downer

Storyline

Former police officer Max Rockatansky (Mel Gibson) is now a lone wanderer, traveling through a devastated Australia after a nuclear war looking for now-priceless petrol. He lives to survive and is none too pleased when he finds himself the only hope of a small group of honest people running a remote oil refinery.

Opinion

Good news everybody. You can see "Mad Max 2: The Road Warrior" without having to watch the dreadful "Mad Max". Infact, the film opens with a brief summary of the first installment, and rather tries to connect that story with the new reality instead of making a real sequel. Also, unlike its predecessor, this film does set the basics for a post-apocalypse movie.

A violent, destructive action flick, "The Road Warrior" may lacks in plot and dialogue, but makes up with great action sequences and unique characters. 

The plot is quite simple but well-executed, and the idea of the escape is far better and far less clichéd than the good old revenge plot device. Also the plot is more cohesive and the characters are more interesting and better defined. Humungus is as good as Toecutter, probably even better, and then there's a little fella, the feral kid, who shows that size doesn't really matter when it comes to fighting. Maybe the character of Mad Max suffers a little in this film, since he is more an ideology than a character.

Once again directing, George Miller uses well the low-budget, and offers a setting that is the strongest part of the film: an empty Australia, made of dusty deserts, desolate roads and abandoned corpses, all to emphasize the end of civilization.

On the road again, this time with a dog, Mel Gibson is back in one of his finest roles, and he does a great job as the lone wanderer Mad Max. Unlike their predecessors, the actors in this one actually give nice performances.