Mad Max 2

***Fighting for fuel in the post-apocalyptic wasteland of the Outback*** In the years after a global holocaust, an ex-lawman (Mel Gibson) in remote Australia befriends people at a refinery compound and helps them escape a band of ruthless punk bikers who want their resources. Bruce Spence plays the Gyro Captain while Vernon Wells is on hand as a subordinate leader of the bikers. "The Road Warrior,” aka “Mad Max 2” (1981) shows a grim, bleak, brutal future, but it's too comic booky and sometimes goofy to truly disturb because it screams exaggeration. A truly disturbing movie debuted fifteen years earlier, “The Wild Angels” (1966), which is shocking because it’s realistic rather than cartoonish. But “The Wild Angels” was an outlaw biker drama whereas “Mad Max 2” is an action-packed adventure. There’s a lot of motorhead thrills if that trips your trigger. The movie’s an Australian production and avant-garde bordering on surrealism. The protagonist is aloof and laconic while the antagonists are bizarre, even psycho, which makes sense in that people would become a little mad in a desperate post-apocalyptic environment. It’s a strangely detached film about cartoonish people surviving in the wastelands of Australia, but the characters and images are often iconic; and there IS some human interest, like the Gyro Captain’s developing relationship with the cute blonde, the so-called Captain’s Girl (Arkie Whitley). Meanwhile Virginia Hey is striking as the Warrior Woman. The film runs 1 hour, 34 minutes and was shot in the Outback of New South Wales, Australia. GRADE: B

Really great sequel that surpasses the original. While short on character moments, the action sequences were fantastic culminating with an adrenaline-filled finale. All in all highly entertaining with just enough weidness to make it stand out all the more... **4.0/5**

The first film did us the favour of establishing the character, so this time we can cut quickly to the chase. "Max" (Mel Gibson) is now a fully fledged drifter. He still has a semblance of decency, comparatively speaking, as he travels the Australian wastelands trying to stay alive and keep himself fuelled. Along the way he meets up with the slightly wacky "Gyro Captain" (Bruce Spence) but it's when he encounters a besieged oil facility that things start to hot up. He agrees to try and help them fend off the menacing, mask-wearing, "Humungus" (Kjell Nilsson) and his menacing sidekick "Wez" (Vernon Wells) who has a distinctly Achilles/Patroclus style relationship with his cute, blonde, friend. These bandits are ruthless, violent, and determined to seize this most precious of assets so "Max" proposes to his allies a straight swap - in return for enough gas, he will deliver them a large truck for use to travel to the coast and safety. What follows are a series of quickly paced, perilous escapades that culminate in a cracking chase with what looked very much like the front of a snowplough (in the desert?) playing a crucial role as they try to force their way out. Emil Minty is pretty effective as the aptly named, boomerang-bearing, "Feral Kid" and once we see why Spence has his moniker, the whole thing quite literally takes off. This is so much better than the original. The story is much more substantial, it has plenty of gore yes, but there is also some dark humour and Gibson has loads of charisma as his character develops. Director George Miller offers quite a potent lesson to other film makers too - ninety minutes is quite long enough to pack in plenty and keep the attention of the audience.

I got more enjoyment from <em>'Mad Max 2'</em>. It's a good watch! Everything felt a bit more fleshed out to me personally. Mel Gibson's titular character is improved, as are his sidekicks and their antagonists. The action is still at the same high level, there's plenty to gain entertainment from in regards to that along with the more amusing aspects; but disappointing to see that the wacky eye bulge gag did not reappear! I will say that final sequence overruns, not a big deal though. Most importantly, the story is more interesting. It is, in my opinion, much better befitting of the movie's dystopian setting and is, just generally, a more noteworthy watch compared to its predecessor's plot. Gibson puts in another solid showing, as do Bruce Spence and Michael Preston in this entry. Honestly, mind, across these opening two flicks the cast don't really stand out to me all that much - it's all about the action! Intrigued to find out what <em>'Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome'</em> had to offer!