 Tagline: When all that's left is one last chance, pray that he's still out there ... somewhere! In the action movie annals, few compare with this full-throttle epic of speed and carnage that rockets you into a dreamlike landscape where the post-nuclear future meets the mythological past. More simply, it's also one of the most mind-blowing stunt movies ever made. Mel Gibson plays Max, the heroic loner who drives the roads of outback Australia in an unending search for gasoline. Arrayed against him and the other scraggly defends of a fuel-depot encampment are the bizarre warriors commanded by The Humungus. With The Road Warrior on your side, screen action doesn't get any better. Storyline: An former Australian policeman now living in the post-apocalyptic Australian outback as a warrior agrees to help a community of survivors living in a gasoline refinery to defend them and their gasoline supplies from evil barbarian warriors. Written by Daniel Williamson Reviewer's Note: Reviewed by J.C. Ribera on June 3, 2008 -- Mad Max 2, or The Road Warrior, as it is known in the US, is a great action film. Even though it was made a generation ago, it's set in a near apocalyptic future where oil has run out and civilization has crumbled, so it might well be a movie released today. When it was released in the 80's it was a very exciting film to watch, with all its car stunts and non stop action. The Australian film was also one of the first films that Mel Gibson did (the latest being reviewed Signs), and with the iconic character of Max the little mad one, both actor and creation became stars and an ingrained part of our culture. Mad Max 2 was actually the sequel to the previous Mad Max, another Australian production, both directed by George Miller, and its success pushed the wave of the Australian invasion. Subsequently, the first Mad Max was re-released in the US, and a third sequel was later made and released. Since most people in the US hadn't seen the first Mad Max before, most people experienced this second movie first, as a standalone piece. The movie starts with the original Mad Max 2 title card which is great, as it lets you know immediately it's the version as it originally was, intact. After a brief "intro", we're literally thrown into the widescreen action and it barely stops from them on. We instantly are aware the future is dangerous, we need gas, and the savage remnants of humanity aren't playing nice. And it's gonna take the hardiest. cleverest, maybe maddest of persons to survive. And Max is all of them. All he wants is gas to keep moving on and surviving. But sometimes you need to make pacts with others to get what you want. So Max has to weight joining forces with a group of survivors for the time being. And here lies the excuse for a story full of car chases, car crashes, stunt doubles flying through the air and audiences saying did I really see that happen? Not a CGI effect in sight on those days, even the night scenes were shot at night. The movie has some blood and stunts that look so realistic, you wondered how many people were getting hurt, plus some nudity in a few brief shots. With creepy characters galore, and the slightly different accents and cultural perspective of an Australian production, Max was different and a lot whole of fun, it was a very fresh movie back then, and although now in the jaded CGI-ed 21st century we're used to more visually complex extravaganzas, the passage of time makes watching Max a strange retro/futuro experience. I saw the film in it's original run, and this time it was almost like watching a middle-ages movie set in the future, no crazy gadgets, no zap guns, just human real action and violence, with a Mad Max in the middle of it tying it up. The car sequences are still impressive and "villains" are still outrageous. After you watch the movie, knowing there's a "prequel", you want to watch some more cool car action, and you feel ready to pop in another Mad Max movie. In other words, fully satisfying and leaves you wanting for more. In a literal sense, they almost never do them like these no more. Well what's there to conclude about the Mad Max 2 Blu-ray? Color pays an important part of setting the mood, and in that area, the disc, looking neutral, and cooler, and "accurately" flat, doesn't reach the best color representation possible. That's not to say the colors on the disc look bad or off, in fact they look pretty good, nice blue skies, normal skin tones, there's the red blood, etc. But they don't look warm, worn, arid and excitingly hot, as the apocalyptic world of a Road Warrior should be. But at the same time, the BD is obviously the best quality version available and in many respects the preferred source to watch the movie as it has been seen in a couple of decades. Plus the music and effects sound fine and widely appropriate for the film, in fact much better and finer than most mono/stereo optical sound theaters of the era could ever achieve. Because of those factors, I recommend watching Mr. Mad Max on Blu-ray: A Panavision/CinemaScope-wide image can really only be experienced as it should and appreciated fully on a big screen, to get the maximum in velocity, thrills, and excitement. And in that respect, after many years of pan and scan and tiny letterboxed SD images, it is a pleasure to relive the movie with that kind of excitement. Cast Notes: Mel Gibson (Max), Bruce Spence (The Gyro Captain), Michael Preston (Pappagallo [as Mike Preston]), Max Phipps (The Toadie), Vernon Wells (Wez), Kjell Nilsson (The Humungus), Emil Minty (The Feral Kid), Virginia Hey (Warrior Woman), William Zappa (Zetta), Arkie Whiteley (The Captain's Girl), Steve J. Spears (Mechanic), Syd Heylen (Curmudgeon), Moira Claux (Big Rebecca), David Downer (Nathan), David Slingsby (Quiet Man). User Comment: jiangliqings, 1 March 2001 • After so many years The Road Warrior still remains one of the most exhilarating action films to ever grace the screen. The car chases are as excitingly pulse-pounding as ever and no film has yet to surpass the final chase as the best in movie history. Yes, in terms of pure action, not many films have been able to equal The Road Warrior's thrills. The film takes place presumably years after the conclusion of Mad Max. The world has been devastated by a third world war and has suffered a setback by he rarity of gasoline. The loner, Max Rockatansky (Mel Gibson) is still wandering around the Australian wasteland, thousands of miles from civilization, in search of gasoline. What follows is classic edge-of-the-seat action entertainment. Having inspired dozens of rip-offs, The Road Warrior still remains the best of the bunch due to the great lead performance from Mel Gibson and the unrivalled car chases, which are very much worth mentioning. The movie begins with a rousing commentary over the events that led to the destruction of government. What follows next is a short and exciting car chase. True, the following half-hour does move by a bit slowly, but it all builds up to a lightning paced final 45 minutes. The final chase, in particular, is an exercise in action craftsmanship. Director George Miller has staged one of the most brilliant and downright exciting action scenes ever. So many spectacular stunts and on-road carnage occur during this sequence, to describe it simply wouldn't do it justice. Miller's cinematography is decidedly Un-Hollywood. He gives us many breathtaking camera angles, some of which are sometimes a bit shaky, which serves to make the action even more involving. Looking back at the film now, it might not appeal to a wide range of viewers. The odd characters (mainly the villains), ultra-violence, dark tone, and the sparse dialogue may seem a little too offbeat for some people. Mel Gibson remains the only world-renowned actor in the whole film. He does a terrific job as the character Max, one of his best and most interesting characters. The development of Max is another intriguing component of The Road Warrior, and serves the film by giving it a human edge by featuring Max's slow transformation from loner to savior. Not only that, Gibson also creates a great action hero. There's not a moment in the film when we aren't rooting for Max to smash Humungus and his gang. Bruce Spence as the gyro-pilot is decent in his role and offers the film's few humorous moments. Virginia Hey is also pretty good as the Warrior Woman, and though the script doesn't exactly give her a lot to do, she plays the part well. Mike Preston also shows a lot of honor as the compound's leader. On the other side of the equation are the actors who portray the villains. Surprisingly enough, though the characters are outlandish, no one ever goes over-the-top. Vernon Wells and Kjell Nilson are absolutely menacing and frightening as the lead villains, Wez and Humungus. They personify evil itself, creating characters who we truly grow to despise. To be honest, I am a little surprised that the critics enjoyed this every bit as much as I did. The film doesn't delve very deeply into philosophical issues and doesn't exactly have a lot of grand things to say. I suppose with the acclaim this film received goes to show that critics do truly watch movies primarily for entertainment. As I mentioned before, the film was the benchmark of a genre that grew in popularity. The premise of a loner helping a group of people in need has been used a bit too much now. Most notably is the big-budget flop, Waterworld (which is a good movie I recommend), though none have yet to match the outright intensity of The Road Warrior. Summary: Exhilarating action thriller. IMDb Rating (03/07/13): 7.6/10 from 69,548 users IMDb Rating (12/07/09): 7.6/10 from 32,054 users
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