Read my review of MAD MAX
Read my review of MAD MAX: FURY ROAD
I believe that prequels are an overrated concept. These things are born of out people's need to believe that extraordinary people once were like them, before adventure called and helped them achieve their potential. It's why I respect the Mad Max franchise so much: George Miller developed his original idea in such an original and cohesive direction, nobody ever gave a shit about making a prequel. It would be hard to imagine anything interesting happening to Max Rockatansky prior to the first movie anyway, but like for the Rambo franchise, its real beauty doesn't show up until the first sequel. That's right, MAD MAX 2: THE ROAD WARRIOR aged like a bottle of Absinthe. It's an Oasis of high octane insanity in your monotonous life. You need it more than yesterday, but less than tomorrow.
MAD MAX 2: THE ROAD WARRIOR picks up after the collapse of society and our hero Max Rockatansky (the immortal Mel Gibson) is prowling the badlands for sustenance in his supercharged V8 Pursuit Special, with his Australian Cattle Dog and his motherfucking sawed-off shotgun. Max witnesses a massacre comitted by a crazy BDSM themed biker gang on the road. They killed (and raped) members of a group defending an oil refinery. After rescuing the sole, but mortally wounded survivor, Max agrees to bring him back to the refinery in exchange for a tank of fuel. Only problem is that the man dies right as he passes the door and Max is surrounded by a gang of terrified, paranoid survivors, who are surrounded by people who look like that. He'll have to gamble to get out of this one alive.
It's now cool again to like Mad Max because of Fury Road. Max Rockatansky was always cool though, and Fury Road owes a lot to MAD MAX 2: THE ROAD WARRIOR. The road has always been an important variable in Mad Max's universe, but The Road Warrior is the first movie of the series that exploits its action potential. It's a simple movie: the good guys (wearing white) are surrounded by the bad guys (wearing black leather) and, lead by Max, they bust out of there in a series of fun, over-the-top road scenes. So, if you're one of the people who lost their goddamn mind over Fury Road, revisiting The Road Warrior would prolong the experience for you and you'd have a prime Mel Gibson in extra, hair flailing away in the scorching wind of the tattered desert. It really is an offer you can't refuse.
Read my review of MAD MAX: FURY ROAD
I believe that prequels are an overrated concept. These things are born of out people's need to believe that extraordinary people once were like them, before adventure called and helped them achieve their potential. It's why I respect the Mad Max franchise so much: George Miller developed his original idea in such an original and cohesive direction, nobody ever gave a shit about making a prequel. It would be hard to imagine anything interesting happening to Max Rockatansky prior to the first movie anyway, but like for the Rambo franchise, its real beauty doesn't show up until the first sequel. That's right, MAD MAX 2: THE ROAD WARRIOR aged like a bottle of Absinthe. It's an Oasis of high octane insanity in your monotonous life. You need it more than yesterday, but less than tomorrow.
MAD MAX 2: THE ROAD WARRIOR picks up after the collapse of society and our hero Max Rockatansky (the immortal Mel Gibson) is prowling the badlands for sustenance in his supercharged V8 Pursuit Special, with his Australian Cattle Dog and his motherfucking sawed-off shotgun. Max witnesses a massacre comitted by a crazy BDSM themed biker gang on the road. They killed (and raped) members of a group defending an oil refinery. After rescuing the sole, but mortally wounded survivor, Max agrees to bring him back to the refinery in exchange for a tank of fuel. Only problem is that the man dies right as he passes the door and Max is surrounded by a gang of terrified, paranoid survivors, who are surrounded by people who look like that. He'll have to gamble to get out of this one alive.
It's now cool again to like Mad Max because of Fury Road. Max Rockatansky was always cool though, and Fury Road owes a lot to MAD MAX 2: THE ROAD WARRIOR. The road has always been an important variable in Mad Max's universe, but The Road Warrior is the first movie of the series that exploits its action potential. It's a simple movie: the good guys (wearing white) are surrounded by the bad guys (wearing black leather) and, lead by Max, they bust out of there in a series of fun, over-the-top road scenes. So, if you're one of the people who lost their goddamn mind over Fury Road, revisiting The Road Warrior would prolong the experience for you and you'd have a prime Mel Gibson in extra, hair flailing away in the scorching wind of the tattered desert. It really is an offer you can't refuse.
Lord Humungus is a mix btween a pro wrestling and a sexual deviant.
Personally, I love Mad Max because he is, first and foremost, a survivor. Our generation of moviegoers is obsessed with "badass" characters, yet everybody has their definition of what it means. It's a one size fits all term. In its essence, a "badass" character handles high tension situations with great skill, courage and gracefulness. They seem in their element when shit hits the fan. It's easy to forget because it always was just a theoretical truth, but Max Rockatansky used to be a cop. So, not only he has a strong sense of right and wrong, but everything he's ever cared for has vanished and he's desperately clinging to his humanity. It's why he uses his skill set for so many "causes" even if it's counter-intuitive for him. Max's profound melancholy and leftover sense of responsibility interfere with his survival instincts, and the result is a wonderfully tormented character putting himself through impossible situations for our entertainment.
The first Mad Max was monster success, but the series didn't acquire is trademark apocalyptic block party identity until the first sequel. I don't know if MAD MAX 2: THE ROAD WARRIOR was ever meant to be as serious as MAD MAX: FURY ROAD per se, but it aged into an oddly enjoyable vaudeville, even if Mel Gibson's interpretation is not that far off his contemporary counterpart's. It's an action movie that keeps it simple, to the point and that makes the most out of that twilight zone the 1980s were. Mad Max is a hot commodity nowadays, but it's always been a classic action series and MAD MAX 2: THE ROAD WARRIOR is the closest thing to Fury Road aesthetically, so if that movie blew you away (as it should), take a trip down memory lane, back to a simple where things were simpler and enjoy Mel Gibson doing what he does best.