Mad Max 2: The Road Warrior

The Road Warrior is a film I have seen many times and still enjoy. An action-packed post-apocalyptic blast and one of the top 5 action films of my childhood up there with RoboCop, Terminator, Alien, and Raiders of the Lost Ark. Among other things, the film contains great costumes and technology, but above all, it manages to draw me into the plot and doesn’t let go for a second. (25/06/2016)

I prefer minimalism and anguish of the original over the overdone and loud action in the sequel. Though George Miller defines the post-apocalyptic genre in its essence and thus opens the doors for dozens of successors, it only answers the question for me of why I don't look for adventure in similar places. (24/05/2015)

A perfect action sci-fi just how I like them. The prolog is amazing (it beats most that you might see these days), a summary of all the important events in part one along with some glimpses of wars that caused the final ruin of civilization as we know it. Straight afterwards, we are treated to a great car chase with breathtaking stunts. We get to meet Max, who is looking for gas (like everybody else). He’s lucky. There’s a colony nearby with its own oil well. But nothing is for free... (23/06/2006)

Bigger, better... Crazier. The second Mad Max is a great spectacle, action packed from start to finish, full of deranged characters, dusty, hot and uncompromising just like the post-apocalyptic landscape in which it is set. The action doesn't lack ideas, style or surprises, Mel Gibson is excellent, so what more could you ask for? It's a shame that it didn't quite work in the third film. (29/05/2015)

Unlike the first film, the director "bothered" to outline at least a little bit of the vision of the post-apocalyptic world. It's nothing groundbreaking, and a rough cut of war scenes from documentaries is the easiest way to go. The script is also certainly not groundbreaking, and thus the pile of clichés may not be to the taste of the contemporary viewer and even the more tolerant individuals will struggle to swallow the overly theatrical dialogue. Fortunately, all of this is balanced by completely unique action sequences, which are unthinkable to film nowadays because some of the special effects numbers would make Hollywood insurance people throw a fit. Cinematographer Dean Semler excellently shot a vast desert wasteland and dusty trajectories trailing behind the cars are literally pouring from the screen onto the audience. Mel Gibson stepped up in the lead role and the soundtrack isn't quite as annoying. The cheesy B-movie aspects have shifted to a crazy romp (the costumes were stolen by the filmmakers from an S&M parlor!), yet it has no dead spots from first to last minute and watching it is actually perverse fun. (21/05/2006)