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Mad Max 2 picks up right where the first one ended, with a more desolate and barren land, more ruthless villains, and a more detached and hardened hero in Max Rockatansky (Gibson). As he roams the desert for fuel, he is led to an abandoned oil refinery, where he is forced to defend a group of settlers from a gang of violent bikers led by Lord Humungus.
I'm always surprised that I never got into this franchise earlier. I saw the first one for the first time in 2016, and hadn't seen any other; not even Fury Road. The first one is a solid effort, but is far from a masterpiece, which makes the quality jump from that to this more impressive. With the foundation already established, this sequel polishes the edges and gives us a simple, but pretty good action film.
This is in part thanks to Gibson's "rough & tough" yet charismatic performance, but also thanks to Miller's skilled direction. With a 90+ runtime, he makes the most of it starting with a great setup of these bikers. The whole aesthetics of the film also play a big part in how memorable it is with almost every character "jumping at you" in some way. This setup allows the dread of their impending attack to be more effective.
What follows are a few skillfully built setpieces that culminate with a kickass clash on board of a tanker across the highway (am I the only one that got serious Terminator 2 vibes from this?). There really isn't much else to it, but there doesn't have to be. The film succeeds in what it sets out to achieve as far as a straightforward post-apocalyptic action film goes. The characters are likable, the bad guys are evil and "showy", and the action is fast-paced and well staged. What more do we need?
Grade:
MAD MAX 2
(1981, Miller)
A film from the TSPDT 1000 Greatest Pictures list whose ranking includes the #5 (#506)
(1981, Miller)
A film from the TSPDT 1000 Greatest Pictures list whose ranking includes the #5 (#506)
"Do you think you're the only one that's suffered? We've all been through it in here. But we haven't given up. We're still human beings, with dignity. But you? You're out there with the garbage. You're nothing."
Mad Max 2 picks up right where the first one ended, with a more desolate and barren land, more ruthless villains, and a more detached and hardened hero in Max Rockatansky (Gibson). As he roams the desert for fuel, he is led to an abandoned oil refinery, where he is forced to defend a group of settlers from a gang of violent bikers led by Lord Humungus.
I'm always surprised that I never got into this franchise earlier. I saw the first one for the first time in 2016, and hadn't seen any other; not even Fury Road. The first one is a solid effort, but is far from a masterpiece, which makes the quality jump from that to this more impressive. With the foundation already established, this sequel polishes the edges and gives us a simple, but pretty good action film.
This is in part thanks to Gibson's "rough & tough" yet charismatic performance, but also thanks to Miller's skilled direction. With a 90+ runtime, he makes the most of it starting with a great setup of these bikers. The whole aesthetics of the film also play a big part in how memorable it is with almost every character "jumping at you" in some way. This setup allows the dread of their impending attack to be more effective.
What follows are a few skillfully built setpieces that culminate with a kickass clash on board of a tanker across the highway (am I the only one that got serious Terminator 2 vibes from this?). There really isn't much else to it, but there doesn't have to be. The film succeeds in what it sets out to achieve as far as a straightforward post-apocalyptic action film goes. The characters are likable, the bad guys are evil and "showy", and the action is fast-paced and well staged. What more do we need?
Grade: