Mad Max 2 : Le Défi

Mad Max 2 (1981)

*** 1/2 (out of 4)

A post-apocalyptic wasteland in Australia is the setting for this riveting sequel that finds Max (Mel Gibson) being a drifter who is constantly on the look out for rare gasoline. Gas has become a battling ground for a vicious gang but Max finds out about a location where a group of survivors have been able to produce it. The only problem is transporting it, which Max agrees to help with in exchange for enough to get him to his next location.

MAD MAX 2 is a very rare sequel that actually manages to be better than the original film. This here really doesn't happen too often but director George Miller takes everything that made the original so good and adds a ton of adrenaline to the action and makes for quite a memorable movie. Fans of the original film are going to be happy that the rawness also gets carried over here but with even more wicked stunts and more action, it's impossible not to fall for this film.

What makes it so memorable are the incredible action scenes. As with the first film, you can't help but watch them with your jaw on the floor as you wonder how no one was killed during the production. These action scenes aren't made through editing but instead they're just downright dirty and dangerous stunts that are incredible to watch in full speed. I'm not going to ruin the most memorable stunts but the finale is just one miraculous scene after another as Max goes speeding down a road in a semi followed by countless bad guys. The amount of destruction on display is enough to please any action fan. It's these scenes here that make this movie a classic and one of the best action films of its era.

We're also given a great supporting cast with everyone fitting their roles quite nicely. Of course, the main star is Gibson who manages to be even better here than he was in the first film. He isn't given too much dialogue but he manages to really come across in a believable fashion as this drifter who once again finds himself with nothing and a reason to fight. Everything else from the wonderful score to the terrific cinematography just takes the material and raises it to new levels. MAD MAX 2 is a pure adrenaline rush from start to finish and with the borrowed elements of YOJIMBO, one can't help but be entertained.

Studio executives today could use a film like this one, or its predecessor right about now. The Mad Max films were thrown together with great skill on absolutely shoestring budgets and made a king's ransom in profits. Nowadays we just seem to get one big-budget failure after another, as the box office slump now extends into its fourteenth week.

Mad Max 2 (or The Road Warrior, as it is commonly called here in the USA) is an extraordinary sight to behold. The story centers on a loner (Mel Gibson) who roams the post-apocalyptic wasteland of Australia in search of gasoline so he can... I guess just keep driving. He is a man who lost his wife and child to a murderous gang of bikers in the previous film. He seems to be without a soul, or any feeling for his fellow man. One day he corners a man who tells him about a refining community besieged by a gang of ruthless outlaws. Thirsty for the large amount of fuel this community has, Max barters his way inside. To his dismay, the community has no plans to let him just take the fuel and run. They use him to provide them with a vehicle "big enough to haul that fat tank of gas", and by the climax of the film, he is driving the fuel through a gang of about fifty or more savages looking to take it for themselves. Max never really endears himself to anyone, but you can feel the humanity within him as he volunteers to drive the tanker. After just surviving a horrendous accident he can barely walk, but he knows he's their only chance.

This film is absolutely breathtaking. The characters we meet inside the walls of the refining community are stubborn and resourceful, but just not strong enough to deal with "that vermin on machines" waiting outside for them. The vicious gang holding the community hostage are a motley crew of desperadoes. Many are dressed like WWE combatants. Some are even dressed in MFP uniforms similar to what Max and his fellow officers wore in part one. Are they former cops gone bad, or did they murder the cops to get the uniforms? We are never told. The script refers to these men as "GAYBOY BERSERKERS". The various motorcycles, hot rods, and trucks used in the film have to be seen to be believed. Maybe more fuel-efficient vehicles would be a better idea for a world so short on fuel! But these souped-up vehicles make for some great chase scenes! You have to hand it to the stunt men who worked on this film. With no CGI to do the work for them, many of them were putting their lives at risk each day. Both stunt team leaders Max Aspin and Guy Norris were severely injured during filming. Aspin was driving the car that went airborne after we see the driver shot in the back with the four-way arrow gun. I believe he suffered a concussion when it landed just short of the fortress wall. Norris shattered his ankle after being launched off a motorcycle and sent flying through the air in one spectacular shot during the final chase scene.

The film has a great soundtrack, as well by Brian May. (Not the guy from Queen) Not too many lines are spoken throughout the film, but so what? This is a film about action, and it's a treat to watch it any time. The Hound will give it 10 of 10 stars. What a way to introduce American moviegoers to Mel Gibson!!

*** 1/2 out of ****

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. He comes across a gyro-pilot (Bruce Spence), who tells him of a compound that's producing fuel.

Max brings the pilot along with him and studies the compound from atop a cliff. It seems a large gang also wants the gasoline and has been besieging the refinery for a long time now. They are a pack of madmen, led by the Humungus, a hugely muscular man who wears a hockey mask to cover his face. An attempt is made by the people inside the compound to find a rig large enough to haul the fuel but the effort is brought down when Humungus' men take down all the cars.

Max, finding a perfect moment to strike a bargain, makes a deal with one of the survivors and makes it to the compound. Eventually, he makes another deal there, as he tells the people inside that in return for as much gasoline as he can carry, he'll bring the rig to them. 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.

Violent movie about a futuristic road-warrior cop with high-velocity action and kinetic energy .This classic is set a few years from now, a dangerous, desolate post-industrial world of the future where rules the strongest law . It concerns about the ex-police named Max (Mel Gibson), some cutthroats and revenge takes place. The nasties attack , rape, ravage to hapless and unfortunates. But vengeance will be terrible against some bands of depraved crazies thirsty for blood on high facility roads. A group (commanded by Mike Preston) located at an oil fortress is besieged by motorised warlords looking for fuel and they'll have to fight against the cutthroats, a band of depraved crazies (Vernon Welles and several others) thirsty for blood and survive some battles to-the-death with lots of blood and gore, including throating-slit ,beheading, impaling and blow up.

This exciting picture packs kinetic action , thrills, chills, shocks and abundant violence. Spectacular stunt-work plenty of motorcycle races, cars with bounds and leaps and explosions . Top-notch Mel Gibson as revenger angel at one of his first main roles, he embarks a spectacular escape against vicious murderous. Rumbling and screeching musical score fitting to action by Brian May. Special and weird futuristic atmosphere created by cameraman Dean Semler who reflects splendidly the barren outdoors. The motion picture is stunningly directed by George Miller, author of the excellent post-apocalypse ¨Mad Max¨ trilogy along with the writer and producer Byron Kennedy. It's followed by ¨Mad Max beyond Thunderdome¨ with Tina Turner, George Ogilvie, Frank Thring and again Bruce Spence as sympathetic helicopter pilot. In addition, numerous imitations as the recent ¨Doomsday¨(2008, Neal Marshall), rip offs, and exploitations ,especially Italians products. Rating : Good, better than average, this is one of the most successful Aussie movie of all time. This remarkable action film will appeal to Science Fiction buffs. Rating : 8'5, Above average. Well worth watching.

Iam a big action move fan and have seen mostly all the best and worst Hollywood action films ever.But for some reason i still don't know why i kept ignoring this movie for years in spite of hearing so many good things about. sure, i like Mel Gibson, I've seen all the lethal weapon movies.My dad always told me that the first 2 mad max movies are great but i kept ignoring these movies and man i was SO wrong.This weekend i had nothing great to rent and i rented the first 2 mad max films and yes i was blown away. These movies are light years ahead of all the modern action movies, the camera work the setting sound effects ,editing everything is just superb. mad max 2 is a legendary action film for me and I am going to add this to my collection.It's not filled up with unnecessary action but when it starts it blows u away. Mel Gibson was great . Now I am interested in watching all George miller movies , i don't know how many else he has made. If u r looking for a great action movie, pick this one. U will love it.

8 on 10.