Mad Max 2: The Road Warrior
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| Mad Max 2: The Road Warrior | |
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| Directed by | George Miller |
| Produced by | Byron Kennedy |
| Written by | Terry Hayes George Miller Brian Hannant |
| Starring | Mel Gibson |
| Music by | Brian May |
| Distributed by | Warner Bros. |
| Release date(s) | December 24, 1981 |
| Running time | 91 min. |
| Language | English |
| Budget | AUD $4,000,000 (estimated) |
| IMDb profile | |
- This article is about the film. For other uses see Road warrior
Mad Max 2: The Road Warrior (released in the U.S. in 1981 as The Road Warrior) was director George Miller's sequel to his 1979 film Mad Max. It was a worldwide box office hit, with its combination of original characters and over-the-top car stunts, and was the film that launched Mel Gibson to international stardom.
Mad Max 2 was praised for its originality, visuals, costumes, revolutionary action sequences, and it helped to popularize the post-apocalyptic science fiction genre as referred to in later films and other works of fiction. It was followed by Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome in 1985. The three-part film series has since become a cult classic.
Taglines:
- Ruthless... Savage... Spectacular.
- In the future, cities will become deserts, roads will become battlefields and the hope of mankind will appear as a stranger.
- Only one man can make the difference.
- Just one man can make the difference.
- When all that's left is one last chance, pray that he's still out there ... somewhere!
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[edit] Plot Summary
A brief prologue covers the events preceding the original Mad Max (no backstory was offered in that movie) — totalitarianism and uprisings in Australia, and eventually an extended war gave way to lawlessness throughout the Outback of Australia, requiring special police assigned to protect the lands. This is followed by a brief recap of Mad Max. No organized government remains, anarchy has a firm grip on the land, and peace and justice have given way to survival at any cost. Max Rockatansky, the former police officer and vigilante, carried out the revenge killings of the motorcycle gang that caused the death of his infant son and wife (both events are depicted in the first film), and has now become a nomadic drifter.
He clashes with some straggling marauders, led by Wez, a crazed biker, causing a couple of them to be killed during a road chase. Afterward, he checks for anything of use on a large truck, which still contains the decomposing body of its driver. A day or so later, when he checks out a seemingly abandoned autogyro, Max falls into a trap set by its pilot, but quickly turns the tables and takes the pilot prisoner. In exchange for his life, the pilot tells him of a place where he can get all the fuel he wants. The pilot knows of a small working oil refinery out in the open desert, which is under siege by a gang of bloodthirsty marauders, led by a grim and charismatic masked man called "Lord Humungus."
Humungous is a large, muscular man, who wears a full-face mask at all times, and shows signs of previously having suffered a disfiguring event or malady (perhaps connected with the general lawlessness and societal discord). His gang is made up of bikers, renegades, and assorted ruffians, all of whom follow him with seemingly unflinching loyalty. He is articulate and appears to be educated in his speech. His most trusted lieutenant is Wez, whom Max had crossed earlier.
Max observes the events from a safe distance, and during the following morning he witnesses an attack on four vehicles that have left the refinery. He waits until near nightfall, and approaches the wrecked vehicles, where one marauder remains, having just finished raping and killing a woman who initially survived the crash.
Max kills him, and rescues the sole survivor, learning from him that they were attempting to locate a vehicle large enough to carry away the fuel from the refinery. Max strikes a bargain with the man, and uses him to gain entry to the compound.
The marauders return and offer the besieged a deal: safe passage if they leave the refinery undamaged. Max offers the settlers a deal of his own: he will bring them the semi-tractor he had seen earlier, which is large enough to haul their tanker trailer, if they give him all the fuel he can carry. The besieged accept and Max sneaks out of the compound at night, carrying enough fuel to prime and run the truck. Although the Gyro Captain has escaped in the meantime, Max catches up to him and forces him to carry the load.
Max eventually starts the truck and drives it back to the compound, fighting off the marauders in a fast-paced chase - with the help of the Captain, who has opted to join him - and helps the settlers repel the ensuing attack. Afterwards, he is invited to join the group and help them with their escape, but to their disappointment, he collects his petrol and leaves. He is attacked by the marauders soon afterwards and his car is wrecked. Max, severely injured in the crash, crawls from his vehicle and hides. Marauders soon decend upon the vechicle with the intent of stealing fuel from the tanks. Max suffers yet another loss when marauders kill his loyal pet dog. His vehicle, rigged with explosives to prevent the fuel from being stolen, detonates and kills several of the marauders. Max is presumed dead by Wez. Max is rescued by the Gyro Captain and returned to the refinery where the settlers are making preparations to leave. With few remaining options, Max insists on driving the truck despite his injuries.
Max, along with a few defenders perched on the trailer, is pursued by the Humungous and his men. After a prolonged chase, during which several of the settlers are killed (including their leader Papagallo), the tanker crashes head on into the Humungous' vehicle, killing him. The crash also kills Wez, who had been clinging to the front of the tractor. It careens off the road and comes to rest on its side. Instead of petrol, sand spills from the tank; the truck was a decoy. Leaderless, the remaining dispirited raiders leave without dispatching Max. The refinery is demolished in a large explosion so the settlers will not be pursued. In the end, the petrol has been hidden in their vehicles in 44 gallon drums. The Gyro Captain takes over and leads the band to the coast, where they eventually establish the Great Northern Tribe. Max remains behind, to continue his life of solitude.
[edit] Vehicles
Aside from the Pursuit Special there are many vehicles in Mad Max 2. Truck is a Mack R600 with "Coolpower" engine setup and twin-stick transmission. Humungus' vehicle is a heavily modified F100 Ute. Other vehicles include dune buggies, Ford XA Falcon, a Valiant VH coupe, a VW Combi, a Ford Landau and Valiant Chargers.
[edit] Themes
Atypical of most action-centered films that lack fully developed characters or themes, the storyline of Mad Max 2 tackles a few intellectual concepts amidst all the chaos. The film shows Max regaining some of the humanity he lost after his wife and infant son were murdered in the first installment. At first he refuses to help the settlers in their fight against Humungus. After an offer of all the fuel he can carry and seeing the ongoing behavior of the nomad gang he then helps out a group of people who are clinging to a lost cause and hoping for a better future. Thus, Max shows that he still cares about the welfare of the weak and defenseless — quite befitting the ideal of a (former) law officer. Within the settler community characters as well as the nomads there are nods towards female independence in a chauvinistic world and also positive portrayals of disabilty and sexual ambivalence.
In front of the compound gates the besieging Lord Humungus actually offers to spare the lives of the settlers: "Just walk away!" He says that there must be an end to the normality of killing and bloodshed. His name highlights his now apparent disfigurement and hints that he has been scarred through some event during the post-collapse social chaos. Humungus uses his eloquent speeches as psychological warfare. When trying to manhandle/incapacitate his distressed lieutenant Wez, Humungus states "We all lost someone we love." Later he takes his special gun (a Smith and Wesson Model 29) out from its case, to the inside of which is pinned a picture (possibly of his mother and father), reflecting Max's own family loss.
Another interesting and perhaps orphaned character called the "Feral Kid" lives in the wasteland near the refinery settlement. He does flips, growls when displeased, and has a fascination for the Gyro Captain's autogyro. The Feral Kid wears shorts and boots made from animal hide, hunts and defends himself using a lethal metal boomerang: its leading edge is sharp enough to slice through fingers and embed itself into bone. He has access to the refinery compound via the chicken tunnel. Whether he acts as shepherd or caretaker to the chickens while they are outside the settlement walls is not known. The Kid is befriended by Max who gives him a tiny musical box. After helping Max deal with the bandits he escapes with the refinery occupants and eventually becomes the leader of the Great Northern Tribe. The narrator then reveals himself to be the now grown-up Feral Kid. See also: Feral children in mythology and fiction
The concept of the settlers trying to escape a hostile environment mirrors the mass migration of families to the suburbs from overcrowded, blighted cities. Though the refinery can hardly be called a city, one of the chief reasons for the city/suburb migration was an ever-increasing violent crime rate among neighborhoods plagued by street gangs[citation needed]. Additionally, the fuel shortage that drives the plot is reflective of similar social conditions in Australia during the 1970s. The petroleum scarcity during that time led to violence amongst the car culture of that nation.
[edit] Critical reception
The film was highly praised for its originality, especially with regards to the depiction of a post-apocalyptic future, a fuel-shortage crisis and for its action sequences. The stuntwork, particularly during the final showdown, seemed unprecedented in film. The use of fender-mounted cameras at high speeds was similar to the Frankenheimer race film Grand Prix and the staccato editing style helped give the illusion of speeds far outside what could be considered safe. However, other critics felt the film was much too violent, which in turn, drew more audiences to see the film on top of its already known record breaking status.
[edit] Filming locations
- The movie was filmed in the following locations in New South Wales, Australia:
- Broken Hill environs ()
- Mundi Mundi Plains Lookout (south/east) ()
- Silverton ()
- Stephen's Creek ()
- The Pinnacles Desert () Remains of the Refinery Fort
- The road to Menindee lakes ()
Higher resolution Google Earth images updated 2006-08
[edit] Influences in other media
The hugely popular Japanese manga/anime "Hokuto no Ken" ("Fist of the North Star") shows very heavy influence from the Mad Max series, especially Mad Max 2. In particular the first few plotlines with their post-apocalyptic setting, plots centering around vicious motorized gangs terrorizing relatively helpless refugee/settler groups to rob them of precious fuel and water etc. borrow so liberally from Mad Max as to arguably constitute plagiarism. Kenshiro's garb and general appearance also closely track Mel Gibson's character, at least early on in the series.
In the world of computer gaming, the popular role playing game Fallout and its sequel Fallout 2 owe much to the Mad Max movies. These include there being a town called Broken Hills, being able to resemble Max (by donning a leather jacket) and recruiting a dog into your party called Dogmeat.
The film has also had a large influence on the world of professional wrestling. The tag team in pro wrestling known as The Road Warriors chose that name from this movie. The Lord Humongous character was used in pro-wrestling by many wrestlers (the most famous Sid Vicious).
[edit] Trivia
- Save for the voiceover detailing history to the present point, there is no spoken dialogue for the first ten minutes and twenty-eight seconds of the film, only Wez's barbaric yelling.
- The gyrocopter in the movie is not actually capable of hovering, and, although it is possible to land one almost vertically, it would depend on exacting wind conditions and a very skilled pilot. It is an autogyro, so it needs forward thrust to generate lift and a runway to take off (and usually to land). In addition, while the craft might have enough lifting power to carry two people in flight (depending on their combined weight), it could never get off the ground while carrying a pilot, a cameraman, and his filming equipment. In the wide shot of Max and the Gyro Captain flying off in search of the Mack truck, only the pilot was real; the passenger was a lightweight dummy. The airborne POV (point-of-view) shots were taken from the film crew's helicopter, with a mockup of the autogyro's instruments and controls mounted on the side in front of the camera. The airborne shots of an injured Max being flown back to the compound were filmed with Mel Gibson hanging partway out of the helicopter's door.
- Max's canine partner (named, simply enough, "Dog") was a Blue Heeler, a breed also known as the Australian Cattle Dog. According to the production notes on the DVD, he was selected from among various castoff pets at an RSPCA shelter. During filming, Dog initially had trouble performing; the high-pitched whine of the racing engines (inaudible to humans) was causing him considerable distress. When the film crew finally discovered the source of his problem, they stuffed his ears with cotton. After filming was complete, he was adopted by one of the camera operators.
[edit] External links
| Mad Max Movies |
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| Mad Max | Mad Max 2: The Road Warrior | Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome | Mad Max 4: Fury Road |
