Movie Review: The Road Warrior (1981) directed by George Miller (aka Mad Max 2)
The effects of nuclear war, climate change, civil unrest and overreliance on fossil fuels has resulted in the collapse of Australian civilization, making the cities unlivable. Max Rockatansky (Mel Gibson) had already begun wandering the wastelands before the final crisis after the former highway patrolman suffered personal tragedy. Like other scavengers, he travels from place to place in search of increasingly scarce gasoline. When he’s ambushed by a flyer known as the Gyro Captain (Bruce Spence), Max manages to turn the tables. In an effort to avoid getting killed, the Gyro Captain tells Max of a nearby pumping station that still has fuel.
The pumping station is fortified, and home to a small community of survivors, led by Papagallo (Michael Preston). They’re being threatened by bandits led by the masked Lord Humungus (Kjell Nilsson) and screaming warrior Wez (Vernon Wells) who starts having a personal grudge against the community when his very close friend Golden Youth (Jerry O’Sullivan) is accidentally slain by the Feral Child (Emil Minty) (who was, in fairness, aiming for Wez at the time.)
The community has somehow learned that a site about 2000 miles north is still sustainably livable. But to get there, they’ll need something to haul the tanker trailer that can hold enough gasoline to get all their vehicles that far. Lord Humungus kills some of their scouts horrifically, then offers to let the community “just walk away” if they leave behind the fuel, but even if he isn’t lying, where is there to go in walking distance? The community also doesn’t trust Max, who looks almost exactly like the other scavengers, but he’s in possession of the location of a Mack truck, and will trade it for enough fuel to top up his own vehicle’s tanks.
Even with the aid of the Gyro Captain, can the community succeed in escaping the maurauders, or will Max abandon them to the dubious mercy of the Humungus?
After the low budget independent film Mad Max did well in theaters, this more expensive and expanded sequel was greenlit. It completely eclipsed the previous movie in reputation and sales, catching the public imagination with its visuals of a post-apocalyptic future. Both protagonist and villains set iconic styles imitated in movies, comics and animation ever since.
The opening narration is perhaps a little soggy with stock footage, but gives us all the backstory we need or get. Max carries the pain of his past with him, but what’s important is surviving in the present. It’s also a good idea to keep Max’s dialogue to a minimum as it allows Mel Gibson to convey his character with body language and facial movements (we know, however, that Max is more chatty offscreen since he filled the narrator in on details the narrator wasn’t present for.)
The movie ends on a mostly hopeful note. The community will survive and even thrive, with the Feral Kid reaching old age. But Max is unable to bring himself to join them, preferring the solitude of the wasteland. The Great Northern Tribe will never hear of him again, but we will.
Topical: Max, an ex-cop, is a self-centered jerk who has no interest in helping the community unless he gets paid, and only really comes through when the raiders give him no way of getting out of the situation other than helping the community. But all the other ex-cops we see are actively working for the raiders, so there you go. Early versions of the script would have revealed that Humungus was actually Max’s old highway patrol partner, but that was scrapped along with everyone else’s backstory.
Content note: Lots of violence, sometimes gory, many deaths and a hand gets mutilated. Very little gun violence as one of the skill sets lost in the collapse was making ammunition. Rape, nudity, one instance of consensual sex as a gag. The dog and at least one snake die. Peril to children.
Overall: This movie has style; a latecomer might think it a bit cliche but this is where all the cliches came from. Definitely one to watch if you have an interest in film history, or just really like post-apocalyptic action movies.
