1981’s Mad Max 2: The Road Warrior established the look and feel of the post-apocalypse in movies while also delivering a message that spoke to audiences of its time and still today.
What Is It?
The sequel to 1979’s Mad Max takes place several years after the events of the first film when society has collapsed even further and humans have reverted to a tribal existence. It follows the former cop Max as he treks through the desert searching for fuel to keep his car running while also avoiding the marauders who want to steal what little petrol he has. He meets up with a man flying a makeshift gyro-copter who tells him about a factory nearby that has as much gas as he could want. The two head to the location (with Max having taken the gyro-pilot as his prisoner) but find it under siege by a gang of desert marauders led by their hockey-mask-clad leader Humongous. Max helps one of the people from the compound, thus gaining entry to their fort and he asks for fuel in return. He then learns of their plan to flee from the compound with as much fuel as they can take and he tells them of a rig that he knows of that will haul their tanker. He retrieves the rig for them (sustaining some pretty serious injuries in the process) and plans to leave with the fuel that they promised him once he returns. However, he eventually decides to help them in their flight and agrees to drive the rig hauling the tanker as they escape from the threat of the marauders.
Cast: Mel Gibson, Bruce Spence, Mike Preston, Vernon Wells, Virginia Hey
Crew: George Miller (Writer/Director), Terry Hayes (Writer), Brian Hannant (Writer)
Original Release: 1981
Legacy:
This movie struck a nerve at the time it came out as it spoke to the zeitgeist of a world going through some major turmoil and changes. It also established the highly-stylized look of the post-apocalypse and the influence of the film can still be felt today.
A Closer Look:
Mad Max came out back in 1979 with a then-unknown Mel Gibson in the lead role, and it garnered some attention for its bleak vision of the future and themes focusing on the breakdown of society. But it was the sequel to this low-budget film that marked a significant milestone in movie-making when it came out in 1981. And in so doing it managed to achieve that rare feat of producing a follow-up film superior to the original. The Road Warrior delivers a bare-bones plot with little in the way of character development and much in the way of mayhem and destruction, but it did manage to distinguish itself on two very important points. First and most obvious is its stylized approach that basically established the look of the post-apocalyptic world (much the way that Blade Runner did for the dystopian world) through the 80s and beyond. The punk-rock/leather-bondage appearance of the characters in the film, that has since been dubbed the “Road Warrior” look, immediately set this film apart and established the visual vocabulary for movies of this type that would follow. That along with the chop-shop, throw-together vehicles added much to the visual appeal and legacy of the film.
The Road Warrior’s second distinguishing point is the message that can be found within its subtext. This film did not try to make a grand statement or shout any social commentary at those watching. It was a bleak action film with a threadbare plot, but it resonated with audiences for a reason. Beneath the carnage and demolition-derby antics lay an austere, ironic message: in this despondent future, life is cheap and fuel is worth much more. And that spoke to the psyche of the audience at that time (and still today) because if you look back over the last few decades you can see where this has played itself out in world affairs. This movie connected with its viewers on a subconscious level in a way that other films like 1956’s The Invasion of the Body Snatchers and 1988’s They Live (more on that one at this link) did by touching on the deeper, hidden anxieties of their times. The visual appeal of the film definitely helped draw the audience in, but that underlying message kept it alive and boiling beneath the surface well after the closing credits rolled.
Looking back at The Road Warrior with a more modern eye, it certainly has a notable cheesiness to it. The film may have had a healthy amount of funds for an Australian production (4 million Aussie dollars, ten times what Mad Max cost), but this was definitely a B-Movie through and through. That does not detract from the movie, though, and in fact it actually lends to the overall atmosphere. The same can be said for the sparse character development. We get little to help us understand what motivates the people in the film beyond their base needs and urges. But the very adept cast fills in the blanks quite often with their performances. For example, we see this in the reactions from Max and the gyro-pilot when they watch the marauders attack a couple fleeing from the compound. Max may have drifted pretty far from the conventions of the civilized world, but we can see from his reactions to the violence he witnesses that he has not completely lost touch with his humanity. Little bits like this are peppered throughout the film, giving it a touch more depth than you might expect from this type of production.
And while the movie is fueled mostly by machismo and testosterone, it does not fall apart without that. There is more beneath the surface even if it does not try to belabor us with proselytizing or grand-standing. And because it was made outside of the Hollywood machine, it was not bound by the conventions expected from major studios. For that reason, it succeeded in traversing new ground and setting the bar for films that would follow, and ultimately the Hollywood juggernaut would follow the lead set by this small-time, indie film.
The Story Continues:
The character of Mad Max is first introduced in the 1979 film of the same name and that establishes the setting of a society in decay. The Road Warrior takes that further, and then the third entry in the franchise–Mad Max: Beyond Thunderdome–takes the post-apocalypse to its next logical step of decay. That one saw Mel Gibson return in the lead role and George Miller write and direct once again. It never achieved the same revered status as the second film, but it is still considered a decent entry in the franchise. It performed well at the Box Office, and Miller had a follow-up film planned titled Fury Road. But that one would slip into development hell and take nearly three decades to make it to the big screen– with Gibson no longer involved–in the form of 2015’s Mad Max: Fury Road. It was not considered a reboot so much as a “relaunch” as it continues the story of the Mad Max character in a reworked version of the world from the previous films. This modern updating (with a $150 million-plus budget) was well-received and it considered by some to be the best entry in the franchise. More films are planned in the series, and a prequel titled Furiosa is also currently in the works.
Interesting Facts:
The original title of the film was Mad Max 2, but the first movie was not well known in the United States and Warner Bros. decided to release it under the title of The Road Warrior. Since it stands on its own without the audience having to know the story of the first film, that worked out okay and it has since become strongly identified in the States under the revised title.
Mel Gibson only has sixteen lines of dialogue in the film, and two of those are taken up by him saying “I only came for the gasoline.”
Virginia Hey–the “Warrior Woman” in the film–is probably better known to sci fi fans as the actress who played Zhaan over three seasons of Farscape.
Where Can You Watch It?
The movie has been released on DVD and Blu-ray. It is not currently streaming on any of the major services, but it is available to purchase VOD.
