Mad Max 2: The 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, it was even compared to Raiders of the Lost Ark, 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 referenced 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.

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, has become a nomadic drifter due to the death of his son and the incapacitation of his wife (both events are depicted in the first film).

One day, when he checks out a seemingly abandoned autogyro, Max falls into a trap set by its pilot, but turns the tables and takes him prisoner. In exchange for his life, the pilot tells him of a place where he can get all the fuel he wants. He 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." Max observes from a safe distance and during the following morning he witnesses an attack on four vehicles that have left the refinery. He rescues the sole survivor 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 his own deal; he will bring them a rig to haul their tanker trailer (he had seen an abandoned one earlier) if they give him all the fuel he can carry. He sneaks out at night, brings the truck back to the compound, fighting off the marauders, 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. However, he is attacked by the marauders soon afterwards and his car is wrecked. The injured 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 Humungus and his men. After a prolonged chase, during which the leader of the settlers, Papagallo, is slain, the tanker crashes head on into the Humungus's vehicle, killing him. It then 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.

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 Ford Landau and Valiant Chargers.

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 behaviour 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 beffiting 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. However, a pink-bearded, made-up nomad has his bright pink car burnt out by Max while trying to assail the compound entrance.

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 disfigured 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 out from a box, to the inside of which is pinned a picture (probably 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. 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. 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. 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.

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.

Mad Max 2 was the first of its kind to have violence that went from the beginning of the film to the conclusion, while at the same time, being a well written, directed and researched film. The style of violence and action sequences have been echoed in other action films since its release in 1981- being seen throughout the 1980s and 1990s and well into the 21st century. Mad Max 2 set a trend that originated new cinematic terms and styles known as "non- stop violence," "extreme violence," and "too much violence".

Parodies

The Road Warrior was spoofed in the South Park episode "Proper Condom Use." Near the end of the episode, the boys become angry that the girls misled them as to the nature of STDs. They decide to go to a fortress where the girls are hiding and tell them to come out. During the stand-off at the fortress (which looks remarkably similar to the fuel depot), Butters can be seen in Lord Humungus' mask, and is given a megaphone and told to negotiate with the girls. He then parrots the lines "Just walk away! You can put a stop to all this! Just walk away, and we will spare your lives!" in the exact voice of Humungus.

Trivia

Max Fairchild, as the "Broken Victim" who is tied to the front of one of the gang's vehicles, is the only actor other than Mel Gibson to have appeared in both the original Mad Max and in this film.

The movie was filmed in the following locations in New South Wales, Australia:
- Broken Hill environs
- Mundi Mundi Plains Lookout (south/east) -31.847 141.2
- Silverton -31.887 141.228
- Stephen's Creek -31.84 141.512
- The Pinnacles Desert -32.040 141.34
- The road to Menindee lakes -32.025 141.59

Save for the voiceover detailing history to the present point, there is no spoken dialogue for the first 10 minutes and 28 seconds of the film, only Wez's barbaric yelling.

The Mack semi tractor Max recovers from the desert is equipped with an air starter, which relies on an air source that can be internal (using the truck's own air supply) or external (using air from a maintenance facility). Since the air supply on the truck itself is limited, it is generally only good for one attempt. The tractor appears to have been sitting for some time when Max goes to get it, making it more difficult to start than normal, thus, the possibility of him starting it is highly unlikely.

The gyrocopter in the movie is not actually capable of hovering or landing vertically, as depicted. It is an autogyro, so it needs forward thrust to generate lift and a runway to take off and land. Nor does it have enough lifting power to support the weight of more than a single person in flight—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 the autogyro's instrument panel 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.

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).

The five-gallon diesel gasoline jugs Max and the Gyro Captain carry to the Mack would have been much heavier than depicted. Each gallon would weigh 8 pounds. Each jug has 5 gallons and there are 4. This means that Max and the Gyro Captain would have had to carry 160 pounds across the desert for a long period of time, which is done with relatively little apparent effort. Also, it is doubtful that the gyrocopter could fly with two people, a dog, and an additional 160 pounds.

In the USA, many people mistakenly think that the movie is not a Mad Max movie, since the US release title is The Road Warrior, not Mad Max 2: The Road Warrior.

External links

Mad Max II – Der Vollstrecker | マッドマックス2 | Безумный Макс 2: Воин Дорог (фильм) | The Road Warrior