Mad Max 2: The Road Warrior [Blu-ray]

Books could be (and likely have been) written about what makes "Mad Max 2: The Road Warrior" such a great movie: George Miller's unique vision of a dystopian wasteland filmed to perfection in the Australian outback, a litany of well thought-out characters even among bit players, the oft-copied but rarely duplicated way that Miller manages to set the mood repeatedly with little if any dialogue, and of course the cars and epic chase sequences. What you end up with is perhaps the perfect post-apocalyptic story: a lone man who lives by scavenging in the wastelands, hardened by the events of the first "Mad Max" film, and still driving the last of the V8 police interceptors. A series of events quickly leads him to an ethical crossroads: does he stay with the band of "civilized" people fruitlessly guarding the last working oil pump and refinery for who knows how far, against the band of marauders camped at their gates? Does he make a temporary bargain and run off with his small reward from them to once more disappear into the wastelands? Or can he find another option? The answer is well worth the time spent reaching it.Spoilers follow, so if you haven't watched this yet, do please stop reading. :)There is so much more to this movie than even the most detailed reviews here will reveal. The symbolism throughout: the distant raven's cry heard as Max enters each scene, foretelling the death which hollowed him in the past, and follows him thereafter. The beautiful, nuanced characters found on all sides of the conflict: the idealistic Pappagallo who leads the motley refinery crew, preaching hope and humanity all while being surrounded by death and futility; the opportunistic Gyro Captain who survives the wasteland through cunning and killing while exuding insanity from every pore, but who ultimately shines through as perhaps the most sane individual there; and perhaps the most brilliantly complex villain in non-"Batman" film history, The Humungus, a muscle-bound behemoth who lords over a band of ruthless killers yet quotes 18th century German poetry (in German), repeatedly shows patience and practical thinking in achieving his goal, and carries around an immaculate revolver in a case filled with military medals from numerous nations. Plus of course the scene-stealing dog (named "Dog"), who was rescued from a local animal shelter, trained for this film, and then retired to a life of luxury with one of the cameramen.This is barely even scraping the surface. I've seen very convincing arguments that the entire story was a modern interpretation of ancient Greek tragedy (Miller's parents were Greek immigrants), lengthy commentaries on how avant garde the film was in casting women, homosexuals, and physically handicapped persons in strong roles (without dwelling on doing it), and of course numerous discussions on the political and environmental criticisms neatly wrapped into the back story of the picture (again, without being in-your-face about it).In short, which truthfully would have been two paragraphs ago, this is so much more than just the quintessential post-apocalyptic action thriller, as evidenced by the numerous "best of" lists it continues to find itself on. This is a testament to exactly what a talented visionary with a (very) limited budget is capable of producing, and a film which rewrote its genre and redefined exactly what a "hero" can be in movies.

Much as I hate the later Mel Gibson, I love this paradigmic film. Made in 1981, Mad Max 2: The Road Warrior represents the apotheosis of a certain genre of Australian films devoted to cars and more specifically to wrecking them. Director George Miller saw the elements of a great story in the tradition of old American westerns and the mono myth in this bleak tale of a beleaguered oil refining community that seeks to break out of their enclave and move to more hospitable surroundings. See John Ford's immaculate Wagon Train for a similar film about pilgrims led by a flawed hero. The adversaries in this film are a biker gang on steroids, anarchy made flesh, if you will, with war paint, mohawks, lots of leather and custom cars and bikes. They rape, murder, and steal. Enter Max and his wacky sidekick, the gyro captain, a pair more deranged than almost any save for Blondie and Tuco in the Good, the Bad and the Ugly. Max seeks only more gas, a philosophical position of total nihilism. unwilling to engage in any sort of communitarianism with the white-clad denizens of Texaco Prime (or whatever you want to call it), Max engages only with a Feral child who is equally empty. A nearly wordless film, Miller, like the greatest of directors, manages to work with visuals to tell his story (an art seemingly lost in the current cinema with the possible exception of Nicholas Winding Refn), combining epic sweeps of desolate landscapes with tightly edited chase sequences, including the bravura climax of the film. I can't help think that CGI has hurt storytelling somewhat. I have yet to see a CGI film with the primal energy of the Road Warrior. Now, remastered, the film looks as good as it did on the big screen back in 1981. I still pine after Virginia Hey, the warrior woman who dies on the tanker truck. Certainly as good or even better than most Sci-Fi post apocalyptic dystopian films. Too bad Miller didn't work in this vein more often. Alas Beyond Thunderdome hasn't the focus or energy of this film. A world masterpiece from that brief time when Australia produced some excellent films.

Love the movie, perfect condition

CLASSIC MEL GIBSON.. SUPER SEXY TINA TURNER.. GREAT WATCH

A male lead. I’ve gotten so used to female lead action characters that I was initially surprised. The post apocalyptic movie takes place in a dystopian setting in which an oil refinery is surrounded by “vermin on machines” (I quote). Mel Gibson (aka ‘Max’) is the anti-hero who plays the traditional male role: kills the bad guys, saves the good people and then vanishes sort of like “Shane” in the iconic Western. I like the movie & plan on watching it several more times. I don’t think they could make a movie like this again in this day and age.

This movie was memorable and thought provoking when i was a teen. I still enjoy watching it ever few years. If you have never seen it, just watch it, you will like it.