One of the best loved apocalyptic action movies of all time, MAD MAX 2, which was retitled THE ROAD WARRIOR for its’ American release because the original MAD MAX (1979) had not performed in the US market, captures the essence of true heroism in a desperate time.
Max Rockatansky (Mel Gibson) remains scarred from the tragedy of losing his wife and son in MAD MAX and wanders the wasteland of Australia, looking for oil and supplies, but whilst out on the road, he encounters vicious biker Wez (Vernon Wells, who later appeared in COMMANDO (1985)) who tries to take Max’s vehicle. Whilst out in the desert, Max comes across an abandoned truck.
Max then meets the Gyro Captain (Bruce Spence), who tells of a refinery in the middle of the desert where he can get as much as he wants. Max surrenders after attempting to save the life of two people trying to escape from the refinery to seek a vehicle to transport the oil from the facility and returning one of the victims, who promised him gas.
However, Wez turns up alongside his superior, the Humungus (Swedish wrestler Kjell Nilsson) with his fellow biker gang members at the refinery, where they attempt to negotiate a deal with the inhabitants, led by Pappagallo (Mike Preston), to secure the refinery by walking away. Max decides to help them to secure gas and goes back to the truck to bring it in to transport the oil. The scene is set for a battle for supremacy in a crazy world.
With incredible stunts and a tremendous visual rendering of a world-gone-bad thanks to Dean Semler’s stunning cinematography, MAD MAX 2 has all the elements of a classic futuristic yarn which, as legendary film historian Leonard Maltin said in an introduction on a recently Blu-Ray release, taps into the hero’s journey as set out by Joseph Campbell’s HERO WITH A THOUSAND FACES, a structure that George Lucas also exploited for the STAR WARS films.
Mel Gibson was at his bonafide best in one of the roles that defined his career.