George Miller’s 1981 Australian post-apocalyptic action film Mad Max 2 showcases a highly-stylized world where the cars and the people are equally as over the top. The film follows antihero Max Rockatansky (Mel Gibson) as he reluctantly helps a group of survivors find a way out of their camp that is surrounded by The Humongous and his men. Also referred to as The Road Warrior, the sequel is often seen as better than the original, while featuring many similar themes, while also growing in its action sequences and its reflection of real-world fears for the time. Mad Max 2 was written and directed by George Miller. The previous film, Mad Max had gotten negative reviews from American audiences. To avoid viewers from relating it with its predecessor, Warner Brothers re-released the film under the title, The Road Warrior. Promotion for the film also did not include anything relating to the original film, including the protagonist Max. After the film was released in the U.S. it continued to find success and glowing reviews. It was so positively received that future copies of the original Mad Max would be feature “The thrilling predecessor to The Road Warrior” on the box.
The star power of Mel Gibson drives the Mad Max franchise
The film is set after a nuclear war that’s devastated seemingly the entire world. The bombs themselves only started flying after clean water became a scarce resource. Nuclear war and access to clean water were to issues on the global viewer’s mind in the early 1980s. Many “end of the world” type films were being made at this time, ranging in scenarios, but there was a switch in the cause from the 1970s to 1980s. Films like Battle for the Planet of the Apes (1973) or Dawn of the Dead (1970) were increasingly popular but were did not feature a national fear like nuclear war at its center. Even the original Mad Max took place before the nuclear apocalypse. Then in the 1980s, films like Red Dawn(1984) and Escape From New York (1981) focused on the United States fear of invasion and/or war with the Soviet Union. These apocalyptic scenarios shown help the audience believe the world the character is living in, while also highlighting the fears of the world at the time the film was made.
The dangerous edge to the chase scenes in The Road Warrior highlight the film and series
Every film in the Mad Max franchise has focused heavily on the car and car chases, and this film is no different. Max’s car, the V8 interceptor, has become just as iconic and identifiable as the character itself. In this film cars, specifically gasoline, are central to the plot and drives the action. The film starts with Max being chased and we see here that his vehicle is low on fuel. When he goes out in search of it, he is told of a town built around an oil pump. He then saves a dying member of the town after his car is destroyed in the hopes to be paid in gasoline. Up until the end of the film, everything Max does to help the town is in pursuit of getting gasoline for his car. However, it isn’t just our protagonist who is desperate for gasoline, the whole objective of the film’s villain, The Humongous, is to take over the town and get the gas for himself. In the third act of the film, Max is asked to drive the Semi truck since he is the best driver out of anyone in the town, Max refuses and instead opts to leave the town with his now full gas tanks, saying he is not a hero. He then ends up losing his car in a fiery explosion with The Humongous’s men. Max then agrees to drive the Semi, not due to a change of heart, or a realization that it is the right thing to do, but because he wants revenge for the car he held so dearly. The film goes to great lengths to show the importance of gasoline in this world. People on both sides of good and evil die in the pursuit and protection of it. It’s this scene also that showcases Max’s antihero morals perfectly.
The Road Warrior works as a road/action movie sub-genre gem
Just as it’s known for its style and emphasis on cars, Mad Max 2 is also known for its car chases. The biggest and most memorable of these chases being at the end, where the car chase is also combined with the final action sequence. In this clip from the final chase, we see much of action sequences that any Mad Max film has come to be known for. We see Max driving a semi while being chased by many cars that want the fuel seemingly being stored in this semi. There are many cases of over the top action in this clip, from a motorcyclist being thrown clear from his bike and doing several flips while flying through the air, to the back of the semi being ripped off and exploding by a grappling hook. Characters are seen laughing and cheering at the chaos of this world to further show their insanity. This spectacle of over the top and unrealistic violence is entertaining to the viewer while also showcases the chaotic and crazy world that Max and the others live in. Another way the world is shown as much more hectic and chaotic is through the scene’s quick cuts. This scene features 85 cuts, which averages each shot to last about 2.33 seconds. The film overall averages about 15.33 shots per minute, or an average shot length of 3.9 seconds. These quick cuts never let the viewer fully adjust to what they’re seeing beyond comprehending what they’re seeing. This helps make the action feel much more suspenseful, fast, and jarring to the audience. (Seen below)
This second scene showcases an editing style that is featured in most mad max films, close-up and audio cues, and fast motion shots. Both of these are used to show convey that things on screen are moving at a very fast speed. These tricks are used in order to shoot the scenes at a slower speed that is safer for the actors that are standing on top of cars with one hand. Here we see a close up of a can of nitrous gas, with a sound implying lots of gas is being put out, then when they finally hit the gas pedal, the revving of the engine is heard, and the car is shown catching up to Max’s at a seemingly high speed, when in actuality it’s shot at a normal speed and sped up. These are common techniques for Mad Max films that have even grown to become a stylistic choice for the director when creating 2015 sequel and soft reboot Mad Max Fury Road, starring Tom Hardy and Charlize Theron. This newfound success, combined with its cult following and continual praise to this day, Mad Max 2 continues to be an important action film with a very specific style, not just visually, but in editing as well.
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