Mad Max 2: The Road Warrior

I liked it but I didn't love it. I was kind of ambivalent during the whole thing. And then when the tanker crashed at the end I was like, "This entire movie just wasted my time." But the twist is the tanker is filled with sand, and the actual fuel was loaded up hidden on the escaping vehicles, so I was like, "Oh, okay. That's pretty cool. I'll allow it."

That good twist ending aside, the movie has a lot of selling points (and a lot of faults).

One of the things I liked is it seemed to have a better sense of humor than the first. The Toadie for example is fun, and I love that Max eating dogfood is considered a luxurious treat in this day and age. I also thought that for such a low budget film, the action sequences were well-boarded. Because of the low budget, it isn't perfect (we famously never actually see the Toadie's helicopter in close-up action, which is fucking ridiculous). But the practical crashes and car chases, and smash-'em ups were reasonably satisfying.

The movie isn't perfect. It seems to use the act of rape as a way to entertain and titillate the audience. In fairness, this is a trashy 80's movie and a sign of those times. What the fuck is Game Of Thrones' excuse?

Also killing off the dog? What the actual hell, man?

People who read my reviews have probably heard me opine that realistic sets, costumes, and visual effects are secondary to realistic characters and a compelling story. Now whether this is a compelling story is definitely debatable, but the characterizations are kind of threadbare and crappy, so basically the way I interpret the movie is through the way it presents the world. The Post-Apocalypse is actually the main character. So all that being equal, yeah, I DO notice the low-budget shortcuts in crappy costumes and cheap sets and vehicles. The fact that the feral kid is wearing a wig THAT bad throughout the entire movie is the most noticeable thing about him. How much would a decent wig for him have set back George Miller anyways?

Another problem for me is that Max ducking out in the middle of the picture doesn't make sense. He's not a coward. So why bail? And the thing that leads me to believe this was bad writing and an actual narrative mistake, instead of a good demonstration of Max's selfishness, is the dude has nuthin' else going on. Whether or not leading the caravan is dangerous, it's fucking somethin' to do, in a world where I imagine entertainment is as scarce as fuel. I didn't buy Max ducking out because I don't think there was ever a good reason for him to WANT to duck out.

I will say that the sequel is MUCH less confusing than the first. The first starts In Media Res and you have to get caught up in the middle of the action not understanding anything about the characters or the situation. Here we have an actual narrated prologue to detail World War III (which either happened AFTER the events of the first movie, or the first movie was basically the last gasp of civilized society after that). So yeah, good to keep the players and scenario straight. But the double edged sword there is both the Narrator and the narration are pretty freaking cheesy. I am less confused, but that fact doesn't necessarily make this film's opening better. However the Narrator turning out to be an adult Feral Kid at the end (and the current leader of that tribe) was a reasonably satisfying result.

So that was The Road Warrior. I liked it. 3 1/2 stars.