The Road Warrior (1981) - "Living For The Max" Series

Welcome to the Living for the Max series.  Over the past 45 years, there has been no other film franchise QUITE as inventive nor as consistently exciting as The Mad Max Saga….four films mostly chronicling the post-apocalyptic adventures of lone wolf Max Roxatansky played three times by Mel Gibson and most recently by Tom Hardy.  As everyone has been directed by Australian cinematic genius George Miller, they have each reflected his unique vision while also being HUGELY influential on pop culture, more specifically the action genre.  So needless to say, new ones don’t come around very often and when they do….it MORE than qualifies as a cinematic EVENT.  Therefore over the next several months, I will be revisiting EACH entry of this beloved franchise every month leading up to the U.S. release of Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga on May 24!  

And now the SECOND film in this franchise which is considered by many to be the best overall.....well at least was considered to be the best until Mad Max Fury Road came out in 2015.  But it's still damn impressive bringing us back to Max who is now a drifter with his own heavily souped up Interceptor wandering around the post-apocalyptic Australian Outback.  His character is always on the search for gasoline....as are most others at this point in time which leads to some potential trouble. He finds a massive oil refinery occupied by well-meaning survivors who just want to live in peace.  Of course there are more dangerous elements out there who want to take over this oil refinery and they are lead by the evil Lord Humungus played by Kjell Nilsson...and they're not taking any prisoners. :o So here comes Max to try to help them transport their oil to a safer place while avoiding this violent gang which means to overtake them....and what results is a rip-roaring series of action sequences mostly taking place on the open road!  Also co-starring are Bruce Spence, Michael Preston, Emil Minty, and Vernon Wells.

Host & Editor: Geoff Gershon
Producer: Marlene Gershon 

Transcript

“Living for the Max” Series:

Welcome to the Living for the Max series.  Over the past 45 years, there has been no other film franchise QUITE as inventive nor as consistently exciting as The Mad Max Saga….four films mostly chronicling the post-apocalyptic adventures of lone wolf Max Roxatansky played three times by Mel Gibson and most recently by Tom Hardy.  As everyone has been directed by Australian cinematic genius George Miller, they have each reflected his unique vision while also being HUGELY influential on pop culture, more specifically the action genre.  So needless to say, new ones don’t come around very often and when they do….it MORE than qualifies as a cinematic EVENT.  Therefore over the next several months, I will be revisiting EACH entry of this beloved franchise every month leading up to the U.S. release of Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga on May 24!  (Music playing over)

MAD MAX 2: THE ROAD WARRIOR – 1981     Directed by George Miller

Starring Mel Gibson, Bruce Spence, Michael Preston, Max Phipps, Vernon Wells, Kjell Nilsson, Virginia Hey, William Zappa, and Emil Minty

Genre: Action Thriller (Audio clip)

Apparently 1981 was a more impressive year for cinema than I had ever realized...when I was genuinely binging through movies during the pandemic, I kept bumping into genuinely great films which had just turned 40. Including this one which I had seen before but this was my first time watching it since 'Fury Road came out...

And it's still glorious fun that can even hold its own along 'Fury Road - no small feat considering the vast differences in resources that George Miller had to work during the LONG gestation he had for the latter film in the '2000's. I consider both films to be genre masterpieces but THIS was the OG. 😉 

One of the things I love about all of the Mad Max films ('Beyond Thunderdome included) is the tactile nature of each of them - it's a very lived-in universe where everything seems ground-level even when it gets ridiculous! The Feral Kid, Lord Humungus, Wez, the Gyro Captain....on paper, these characters are all could come off as silly and it's not as if they're given much depth or backstories but watching this, you feel like you're among them. You can't help but be since the action surrounding them just feels so visceral. 

There are just SO many impressive sequences in this film, I couldn't begin to list them but let's just say that when shit starts to go down - someone wiping out on the side of a truck after getting pierced with multiple arrows, fingers getting chopped off from a whizzing metal boomerang - it all just feels like it really hurts. 😮 And to the credit of Miller, DP Dean Semler, and an amazing crew of stuntmen....ALL of the action is at the center of the frame! 

And then there's Max himself played expertly as a post-apocalyptic Stranger in a Strange Land clad in leather by Melly Gibsons...he never says much and yet he's all of the protagonist we need in this world - we know he's kind of a shit, but he's fun to watch....and that makes the ending for this film all the more perfect.

Moment of MADNESS (From the get-go, the Mad Max series has become widely known for jaw-dropping action sequences often made possible by death-defying stuntwork.  This would be THE best demonstration of that for this entry in the Mad Max saga.):

Even amidst so many memorable stunts and setpieces, there can only be ONE definitive choice for this category…..definitely the most spectacular stunt in the film and I’m referring to the very ending of what is essentially an extended 20 minute climax as Max is foolishly attempting to run this massive tanker of oil away from all of Humungous’ gang who have swarmed around him on the road.  Lord Humungous has pulled significantly ahead of Max’ truck and then turned around….UH-OH.

And as Max is barreling forward with the truck, he’s got his co-pilot…the plucky Feral Kid.  They’re already headed head-first into danger but GUESS who’s hanging on the front hood?  It’s the vile mohawked thug Wez portrayed with maximum sneer by Vernon Wells….he’s all bloodied up and he’s ANGRY!  We witness a tense struggle between him and Max pulling the kid in between them…..but then WHOAH, here comes Mr. Humongo himself chugging towards them in his vehicle and….what results is pretty much the textbook definition of killing two birds with ONE stone. (Audio clip) 

Humongo’s battle vehicle smashes apart into a million pieces as does the bloodied mess that WAS Wez…..and this all culminates with the truck then smashing off the road but not before flipping over about a half dozen times.   In the annals of ALL-TIME ground-based vehicle crashes, this is right up there with the truck flip in The Dark Knight, the final bus-into-bus collision towards the end of Speed, AND…..likely still the champion…..the bus/train collision which opened The Fugitive.  And this was all done on a mere fraction of the budgets of each of those other blockbusters no less…. (Audio clip)  

Best Needledrop (best song cue or score used throughout runtime of film): 

Australian composer Brian May returns to conduct the score after doing so for the first Mad Max two years prior….and his music for this film is quite similar but arguably more bombastic.  Almost always fast-paced, quite melodramatic, and he LOVES using that booming horns for effect during action sequences.  This is rousing stuff but also quite forboding at points to highlight the extreme danger our hero and eventually several of his newfound allies faces from Lord Humungous and his brutal gang.  You can also definitely hear a similar sound just over a year later with Basil Poulidouris’ ICONIC score for Conan the Barbarian…..sort of a Wagnerian propulsiveness. (Audio clip)

Most of the score is quite cohesive throughout but for me, the biggest standout occurs early in the film as Humungous’ gang are in the process of capturing, killing, and….arguably worse to some of the more vulnerable members from the compound which Max eventually aligns with.  The track I’m referring to from this soundtrack is fittingly called “Marauder’s Massacre.” (Audio clip) 

Wasted Talent (most under-utilized talent involved with film):

I’m going to take this category in a SLIGHTLY different direction by highlighting the contributions of some one involved with this production who maybe does not receive as much credit for the success and impact of this film as some of the more obvious players like Miller or Gibson.  And all I need to convey this is two words: SHOULDER PADS

Now is THIS the movie where a long-running 40+ year trend of using shoulder pads as a costume choice to help KEY bad-ass characters standout FIRST started?  I’m not completely sure….I believe they might have been used in some notable genre films from the ‘70’s including Rollerball and previous episode The Warriors….but NOT like here.  As far as I can tell there are at least TWO major characters rocking the shoulder pads in this movie – that would be the mohawked villain lieutenant Wez played by Vernon Wells and one of the more capable brawlers from the side of good who would be “Warrior Woman” played by Virginia Hey…..and they both pull them off very well!

In fact, there is no shortage of iconic gear here worn by the cast….even the extra’s, it’s definitely one of the more lasting legacies of this movie – you’ve got spike bracelets and necklaces, codpieces, leather chaps, hockey masks, and animal furs in ALL sorts of unexpected places!  The costuming is just SUCH a key aspect of what helps this film endure….I heard it best described on Reddit as “a combination of punk rock aesthetics, surplus sports gear, and leather fetish wear.”  Whatever kind of crazy post-apocalyptic world has emerged in Australia during the alternate timeline of this movie, one thing is abundantly clear: when things got hairy, the crazies truly raided sporting good stores.

And who was the visionary artist generally responsible for the dazzling array of styles featured in this movie?  Well that would be Norma Moriceau who originally hailed from Sydney, Australia – she also worked as an actress during the 1980’s but TRULY found her niche in costume design.  Norma first made her mark designing clothing for punk bands in London in the 1970’s before returning to her home country to eventually collaborate with George Miller on both this film AND it’s follow-up Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome.  By all accounts, she was a fantastic collaborator who would also work intently with much of the cast on these movies – even smaller parts – to help find the distinct LOOK they were going for, even helping them craft backstories for characters which mainly be manifested through their costumes.  And after first receiving positive notices for those two Mad Max films, she would end up being a pretty strong career in movies until her unfortunate passing in 2016….doing films like Crocodile Dundee OF COURSE, but also Something Wild, The Island of Dr. Moreau, and even Babe: Pig in the City….which was also directed by Miller.  

Her contributions to fashion would of course even eventually transcend movies….seriously just watch some footage of the crowds for concert festivals like Coachella or Burning Man, Moriceau’s lasting contributions are STILL there on display.  So special shoutout to the late, great Norma Moriceau whose legacy still endures decades later….. (Audio clip)  

Trailer Moment (scene or moment that best describes this movie): 

Within a film that features pretty much non-stop PULSE-POUNDING action, my choice for the dramatic highlight of the movie would actually a pretty simple and straightforward dialogue exchange relatively early in the movie.  We’re about a half hour into this story and the relatively good people at the barricaded oil refinery are scared….they have JUST been attacked by Humumgous’ marauders and are now being threated by the hockey mask-clad lord himself to give up the oil….or suffer even more violent consequences. (Audio clip) 

There’s a whole back-and-forth between William Zappa’s Zetta who is apparently the default leader….and several others – nothing but bad choices and no one is completely confident as to how they can safely flee the compound AND to keep their oil.  And just when things seems all the more hopeless as no consensus can be reached, they hear a whistle from a mysterious figure who recently enjoyed them…. (Audio clip) 

Whether we can be completely sure if this “Stranger” is on the level, that doesn’t matter….he’s clearly a master behind the wheel and he seems to know what he’s doing.  And this pretty much sets the remainder of the plot in motion….while also demonstrating once again just how DAMN charismatic a star Mel Gibson was at this time. (Audio clip) 

MVP (person or people most responsible for the success of this film): 

If you had listened to our previous episode for the first Max Max movie, this might seem a bit repetitive but there’s no denying that this movie only worked as a result of a burgeoning director REALLY coming into his own.  This was only the second film to be directed by Miller and coming off of the shocking worldwide success of Max Max in ’79, he could almost write his own ticket…dude was being offered a slew of big-time Hollywood directing gigs including Conan the Barbarian and First Blood.  And yet….

He eventually decided to return home and to proceed with a sequel so he could see what he could do with a REAL budget and actual resources – keep in mind that the budget for this movie was only around $3 million but it STILL cost more than 10x his budget for the original film.  And the crazy thing is that this movie feels EXPONENTIALLY bigger than the first movie….so many more characters, so many vehicles, and a never-ending stream of set-pieces.  Despite eventually occasionally branching off into different genres with films like The Witches of Eastwick, Miller would keep the Mad Max franchise on as his own personal ongoing passion project….for delivering on what remains one of THE textbook definition examples of a sequel which builds and improves on its predecessor in every conceivable way, George Miller is the MVP. 

Final Rating: 5 stars out of 5

Undoubtedly this is a special movie, one of the best of its genre, and crazily….it’s not even among top two favorites for this franchise but I’m just weird that way, we’ll get to those soon enough….

Streaming at USA

And that ends another GAS-GUZZLING review!