"Mad Max 2: The Road Warrior": The new testament of post-apocalyptic fiction

When you sit down to watch, read, play, or otherwise consume a story that 's rooted in an apocalyptic premise, one of the first questions you may find yourself asking is "what happened?" Not "what happened?" as in, "why am I doing this?" but rather, what happened to this fictional world that I suddenly find myself in. Any number of origin stories that ravage these worlds and destroy their fictional societies have been well represented throughout the history of storytelling, whether it be an alien invasion, an environmental disaster, or... ummm... a pandemic (yikes).

Part of what makes George Miller's "Mad Max" franchise so good, is that it's not particularly concerned with explaining any of that. There are allusions, subtle and otherwise, to the idea that a scarcity on oil leads to global war between several nations, culminating in nuclear conflict that scatters what was left of an organized, sane world to the wind. Society collapses, gangs take over the roads, and when we hit play on "The Road Warrior," the franchise's second installment from 1981, we have all of this info thanks to a brief, but handy montage that opens the movie explain it to us in the terms that those who lived through it understand.

Anyone who's seen a similar movie released since (or played a videogame like "Fallout" as one of the better examples) should be fairly familiar with this exposition device to the point that it's taken for granted. While I'm admittedly not well versed enough in post apocalyptic stories that precede "Mad Max" to fully know, this is certainly the earliest example I can point to of world building exposition that's short and simple, yet also smart and hard hitting. That includes an earlier movie from the very same franchise.

"Mad Max" (1979) is an interesting Australian B-Movie that makes some intriguing design and directorial choices, and equally (if not more) frustrating ones when it comes to storytelling, character development, and plenty of other fields. It received mixed reviews at the time, with one of the criticisms being that it just didn't seem entirely confident in what it wanted to be - that coupled with it's low budget to begin with makes it seem miraculous that A) George Miller even wanted to return to this Universe in the first place, and B) he wound up turning it into a highly successful franchise that would one day make over $100 Million dollars on one movie alone. Both of those things are of course directly intertwined, and it's the confident voice that Miller speaks with in his return to the wastelands of the Australian outback with The Road Warrior, where all of that truly begins.

Mad Max 2: The Road Warrior

Directed by: George Miller

Jake's rating: 9.2/10

Streaming to: HBO Max, Amazon to rent

Part of what makes this movie so much more confidently told (and by extension better) than the first is that we find ourselves in a world that we know just enough about to understand on the surface, and that we have the machinations of genre at work behind the scenes that the audience will connect with (whether they realize it or not). That understanding of the world at large is thanks to the work of the unnamed narrator walking us through the barebones explanation of things, and the genre which viewers may or may not consciously recognize is that of the spaghetti western. Wide, sweeping desert vistas that're only broken up by lonely settlements, the occasional car wreckage, or a cadre of clunking vehicles trundling along through the sand and asphalt are the lasting images that conjure up the work of Sergio Leone (and countless other pioneers of the Italian western), but what most hammers home the idea of this movie being in conversation with others such as "The Good, The Bad, & The Ugly" is the hero at the center of it.

If you've seen the first film, you know Max's origin story which is one of a former cop saddled up with a badass V8 interceptor, who lost the only thing he loves more than the car: his family. One of the gangs who took over the highways when society began to crumble terrorized him, and killed his wife and child, setting him off on a path of revenge and bloodlust in which he loses his mind along the way. Despite the fact that there was some effort to distance the second film from the first by distributors (It was simply titled "The Road Warrior" in it's United States release due to the small reach and faint praises for the original), Miller and his crew are still very faithful to the vision they set out for their titular character in the first one. Gruff and mysterious, Mel Gibson's portrayal of Max doesn't immediately endear him to the viewer, as he shows himself to be selfish, manipulative, and up for whatever he needs to do to survive in the wastes.

This is especially on display early in the film in his interactions with the Gyro Captain (Bruce Spence), a kooky con artist who tries to rip off Max for his juice (the colloquial for gasoline, the main currency of the wastes), and instead finds himself in the clutches of the hero and his dog. Part of what I didn't like about the original film is that despite it's somewhat absurdist portrayal of serious topics, there's not nearly enough relief (whether it be comic or otherwise) to make it a very enjoyable viewing experience. The presence of the Gyro Captain (and specifically his relationship with Max) is a big step in the right direction in that department, as he provides some great physical comedy, moves the story along to it's first main beat as he introduces Max to the settlement, and in some ways is the moral compass of the film as well.

And a big part of where this movie succeeds is the exploration of that idea - society crumbling would hypothetically bring down so many things with it, both physical and otherwise. Gone with our families, day jobs, commutes, and other daily aspects of a regimented and structured culture is our heart, desire to grow emotionally, and our whole moral compass... right? The main conceit we get with The Road Warrior (and what differentiates it from it's predecessor) is that it doesn't have to be that way.

This is mainly explored through the conflict between the settlers who occupy the oil refinery that the Gyro captain leads Max to, and the gang of marauders who are harassing them, led by the menacing Lord Humungus, and his sidekick, Wez. There isn't much to these guys except for the fact that they love ripping across the wasteland on their makeshift vehicles, and terrorizing anyone they come across in the process. That of course comes to a head when they finally come across the aforementioned settlers and their swaggering leader Papagallo who have the gall and the pride to fight back.

On the side of Papagallo, you have the old world personified in a sort of stoic, ill-advised picture of hope that he continues to try and paint. It's all in direct conflict with Humungus and his cronies, and (spoiler alert) the now taken for granted post-apocalyptic story trope of decency and sanity winning out over the alternatives when faced with dire consequences is the final cherry on top of a very well told, engaging story. Max winds up on the correct side of the battle, watches the settlement go on their way to greener pastures, and then is back wandering the wastes again, still a hardscrabble nomad, but a little bit more fulfilled than the last time we left him.

The story is the main backbone this movie is built upon, but what gives it the color and personality to really set it apart is costume and set design. This movie is ground zero for the retro-futurist junkyard aesthetic that we all know so well right now, and there's an argument to be made it hasn't been done better since. Not only do the characters vehicles and getups make them standout, but they also serve as a reminder to the old world, and the fact that you're looking at the remnants of a once normal world - well done by all involved to really sell this for what it is.'

Ultimately, some may watch this movie and unfavorably compare it against "Fury Road." That may be a totally fair opinion, but the fact is, this was the foundation upon which "Fury Road," and all post apocalyptic fiction after 1981 is formed. It's that, coupled with the fact that this is a damn good movie in it's own right to this day, makes it a must watch for fans of the genre and otherwise alike.