Mad Max 2.

Review #707: Mad Max 2.

Cast
Mel Gibson (Mad Max Rockatansky), Bruce Spence (Gyro Captain), Vernon Wells (Wez), Emil Minty (The Feral Kid), Michael Preston (Pappagallo), Virginia Hey (Warrior Woman), Kjell Nilsson (Lord Humungus), Max Phipps (Todie), and Arkie Whiteley (The Captain's Girl) Directed by George Miller (#380 - Mad Max, #392 - Happy Feet, and #493 - The Witches of Eastwick)

Review
Mad Max 2 (also known as The Road Warrior) was released just two years after the original film. The first movie was brutal, but effective in its bleakness, especially on a low budget. This time around, the sequel has a bigger budget but more importantly, the sequel has more excitement and more (dare I say it) awesomeness. The environment of the movie and how much of a wasteland helps to the movie's advantage in making for cynical bleakness. Gibson is just perfectly well suited for a hardened character such as this, and the rest of the cast (especially the Gyro Captain) are perfectly well suited. Wez and Lord Humungus are brilliantly effective villains, and the climax of the movie is helped especially by them. The action in the movie is fast paced but also satisfying. This is like a Western, only if the West was Australia, and revolving around the apocalypse. It's a movie that pulls no punches, and is relentless in its dystopian punk outlook. It's a brisk 96 minute film that manages to be extremely slick in its approach, so go see it.

Overall, I give it 9 out of 10 stars.