Mad Max 2: The Road Warrior

A perfect action sci-fi just how I like them. The prolog is amazing (it beats most that you might see these days), a summary of all the important events in part one along with some glimpses of wars that caused the final ruin of civilization as we know it. Straight afterwards, we are treated to a great car chase with breathtaking stunts. We get to meet Max, who is looking for gas (like everybody else). He’s lucky. There’s a colony nearby with its own oil well. But nothing is for free... (23/06/2006)

I prefer minimalism and anguish of the original over the overdone and loud action in the sequel. Though George Miller defines the post-apocalyptic genre in its essence and thus opens the doors for dozens of successors, it only answers the question for me of why I don't look for adventure in similar places. (23/05/2015)

Desert, cars, trucks, petrol, blokes dressed badass… all things I don’t like, but I still I expected some decent entertainment from the cult Mad Max, a film that set the slightly clichéd template for pretty much every post-apocalyptic film. I didn’t get it, unfortunately. I acknowledge it as a strong source of inspiration, but otherwise, it’s weak, very weak. (18/07/2011)

Two years after the success of his breakthrough debut, director George Miller returned to the Mad Max character with a sequel that completely redefined the concept of the post-apocalyptic world in popular culture and, furthermore, set the bar very high for action spectacle. The Road Warrior became a phenomenon whose style and success dozens of other productions around the world tried to emulate. But no one has been able to bring such an abundance of raw energy to the screen, nor has anyone succeeded in inventing such a fascinating microcosm of relationships. The post-nuclear future meets the myths of the past as Miller brings elements of the western to life with the aid of roaring engines and rampaging savages clad in leather and rags in a world where a drop of gasoline is worth more than a human life. (Annotation for the series marathon at Kino Aero, 2019) (14/03/2021)

The Road Warrior is a film I have seen many times and still enjoy. An action-packed post-apocalyptic blast and one of the top 5 action films of my childhood up there with RoboCop, Terminator, Alien, and Raiders of the Lost Ark. Among other things, the film contains great costumes and technology, but above all, it manages to draw me into the plot and doesn’t let go for a second. (24/06/2016)