Mad Max 2: The Road Warrior (1981)
Dir: George Miller
IMDb: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0082694/
I don't know why, but I've been jonesing for action flicks recently, and damn if this wasn't a pretty fine one. It's no secret that a big part of why this one is so good is the setting. I'm a sucker for post-apocalyptic settings, but anyone can appreciate how well done the setting and the feel the movie evoked were. I'm also of the belief that Mel Gibson was, at least in his younger years, a great action star (I also enjoyed him in Payback.)
Some of the effects in this film are pretty dated, such as a boomerang catch actually being a throw played in reverse, and in some of the car chases are obviously sped up to achieve a faster look, but on the whole the film looked and performed great. I also am very happy that the "kid sidekick" was not annoying as shit (I'm looking at you, Six String Samurai), and didn't seem to get in the way. The score was pretty good too.
My only gripe with this film is that there is little character development, and while that is certainly not a requisite of the action genre, it at least adds a little emotional attachment, and makes deaths have a little more of an impact - but that is a minor problem with an otherwise excellent film.
Overall, this is one of the finest films the post-apocalyptic or action genres have to offer, one of the best of Gibson's career, and certainly the best of the Mad Max trilogy.
IMDb: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0082694/
I don't know why, but I've been jonesing for action flicks recently, and damn if this wasn't a pretty fine one. It's no secret that a big part of why this one is so good is the setting. I'm a sucker for post-apocalyptic settings, but anyone can appreciate how well done the setting and the feel the movie evoked were. I'm also of the belief that Mel Gibson was, at least in his younger years, a great action star (I also enjoyed him in Payback.)
Some of the effects in this film are pretty dated, such as a boomerang catch actually being a throw played in reverse, and in some of the car chases are obviously sped up to achieve a faster look, but on the whole the film looked and performed great. I also am very happy that the "kid sidekick" was not annoying as shit (I'm looking at you, Six String Samurai), and didn't seem to get in the way. The score was pretty good too.
My only gripe with this film is that there is little character development, and while that is certainly not a requisite of the action genre, it at least adds a little emotional attachment, and makes deaths have a little more of an impact - but that is a minor problem with an otherwise excellent film.
Overall, this is one of the finest films the post-apocalyptic or action genres have to offer, one of the best of Gibson's career, and certainly the best of the Mad Max trilogy.
posted by will at
10:12 PM
