George Miller’sMad Max 2: The Road Warrioris widely considered an improvement over the originalMad Max, and there are 10 major reasons why it’s a better movie.The Road Warrioris one of only a fewsequels that surpassed the original movie. Generally, when movies get a second installment, something goes wrong, and the sequel simply can’t live up to the magic of the original film. Some of theworst sequels of all timeillustrate how easily continuing a successful movie can go, which makes it all the more impressive thatThe Road Warrioris so widely acclaimed.
The originalMad Maxis nowhere near a bad movie. It was a high-octane wonder of an action film that spawned one of the best action franchises in cinema history, and there’s quite a bit to love about Mel Gibson’s first outing as Max Rockatansky. Saying thatThe Road Warriorimproved upon it is not a slight toMad Max, it’s a huge compliment to its sequel. With as strong of a start as the originalMad Maxgave the franchise, it should have been almost impossible forThe Road Warriorto turn out better, yet these 10 factors helped it do just that.
The originalMad Maxtakes place right at the cusp of the apocalypse the franchise would be known for in its next four movies. There are definite signs of the chaos theworld ofMad Maxwould devolve into, from roaming biker gangs to cities in states of obvious decay, but it wasn’t a true apocalypse yet.There was still a semi-functional justice system with a dedicated police force in the originalMad Max, and even businesses like mechanics, diners, and ice cream parlors were still open. While it was definitely an interesting view of how the world died, it wasn’t as interesting as a full-on apocalypse.
The world inMad Max 2was so much more hopeless and interesting than it was in the original.
One of the most obvious changes that was made betweenMad MaxandThe Road Warriorwas the sheer scope of its apocalypse. InThe Road Warrior, the world was almost entirely different.Gone was the MFP, the Halls of Justice, and the businesses of the original: they had been replaced by empty desert wastelands, gangs that ruled the Outback, and survivors jammed into camps to avoid their wrath. The modern idea of a post-apocalyptic society was heavily influenced byThe Road Warrior, and for good reason. The world inMad Max 2was so much more hopeless and interesting than it was in the original.
The originalMad Maxwas made on a shoestring budget. While that did help it become one of the most proportionately profitable movies of all time, it also meant that the film lacked funding to pull off massive stunts and practical effects viewers expect from action movies.Many of the stunts inMad Maxwere incredibly impressive from a logistical standpoint, and the stunt actors deserve quite a bit of credit, but they never reached the scaleThe Road Warriorachieved.Mad Max’s stunts boiled down to some rather flashy car crashes, and little more.
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The Mad Max franchise is known for its stunts, and here are 10 of the best stunts and action scenes from throughout George Miller’s franchise.
The Road Warrior, on the other hand, is a truly impressive feat of both practical effects and stunt performances.Mad Max 2is filled to the brim with explosions, fiery car wrecks, bodies being thrown from, under, and into speeding cars, and more. Every action sequence in the film has some kind of spectacular stunt or effect associated with it, and every single one is a visual spectacle even over four decades later.The Road Warrioreven beatMad Maxat its own game: the car crashes in the sequel were bigger, better, and more thrilling than the original was capable of.
One of the most common criticisms of the originalMad Maxis its pacing. Despite being just under 90 minutes long, the film tends to drag for long stretches of its runtime.For instance, almost 20 minutes of the film is dedicated to Max and Jessie (Joanne Samuel) going on vacation, and quite a bit of the movie focuses on Toecutter (Hugh Keays-Byrne) and his gang chit-chatting. There are more than a few exciting car chases in the originalMad Max, but they’re often bogged down by exposition and interpersonal drama that could be sped up.
Mad Max: The Wasteland
Release Date TBA
In contrast,The Road Warrior’s 94-minute runtime almost feels too short. Every second of the movie moves its plot along somehow, and the dialogue-heavy scenes always know exactly when to make room for more action.The Road Warriorwas the firstMad Maxmovie to have the frenetic, breakneck pacing the franchise is currently known for, and it certainly benefited from it. There’s hardly a moment of downtime inThe Road Warrior, which only serves to elevate its drama and action even higher. Because of its high-speed pacing, viewers almost feel like they’re part of the story ofMad Max 2.
Prior to Tom Hardy taking over the role, Mel GibsonwasMax Rockatansky. He embodied the character, from his quiet madness to his full-blown rage. However,it wasn’t untilThe Road Warriorthat Gibson truly came into full stride as Max. In the original, Gibson had a few standout scenes, such as when he saw Goose’s (Steve Bisley) body or when he watched Jessie and Sprog die, but for the rest of the film, his acting was just okay. That’s mostly because Gibson didn’t have enough time with the character, as Max only went mad in the final 15 minutes of the movie.
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Max Rockatansky has changed significantly since the Mad Max franchise began in 1979, and he’s even been played by seven different actors.
InThe Road Warrior, however, Gibson wasn’t held back by having to play a normal family man and police officer. Right out the gate, it’s clear that Gibson was born to play Max. He embodies everything about the legendary road warrior, from his quiet and gruff demeanor to the wild look in his eye.In the film’s final chase sequence, there are a few great moments where Gibson really makes Max’s desperation and rage palpable, and it’s clear that he understands the broken and deranged psyche of Max on a fundamental level. It’s a stellar performance, and it gaveThe Road Warrioran edge over the original.
Lord Humungus & Wez Surpass Toecutter & Johnny The Boy In Almost Every Way
Max Rockatansky was a better hero inThe Road Warriorthan the originalMad Max, but the sequel also had better villains for him to face off against.The main villain ofMad Max, Toecutter, was really quite good: he was clearly deranged, incredibly easy to hate, and Keays-Byrne gave a great performance. That being said, Toecutter is a far cry from the othermain villains of theMad Maxfranchise, and not in a good way. He’s more realistic, but for a franchise as over-the-top and audacious asMad Max, that essentially meant Toecutter was just less interesting.
Both Humungus and Wez made for much better villains, and they were so cool that they even made Max cooler just for defeating them.
Lord Humungus (Kjell Nilsson), on the other hand, is basically the prototypicalMad Maxvillain. His massive stature and hockey mask made him incredibly visually interesting, his strange diplomacy with Pappagallo’s tribe made him a contradictory mystery, and his gang was much more psychotic than Toecutter’s.EvenThe Road Warrior’s secondary villain, Wez (Vernon Wells) was significantly better thanMad Max’s, Johnny the Boy (Tim Burns). Both Humungus and Wez made for much better villains, and they were so cool that they even made Max cooler just for defeating them.
Despite being a sequel and continuing the story that the originalMad Maxcreated,The Road Warrioris actually somehow more original and innovative than the first movie. The firstMad Maxwas a game-changer in a number of ways, from the inklings of a post-apocalyptic world that it included to the type of action sequences it created, but it wasn’t wholly original.Essentially,Mad Maxis just like any other revenge movie, it just added a slightly dystopian setting on top. The only big difference betweenMad Maxand something likeDeath Wishis the fact that Max’s revenge takes place in a crumbling society.
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Mad Max almost had a perfect villain twist in The Road Warrior, and Mad Max: The Wasteland needs to include the idea George Miller scrapped.
The Road Warrior, on the other hand, has a much more distinctive story. Max gets into a brewing turf war, he faces off against a deranged gang for nothing more than a few tanks of gas, and after nearly losing his life to said gang, decides to risk it again for a tribe he met just a few days prior.The Road Warrior’s story also touches on emotional notes like the fear of resource wars in the apocalypse and the hope of Max’s journey towards healing and redemption. It’s quite simply a more unique and moving story than the originalMad Maxhad.
Costumes are one part of a movie that is only really noticed if they’re very bad or very good, andThe Road Warriorwas an example of the latter.The clothes that the characters ofThe Road Warriorwear reflect the weird and deranged world they live in, and they’re one of the most iconic parts of the entireMad Maxfranchise. From Wez’s chaps with no pants underneath to the Feral Kid’s glam rock hairdo and all fur outfit,The Road Warriorhad some truly strange costumes. They made the movie more distinctive, punk, and just fun in general.
A good sequel has to go bigger and better than the original movie, and the costumes were one of the clearest waysThe Road Warriorexaggerated some of the thingsMad Maxintroduced.
There’s nothing wrong with the originalMad Max’s costumes. In fact,the MFP’s all-leather uniforms were some of the coolest things in the entire film, but the originalMad Maxsimply can’t compete withThe Road Warrior. In comparison, the original movie is only a rough concept of the weirdness and sillinessMad Max 2had in store for its costume department. A good sequel has to go bigger and better than the original movie, and the costumes were one of the clearest waysThe Road Warriorexaggerated some of the thingsMad Maxintroduced.
The originalMad Maxhas more than a few memorable characters, butThe Road Warriorhad more interesting people to support Max.InMad Max, a few of the MFP’s officers stood out, such as Fifi (Roger Ward) and Goose, as well as some of Toecutter’s gang, like Johnny the Boy. Jessie was also a well-written wife for Max, but beyond them, the film is filled with normal people in a strange situation. As well-developed and written as they are, they’re just not terribly interesting on their own. The same cannot be said for the cast ofThe Road Warrior.
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The Warrior Woman in Mad Max 2: The Road Warrior is a mysterious character, but she actually had an important role in the franchise’s development.
The Road Warrioris filled with leather-clad psychopaths, feral children, overly-friendly helicopter pilots, and more, whileMad Maxis filled with cynical police officers, slightly insane bikers, and a few normal members of Max’s family. There’s so much more personality in characters like the Gyro Captain (Bruce Spence) or Wez than there is in Fifi or Goose. Everyone inThe Road Warriorwas an oddball long before they met Max, which makes them much more intriguing characters in their own right.
In keeping with the goal of being bigger and better thanMad Max,The Road Warrioralso improved the legend surrounding Max Rockatansky. In the original film, Max was a pretty good but fairly average police officer. He ran a few bikers off the road and blew one to smithereens, but aside from that, he wasn’t exactly the stuff of legends.InMad Max 2, however, Max really earned the title of road warrior. He drove a massive and slow rig through a gang of murderous bandits twice, lived to tell the tale, and basically single-handedly secured an entire tribe’s survival.
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Mad Max 2 leaned into the gonzo absurdity of George Miller’s apocalyptic wasteland, realizing the vision he didn’t have the money for the first time.
There was nothing wrong with the scope of Max’s feats inMad Max, butThe Road Warriorwas still an improvement.The things Max actually does inThe Road Warriorare just cooler and more heroic than they were inMad Max, which is never a bad thing for a sequel to do. Making Max Rockatansky more of a legend was a good choice, and it was just one of many thingsThe Road Warriormanaged to improve upon from the original film.
One of the biggest differences between the originalMad MaxandThe Road Warriorwas in their endings. At the end ofMad Max, Max finds Johnny the Boy alone and helpless, chains him to a wrecked car, offers him a hacksaw to cut his own foot off, and leaves him to die in a fiery explosion.It was a brutal way to punctuate Max’s descent into madness, and as cool as it was,Mad Maxended on a very grim note. There’s nothing wrong with dark and dreary endings, but there’s also a reason that happy endings are so cliché: people like them.
Is Johnny The Boy Actually Dead At The End Of Mad Max?
Max chained Johnny the Boy to a car that was rigged to explode at the end of Mad Max, but the movie never revealed whether he actually survived.
The ending ofThe Road Warriormanaged to have a crowd-pleasing happy ending without devolving into cheesy clichés, and it also included a great twist reveal.As Max learns that the rig was a diversion filled with sand and the narrator reveals that he saved Pappagallo’s tribe from certain doom, there’s a sense thatThe Road Warriorearned a happier ending thanMad Maxhad. Max crawled through hell just to save the tribe, and as they ride off into the sunset,Mad Max 2: The Road Warriorproved to be much more hopeful and happy than the original.
Mad Max 2: The Road Warrior
Cast
The Road Warrior, aka Mad Max 2, picks up after the original 1976 film and continues following Max’s (Mel Gibson) journey through a post-apocalyptic Australia. This time, Max helps a group of locals escape bandits to protect their wealth of gasoline. George Miller again directs the Mad Max sequel and is often considered the fan-favorite of the original trilogy.
Mad Max
Mad Max is a 1979 sci-fi action film from director and writer George Miller. Mel Gibson stars as Max a police officer in the future who goes after a gang of vicious motorcycle thugs. The film led to a long-running franchise including The Road Warrior, Beyond Thunderdome, Fury Road, and Furiosa.
