Mad Max 2: The Road Warrior (1981) - by J. Molotov

This movie was lame.

It was just not at all engaging. There was an unconvincing villain, generally unsympathetic characters, no psychological motivation for the protagonist's actions...just nonsense.

To begin, this movie was much more clearly set in post-apocalyptic Australia than the first one. They even give a little bit of exposition into Max's past (basically just a quick synopsis of "Mad Max") and a quick overview of the war and the fight for oil that has led the world to this sorry state. Instead of filming in the grassy lands outside of Melbourne, they shot this one 800 miles west of Sydney, which is a complete desert. I don't even have a clue how or why there were roads constructed out there, because it's just miles of nothing. But the red sand and the rockiness provided a much more convincing post-apocalyptic backdrop. 

However, everything that was great about the first movie was utterly disappointing in the sequel.

The suspense was thin. While exciting to watch and again filled with some pretty good stunts, the major chase scene lacked suspense because of one major oversight: at any time, the gang could have (and should have!) simply shot the tires off the rig, and it would have been over. Instead, there is a long, protracted scene where they waste man after man trying to shoot Max from their little dune buggies, as he's driving the Mack truck. I mean, come on.

The villain is The Lord Humongous, who is not any fun at all. After the brilliance of the Toecutter, I can't believe this is all they could come up with: He's just a steroid-fed huge guy in S&M gear and a Jason mask. There is nothing interesting about him. There is one scene where they keep focusing on the back of his huge, veiny head, which led me to believe that later his face would be revealed and that there would be some story of how he was horribly disfigured...but no. Even that trite plot device was too much to hope for.

Then there is this freakshow: the "feral kid" that lives within the camp of people that Max is helping. His presence is unexplained, but he forms a deep attachment to Max because Max gives him a small musicbox device that he found on a dead guy when scavenging for gasoline. Despite it's small size and inability to speak (other than to make ape-like grunt-laughs whenever it sees a bad guy get shot), the midget thing is fairly helpful in a fight. But I still hate it. I think Mel Gibson does too; his disgust is almost palpable.

But perhaps my biggest problem with this movie is the lack of psychological motivation for Max to be helping these people. In the first movie, the motivation is simple: vengeance for his partner and family. In this movie, he first helps the people as a bargain to get his car back and to get as much gasoline from them as he can carry. Once that contract is fulfilled, he leaves. Then, when he is inevitably taken down by the Humongous's gang and brought back to the camp by The Gyro Captain, he agrees to drive the rig for them. It seems that he only agrees to do so because he has fuck-all else to do now that his car is gone. But then at the end, he obviously refuses their offer to accompany them to wherever the hell they think they're going, and remains standing alone in the road. He's certainly not going anywhere without a vehicle.

I understand the concept that he has become this loner and outsider after the death of his family and the subsequent killing spree. However, he doesn't come across as the dark, enigmatic figure that such a back-story entails. He's just a dude. I barely care what he's doing. It's odd, because back then Mel had the potential to be a real firecracker...remember Riggs? Similar character...dead wife, nothing to lose...and he's riveting. Max is just not in this movie. I vaguely remember him being more so in Thunderdome, so I will look forward to the little red envelope in my mailbox, and I will be sure to have lots to say about that one, as it is the nexus around which most of the mysteries of my universe revolve.

Oh, speaking of those mysteries...I did have one revelatory moment regarding the gasoline shortage and pigs during this movie, but I don't want to expound upon it until I watch Thunderdome and can be totally sure of the connection.