The Road Warrior
Year: 1981
Director: George Miller
Starring: Mel Gibson
Runtime: 96 mins
BBFC: 18
Published: 17/02/22
Director: George Miller
Starring: Mel Gibson
Runtime: 96 mins
BBFC: 18
Published: 17/02/22
Vehicular action sequences are a staple of action films, so much so that it’s rare to have an action film in the modern day that doesn’t have at least one car chase, or vehicle based stunt in it. But it wasn't all that long ago when on-screen vehicular carnage wasn’t as common, and it took one film to not only popularise the vehicular action sequence, but do it so well that it became the template for every other car chase or stunt sequence for years thereafter, and is still used as a template in a lot of modern action films to this day.
Because 1979’s Mad Max hadn’t been a major theatrical success outside of Australia, Mad Max 2 was reconceptualised as The Road Warrior, a film that acted as a sequel to Mad Max, but was also completely accessible to those who hadn’t seen the original film. So how does The Road Warrior hold up thirty years later? Is it still an edge of your seat thrill ride, or has the novelty worn off?
Following the total collapse of society and the rise of gangs, the world’s most valuable resource is now gasoline. Whoever controls the gasoline controls the fate of humanity as we know it. Following the death of his family, Max Rockatansky (Mel Gibson) drives around the wasteland once known as Earth scavenging to survive.
When Max discovers an oil refinery under siege from a vicious biker gang, he seizes his opportunity to walk away with some loot. However, he is roped in to helping them fend off the biker gang, so that they may bottle up their remaining gasoline and relocate somewhere where they will be left in peace.
The Road Warrior, much like its predecessor, is light on story. But unlike its predecessor it does take its time to properly establish who’s who, what purpose they serve, and how the world managed to get this way. That was arguably the biggest problem with the original Mad Max, the story was hardly there and what little dialogue there was served no purpose.
I don’t think The Road Warrior is a major improvement over Mad Max regarding the story and how its delivered, but at least this time you can understand what’s happening and who people are.
Because 1979’s Mad Max hadn’t been a major theatrical success outside of Australia, Mad Max 2 was reconceptualised as The Road Warrior, a film that acted as a sequel to Mad Max, but was also completely accessible to those who hadn’t seen the original film. So how does The Road Warrior hold up thirty years later? Is it still an edge of your seat thrill ride, or has the novelty worn off?
Following the total collapse of society and the rise of gangs, the world’s most valuable resource is now gasoline. Whoever controls the gasoline controls the fate of humanity as we know it. Following the death of his family, Max Rockatansky (Mel Gibson) drives around the wasteland once known as Earth scavenging to survive.
When Max discovers an oil refinery under siege from a vicious biker gang, he seizes his opportunity to walk away with some loot. However, he is roped in to helping them fend off the biker gang, so that they may bottle up their remaining gasoline and relocate somewhere where they will be left in peace.
The Road Warrior, much like its predecessor, is light on story. But unlike its predecessor it does take its time to properly establish who’s who, what purpose they serve, and how the world managed to get this way. That was arguably the biggest problem with the original Mad Max, the story was hardly there and what little dialogue there was served no purpose.
I don’t think The Road Warrior is a major improvement over Mad Max regarding the story and how its delivered, but at least this time you can understand what’s happening and who people are.
What you really watch The Road Warrior for is the action scenes. In terms of spectacle, the action sequences in The Road Warrior do look quaint by todays standards. But in 1981 this was the most adrenaline fuelled vehicle-based action film ever made. It is also still impressive to this day to witness the scale and intricacy of these sequences, with little to no special effects work masking what you’re watching. The people that go flying from vehicles when they crash are real stuntmen, not dummies or added in with computer generation. Every crash you see actually happened, and the carnage that ensues from it is totally real. That’s what really makes The Road Warrior impressive, because even before CGI took off in the mid to late nineties, nothing came close to topping the sheer chaos and scale of these action sequences. In fact, the only film that arguably did ever top it without relying on tons of CGI special effects was another Mad Max sequel, 2015’s Fury Road.
Is The Road Warrior worth watching today? For your average action movie fan, no. There’s not enough of substance there to justify someone going back to watch it without wanting to learn more about how the film was made.
But for people who love film history and are interested in seeing how we got to the likes of the Fast & Furious films, then The Road Warrior is essential viewing for the action sequences alone. It’s a shame the rest of the film is generally quite underwhelming because The Road Warrior is an important film in cinematic history, it’s just one that a lot of people probably won’t find particularly interesting.
Is The Road Warrior worth watching today? For your average action movie fan, no. There’s not enough of substance there to justify someone going back to watch it without wanting to learn more about how the film was made.
But for people who love film history and are interested in seeing how we got to the likes of the Fast & Furious films, then The Road Warrior is essential viewing for the action sequences alone. It’s a shame the rest of the film is generally quite underwhelming because The Road Warrior is an important film in cinematic history, it’s just one that a lot of people probably won’t find particularly interesting.