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Mad Max 2 (The Road Warrior)
Mad Max 2 movie poster
Directed by	George Miller
Produced by	Byron Kennedy
Written by	Terry Hayes George Miller Brian Hannant
Starring	Mel Gibson Michael Preston Bruce Spence Vernon Wells Kjell Nilsson Virginia Hey Emil Minty
Music by	Brian May
Cinematography	Dean Semler
Editing by	David Stiven Michael Balson Tim Wellburn
Distributed by	Warner Bros.
Release date(s)	December 24, 1981
Running time	91 min.
Country	Australia
Language	English
Budget	AUD $4,000,000 (estimated)
Preceded by	Mad Max
Followed by	Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome
All Movie Guide profile
IMDb profile

Mad Max 2 (also known as The Road Warrior in the U.S.) is a 1981 post-apocalyptic action film. Directed by George Miller, this sequel to Miller's 1979 film Mad Max, Mad Max 2 was a worldwide box office hit that launched the lead actor Mel Gibson's career. The film eventually became a cult classic, with fan clubs and activities still occurring decades after its release. The film was followed by Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome in 1985.

Noteworthy elements of the film include cinematographer Dean Semler's widescreen photography of Australia's vast desert landscapes; the sparing use of dialogue throughout the film, which is almost non-existent during the opening and closing scenes; costume designer Norma Moriceau's punk mohawked, leather bondage gear-clad bikers; and its fast-paced, tightly-edited, and violent battle and chase scenes. The film's post-apocalyptic, punk, comic-book-like style influenced many other films and popularized the post-apocalyptic genre in fiction writing.

Contents 1 Plot summary 2 Themes 3 Critical reception 4 Characters 5 Vehicles 6 Filming locations 7 Soundtrack 8 Influences in other media 9 External links 9.1 References

A brief prologue covers the events preceding the original Mad Max (no backstory was offered in that movie). After uprisings and an extended war due to energy shortages plunged the Australian desert into chaos, a group of special police officers were assigned to restore order to the outback. In contrast, in Mad Max 2, there is a much more pronounced breakdown of civilization.

Max Rockatansky, the former police officer who sought vengeance against the gang that killed his family in the first film, has now become hardened into a drifter, a "shell of a man". Clad in his dirty and torn leather police uniform, Max roves the desert in his scarred, black, supercharged V-8 Pursuit Special, scavenging for gasoline, which has become a precious commodity. He also has a pet dog and a rare functioning firearm (a sawn-off shotgun), but ammunition is scarce.

The film begins as Max clashes with some straggling marauders, led by biker warrior Wez (Vernon Wells). After driving off the gang members, Max collects the gasoline from one of their wrecked vehicles and continues on. As Max continues to comb the desert wastelands, he comes upon an abandoned autogyro and investigates. The autogyro's pilot (actor Bruce Spence) has set a trap with a poisonous snake, but Max and his dog outwit and overpower him. To stay alive, the pilot tells Max about a small working oil refinery out in the wasteland.

Encamped on a cliff overlooking the oil refinery, Max watches a gang of marauders in a motley collection of cars and motorbikes besiege the compound. They are led by a grim and charismatic masked warrior called "Lord Humungous" (Kjell Nilsson), a large, muscular man with a hockey mask over his disfigured face who commands a vicious mob of mohawked degenerates. Although he leads a rag-tag band of biker-berserkers, Humungous' speeches to the settlers exhorting them to surrender are articulate, and he uses his eloquent speeches as psychological warfare.

When four settlers' vehicles roar out of the refinery, they are chased down by the marauders and the people are raped, robbed and murdered. After the Gyro Captain and Max see the brutal treatment, Max goes down to the wrecked vehicles and slays one rapist-biker. One of the settlers is still clinging to life, and Max strikes a bargain with the man: he will return the badly wounded man to the refinery compound in exchange for petrol; a deal that falls through when the rescued settler dies following Max's entry into the compound.

Humungous uses a public address system to offer the settlers and their leader Papagallo (actor Michael Preston) safe passage out of the wastelands if they leave the facility undamaged. Max has an alternative bargain for Papagallo: he will retrieve the abandoned Mack semi-truck he came across earlier in return for petrol and his freedom. This vehicle would be sufficient to haul their tanker-load of fuel out of the wastelands. The besieged settlers accept Max's proposal, but retain his car. Max sneaks out of the compound at night, carrying fuel for the battered truck and the autogyro.

Max returns to the abandoned Mack truck and drives it back to the compound, despite the efforts of the Humungous and his men to stop the vehicle, in part due to help from air by the Gyro Captain. The settlers invite Max to escape with the group, but the psychologically-scarred Max opts to collect his petrol and leave. As Max tries to break through the siege, his car is wrecked and he is badly injured -- narrowly escaping some marauders, who trigger an explosive booby-trap and blow up his car. The semi-conscious Max is rescued by the Gyro Captain, who flies him back to the refinery, where the settlers are making hasty preparations to leave.

Despite his injuries, Max insists on driving the freshly-repaired Mack truck with the fuel tanker. He roars out of the compound in the now heavily-armored truck, and he is pursued by the warriors on their cars and motorbikes. Several settlers are in armored positions on the tanker, and Pappagallo drives an escort vehicle. After a prolonged and violent chase, all the settlers on the tanker are killed, as is Pappagallo. Max kills Humungous and his lieutenant Wez by crashing head-on into their vehicle, causing a massive wreck.

The tanker is driven off the road, tips over, and sand spills from the overturned tank. The Mack truck and its tanker trailer were a decoy which allowed the bulk of the settlers to escape with their precious fuel in oil drums inside their vehicles. Back at the refinery, a handful of the marauders seize the empty compound, but the refinery is rigged to explode. With Papagallo dead, the Gyro Captain leads the settlers to the coast, where they establish the Great Northern Tribe. Max remains in the desert, once again becoming a drifter, alone in the wasteland.

Mad Max 2 used archetypal motifs of a besieged community of decent people who need protection against vicious bandits who are rescued by a hardened man who rediscovers his humanity. These archetypes are common in the "Western" genre of American films, set on the US frontier in the late 1800s, and Japanese films such as Akira Kurosawa's Seven Samurai. There is a striking resemblance to the embittered, impenetrable "man with no name" character portrayed by Clint Eastwood in various 1960s European-produced Westerns.

The film depicts Max as a "desolate man" who has buried his feelings and his humanity after his wife and infant son are murdered in the first film. Although Max, a former police officer, at first refuses to help the settlers in their fight against Humungous, preferring to continue his life as a drifter on the wasteland, he eventually decides to help them (this is not as altruistic as it seems -- his car is destroyed at this point). Max may also be regaining a little humanity when he befriends the "Feral Kid", a child who lives in the wasteland near the refinery settlement. The feral kid growls in place of human speech, wears animal hides, and hunts and defends himself with a metal boomerang. The feral kid eventually becomes the leader of the Great Northern Tribe; the film's narrator reveals himself to be the now grown-up Feral Kid at the end of the movie. See also: Feral children in mythology and fiction

Another theme in the movie is personal loss, because several characters have lost their family members or loved ones. Max has become a "shell of a man" after gang members killed his wife and baby and severely disfigured his friend "Goose" in the first Mad Max film. Personal loss is also depicted for several of the gang members. After Wez becomes distraught over the death of his male friend (the "golden youth") in a battle, Humungous tries to calm him by telling him "...we have all lost someone we loved." Humungous may also have faced personal loss, because when he takes his special gun (a Smith and Wesson Model 29) out from its padded case, a picture of two people is pinned to the inside, which may be his family.

Within the settler community characters, as well as the nomads, there are nods towards female independence (in an apparently male-dominated environment) and also positive portrayals of disability: even though the settler's mechanic cannot use his legs, the film shows that he is very capable of maneuvering around the engines of cars and even large trucks, as well as fighting from a kind of counterweighted sling.

Some scenes in the film imply that the marauders are bi- or homosexual, such as Wez' blonde-haired, young male friend who rides with him on his motorcycle, which the script refers to as a "strikingly beautiful" "golden boy." Further allusion to this is made through barely audible lines spoken in the movie (plainly displayed in the subtitles) which refer to two "squads" under the Humungus' control as being the "smegma crazies" and the "gayboy berserkers".

The concept of the settlers trying to escape a hostile environment mirrors the mass migration of families to the suburbs from overcrowded, blighted cities. Though the refinery does not resemble the modern definition of a city, one of the chief reasons for the city/suburb migration was an increasing violent crime rate among neighborhoods plagued by street gangs. Additionally, the fuel shortage that drives the plot is reflective of similar social conditions in Australia during the 1970s. The petroleum scarcity during that time led to violence amongst the car culture of that nation.

The film's depiction of a post-apocalyptic future was widely copied by other filmmakers and in science fiction novels, to the point that its gritty "...junkyard society of the future look...is almost taken for granted in the modern sf action film."^[1] The Encyclopedia Of Science Fiction says that Mad Max 2, "...with all its comic-strip energy and vividness...is exploitation cinema at its most inventive."

Reviewer Roger Ebert calls Mad Max 2 "skillful filmmaking," "...a film of pure action, of kinetic energy", which is "...one of the most relentlessly aggressive movies ever made". While Ebert points out that the movie does not develop its "...vision of a violent future world...with characters and dialogue", and uses only the "...barest possible bones of a plot," he praises its action sequences. Ebert calls the climactic chase sequence "...unbelievably well-sustained" and states that the "...special effects and stunts...are spectacular", creating a "...frightening, sometimes disgusting, and (if the truth be told) exhilarating" effect.

Reviewer Pauline Kael called Mad Max 2 a "mutant" film that was "...sprung from virtually all action genres," creating "...one continuous spurt of energy" by using "...jangly, fast editing." However, Kael criticized director George Miller's "...attempt to tap into the universal concept of the hero", stating that this attempt "...makes the film joyless", "sappy", and "sentimental."

Richard Scheib calls Mad Max 2, "...one of the few occasions where a sequel makes a dramatic improvement in quality over its predecessor." He calls it a "kinetic comic-book of a film," an "... exhilarating non-stop rollercoaster ride of a film that contains some of the most exciting stunts and car crashes ever put on screen." Scheib states that the film transforms the "...post-holocaust landscape into the equivalent of a Western frontier," such that "...Mel Gibson's Max could just as easily be Clint Eastwood's tight-lipped Man With No Name" helping "...decent frightened folk" from the marauding Indians.^[2]

Critics praised the stuntwork and mobile camera techniques, particularly during the final chase and showdown. The use of fender-mounted cameras at high speeds was similar to the Frankenheimer race film Grand Prix and the staccato editing style helped give the illusion of very fast speeds, although other critics were concerned about the shocking violence in the film, which included rape, torture and brutal murders at the hands of the marauding biker gang.

Currently, the movie has a rare 100% fresh rating at rottentomatoes.com, indicating that it continues to impress both audiences and critics alike.

• Pappagallo (portrayed by Mike Preston) is a minor character in the movie Mad Max 2. He leads a small band of people taking shelter in a small oil refinery somewhere in the Australian outback. There are no clues in the film as to what his background was, or his occupation prior to the war. However, he has two problems. First, the compound is under siege by the bloodthirsty Lord Humungus; second, some of his people are willing to leave at Humungus' request. After a while Max Rockatansky delivers a tanker for him. After Max decides to drive the truck, he leads the defenders of the fuel in the "Battle for the Tanker". During the battle, Pappagallo notices the "Feral Kid" stowing away on the tanker. As Pappagallo drives alongside the truck to save the boy, Lord Humungus throws one of his spears at Pappagallo, killing him, and the Lord Humungus is in turn killed by Max in the final head on collision of their vehicles. Following this, the Gyro Captain succeeds Pappagallo as the tribe's leader. According to film script,he was CEO of "7 Sisters Petroleum" (see logo on tanker).

The film's tale of settlers that have to defend themselves from a roving band of marauders transplants the archetypal "Western" frontier movie concepts to the post-apocalyptic desert wastes. In place of horses and stagecoaches, the film uses large number of cars, motorbikes, trucks, and custom-made vehicles which are often chopped up and hot-rodded with superchargers and engine modifications and geared up for post-apocalypse highway battles with armour plating, mounted crossbow-launcher weapons, and reinforced bumpers.

Max's powerful black-painted muscle car is a modified Pursuit Special, a Ford Falcon XB GT coupe with a V8 engine ("the last of the V8s") that the police forces customized for use as a police Pursuit Special in the first Mad Max film. The car is depicted with a supercharger protruding through the hood which can be toggled on and off, and its black body is scarred and scratched from Max's journeys in the wasteland. The precious contents of the Pursuit Special's petrol tanks are protected from thieves with an explosive "booby trap" and a sheathed knife is hidden on the underbody of the vehicle.

The large Mack truck used to pull the oil tanker is a 1970s Mack R-600 with a "coolpower" engine setup (the coolpower setup uses an aftercooler on the cylinder head and a tip turbine fan) and a twin-stick transmission. The Mack has a locomotive-style cowcatcher mounted on the front to protect the vehicle from crash impacts, armoured plates welded in front of the radiator (with air slits for cooling ventilation), and armoured cages around the wheels. The trailer is protected with fortified, spike-encrusted turrets and barbed wire strung up along the sides of the tanker.

Humungus' bizarre vehicle is a heavily modified F-100 Ute, which is depicted with a custom-made Nitrous Oxide booster system. The marauders use an early 1970s red F-100 with a cobra painted on the doors, and a cut-down boat-style windshield during the final chase scenes. Humungus's lieutenant Wez drives an early 1980s model Suzuki GSX1000 motorbike in the film, and later is seen riding on a Yamaha XS1100E motorbike with a sidecar. Most of the dune buggies used in the film were VW-based modified "sandrail" kitcars, with single-axle drive train and suspension.

The settler leader Pappagallo's vehicle, which was captured from the marauders in an earlier battle, has two Ford 351 engines, one on the front, and one on the back. Other vehicles used in the movie include a variety of Australian muscle cars, including a 1974 ZG Fairlane, with LTD front guards; a custom-made vehicle with open engine bay and half of its roof chopped out, and a 6/71 supercharger; a Holden Monaro with a custom front and a roof opening; an LC/LJ Holden Torana which has been custom-modified into a Speedway car; a Ford XA Falcon, a Valiant VH coupe; a VW Kombi; a Ford Landau; and various Valiant Chargers.

The main gate of the settlement is actually an armoured Commer School Bus. This is also the main escape vehicle at the end of the film.

Several of the besieging army's vehicles are of the same type as seen used as police pursuit cars in the original film.

• The movie was filmed in the following locations in New South Wales, Australia:
  • Broken Hill environs (31°57′S, 141°27′E)
  • Mundi Mundi Plains Lookout (south/east) ( 31°50′52″S, 141°12′22″E)
  • Silverton ( 31°53′05″S, 141°13′27″E)
  • Stephen's Creek ( 31°50′20″S, 141°30′40″E)
  • The Pinnacles - Broken Hill
  • The road to Menindee lakes ( 32°01′19″S, 141°35′08″E)

Higher resolution Google Earth images updated 2006-08

The film score was produced by Australian composer Brian May. It is available on CD on the Varese Sarabande label, catalog number VCD 47262.

Track listing:

1. Montage
2. Main Title
3. Confrontation
4. Marauder's Massacre
5. Max Enters Compound
6. Gyro Saves Max
7. Break Out
8. Finale And Largo
9. End Title
10. SFX Suite
11. Boomerang Attack
12. Gyro Flight
13. The Big Rig Starts
14. Breakout
15. The Refinery Explodes
16. Reprise

total length: 35m07s

The popular Japanese manga/anime "Hokuto no Ken" ("Fist of the North Star") is influenced by the Mad Max series, especially Mad Max 2. The first few plotlines with their post-apocalyptic setting, with vicious motorized gangs terrorizing settler groups. Kenshiro's garb and appearance seem to be modeled on Mel Gibson's character.

The computer role playing games Wasteland, Fallout and its sequel Fallout 2 as well as Fallout: Brotherhood of Steel are influenced by the Mad Max movies, in addition to their 50s pulp sci-fi design. They depict a town called Broken Hills and there are characters which resemble Max such as "Ian". In the game Fallout, one of the armour items is a one-sleeved leather jacket similar to that worn by Max. Additionally, a mongrel bearing striking similarity to the Dog can be recruited as a party member. In Fallout 2, Dogmeat appears as an easter egg character who, if attacked, is aided by an NPC by the name of 'Mel'.

The film has also influenced the professional wrestling tag team The Road Warriors, which are named after the film. The Lord Humungus character was used in pro wrestling by wrestlers such as Sid Eudy (who went by the stage name Sid Vicious).

Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers made a Road Warrior influenced video for their 1982 song "You Got Lucky", which had the band traveling a post-apocalyptic wasteland in a futuristic car and a motorcycle with sidecar.

Phil Collins' music video for the song Don't Lose My Number included a parody of the movie, with Collins as Wez . The fictional military force Barjack in the Battle Angel Alita manga uses vehicles armed and modified that appear to have been inspired by the vehicles used in The Road Warrior.

In the Bart vs. Australia episode of The Simpsons, when the Simpson family is being chased by an angry mob composed primarily of characters stereotypically emblematic of Australia, a biker in the style of The Road Warrior can be seen. Also, the episode Beyond Blunderdome features extensive references to and parodies of both this film and Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome.

In the Proper Condom Use episode of South Park, the confrontation between the boys and girls towards the end of the episode is a direct reference to The Road Warrior. Butters wears a Lord Humungus-style mask and speaks his famous line, "Just walk away", and Kenny is killed by a boomerang like the one thrown by the Feral Kid. Also in the episode The Passion of the Jew while Stan and Kenny are on the bus after their escape from Mel Gibson, he appears behind them in the semi from the film and evetually runs into the theatre, blowing it up just like in the movie (except it was a fortress).

Toronto independent rock band Constance Burden vs. The Sinister Octopi's first album, titled The Ghost of Max Rockatansky is a concept album based primarily on this film.

A TV commercial by NASCAR's Dale Earnhardt, Jr. shows his Budweiser #8 car being chased down a desolate highway in a desert setting by a gang of "crazy desert mutant guys" is another reference to "The Road Warrior's" infamous road chase scene. The commercial includes several auto stunts that are very similar to the film.

In the novel Warriors of Ultrimar, the leader of a group of refuges in erebus city is led by an old man named Papa Gallo. This group is being extorted by a gang: in return for protection from an invading force of alien bugs, food and medical supplies, they must pay all that they have.

In the CGI animation TV show ReBoot, a game was played in the Mad Max universe, which included vehicles and the Humungus.

• Mad Max 2: The Road Warrior at the Internet Movie Database
• Mad Max Movies FAQ
• Mad Max Replica Stats – Displays a comprehensive list of all known Mad Max Replicas in the world.

v • d • e George Miller
Feature films	Mad Max(1979)  · Mad Max 2: The Road Warrior (1981) · Twilight Zone: The Movie (1983) · Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome (1985) · The Witches of Eastwick (1987) · Lorenzo's Oil (1992) · 40,000 Years of Dreaming (1997) · Babe: Pig in the City (1998) · Happy Feet (2006)

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