The Road Warrior, the sequel to Mad Max, is truly a masterpiece.
Not only is it that rare sequel which surpasses the original, but also it easily
stands on its own as a classic film in its own right. When The Road Warrior
first opens, after the lyrical narration that sets the time and place, we find
former cop Max Rockatansky (Mel Gibson) wandering the vast wastelands in his
turbo-charged V8 Interceptor, deftly dodging attacks from brutal gangs. The
apocalypse that was promised in Mad Max has finally arrived, and with the demise
of civilization, life has become one vicious battle of kill or be killed after
another on these lonely roads. And Max has become a very efficient, and soulless,
killer.
When Max gets the drop on an interesting character known as the Gyro Captain
(Bruce Spence), the pilot of a small, two-man helicopter, he's about to kill him
until the Gyro Captain tells Max about a place where he can get all the gas he
wants. This place turns out to be a settlement within an isolated valley. This
settlement has its own oilrig, producing an unlimited supply of gasoline. These
people, a mixed group of about 30 are under siege by the Lord Humongus and his
merry band of wasteland psychotics. The settlers are desperate to flee their
compound, and migrate to a beach area in the north known as Paradise. They have
a gas tanker all filled up for the long journey, but they have no means of
pulling the thing. Max, who has seen an abandoned tractor on the highway,
decides to cut a deal with the settlers.
In a story that recalls the mythic tales of the old west (Max is symbolic of a
lone gunslinger coming to the aid of a band of pioneers), or of a Samurai film
(Max could also be symbolic of a samurai warrior coming to the aid of a Japanese
village), or of Medieval times (Max once again is symbolic of a knight coming to
the aid of a group of peasants), Max winds up helping the settlers far more than
he intended to, which ultimately leads to a massive, exhilarating battle on the
open road between Humongus' men and Max with allies aboard an armored tanker
truck. This climatic sequence must be seen to be believed. The stunt work is
still stunning and the entire chase scene is just as gripping now, over twenty
years after it was filmed.
If only the DVD could be as good as the film it presents. This is your basic DVD
package, with very little by way of features. No commentaries, no making of
documentaries. There are the lame production notes, where you read an article
about the film by stepping forward frame by frame, and there are theatrical
trailers. The "flipper" DVD gives you a choice of watching the film in either
widescreen or fullscreen. My advice, watch it in widescreen to see this action/SF
masterpiece in all of its livid glory. Loaded with such great charatcers as the
Gyro Captain, Lord Humongus, the Feral Kid, Toadie, plus a surprising appearance from a
young actress who is well-known today for her SF work, The
Road Warrior is a movie that you can watch over and over again and still enjoy
it as if it were your first time.
--SF
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