Mel Gibson roared onto the movie screen big time in "Mad Max" (1979) and then cemented his star with "Gallipoli" (1981), "Mad Max 2," aka "The Road Warrior" (1982), and "The Year of Living Dangerously" (1982). The "Lethal Weapon" series wouldn't begin until 1987, by which time he was a certified big timer.
I asked in my review of "Mad Max" some years ago, What was Max so mad about? I said, "It couldn't be the $100,000,000 this 1979, independent Australian action film earned worldwide or the Australian Film Festival Awards it garnered. It couldn't be the two successful sequels it spawned, "The Road Warrior" and "Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome." Maybe it was the measly $15,000 Mel Gibson got for starring in this breakout picture." You can bet Gibson got paid more than fifteen grand for doing "The Road Warrior."
In any case, "Mad Max" and "The Road Warrior" come down to us today as among the most original and visionary postapocalyptic adventure movies ever made, with "The Road Warrior" outdoing every stunt in the previous film. Which, of course, along with its popularity makes this sequel a perfect candidate for high-definition picture and sound.
If you recall from "Mad Max," a Third World War had pretty much devastated the world, leaving things in ruin, with no governments, no law, and almost no oil. Only the strongest and most cunning now survived, and gangs had taken over the highways. But, as the sequel's narrator (Harold Baigent) tells us, there is hope, as the mythic character of Max Rockatansky (Gibson), the "Road Warrior," leaves the rubble of his life behind and learns to live again, saving most of civilization in the process.
Like any good action movie, and this one is quite good, "The Road Warrior" begins (after a brief prologue exposition) with a thrilling action sequence, a chase, that sets the tone for the rest of the film, which is itself essentially one long chase. The amazing thing to remember is that the filmmakers created the film years before the advent of modern CGI special effects; they did the things you see on screen the old-fashioned way--with real cars and stunt drivers--and the stunts are often spectacular.
As he did with its predecessor, director George Miller made "The Road Warrior" on location in the Australian outback, where the characters in the movie live in the wasteland, half of them trying to maintain some semblance of order, the other half living like animals. The movie's punk hairdos and dark leather clothing set the fashion for postapocalyptic motion pictures to this day.
Gasoline is gold. Whoever's got it is rich. Whoever's got it is also in danger of not having it long, because everybody else wants it. The plot centers on a group of folks barricaded in a oil rig in the middle of the desert with a tanker of gasoline they can't move, surrounded by a gang of terrorists insisting on taking it from them. If they can just get the gasoline to a safe place, they feel they can rebuild civilization. Don't ask.
Enter Max. He doesn't care about saving Mankind. He just wants a little gasoline for his car and otherwise mind his own business. But in these kinds of hero quests, the protagonist always winds up saving the day, and so it is with Max. The movie plays out like an old-time Western, with a fort in the desert encircled by wild Indians, only in this case it's an oil compound surrounded by wild bikers and crazed motorists (say, it sounds like my old morning commute). Mel Gibson plays John Wayne.
The good guys are sweet and lovable, and the bad guys are evil incarnate--mean, vicious, savage, cruel, sadistic, and ugly. Their leader is a big, muscular fellow in a mask, Lord Humungus (Swedish weight lifter Kjell Nilsson), who looks like he's seen Carpenter's "Halloween" too many times. The rest of the cast follows suit, as everybody is a colorful character, like the Gyro Captain (Bruce Spence), with his miniature helicopter; the Feral Kid (eight-year-old Emil Minty), who seems to be half gopher; and Wez (Vernon Wells) and Pappagallo (Mike Preston) and the Toadie (Max Phipps) and the rest. Needless to say, the script does not flesh out any of these characters very well, yet they remain vividly in memory.
With its reluctant hero growing to legendary iconic proportions, its nonstop fights and explosions, and a final chase sequence that goes on for close to quarter of an hour, "The Road Warrior" provides everything a fan of the genre could want. Heck, it even set up the main character for a third sequel, "Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome," which probably was extending a good idea too far. Like most series, this one reached a point of diminishing returns.
As a matter of trivia, the director and co-writer of the three "Mad Max" movies, George Miller, went on to do "Babe: Pig in the City" and "Happy Feet." Go figure.
I asked in my review of "Mad Max" some years ago, What was Max so mad about? I said, "It couldn't be the $100,000,000 this 1979, independent Australian action film earned worldwide or the Australian Film Festival Awards it garnered. It couldn't be the two successful sequels it spawned, "The Road Warrior" and "Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome." Maybe it was the measly $15,000 Mel Gibson got for starring in this breakout picture." You can bet Gibson got paid more than fifteen grand for doing "The Road Warrior."
In any case, "Mad Max" and "The Road Warrior" come down to us today as among the most original and visionary postapocalyptic adventure movies ever made, with "The Road Warrior" outdoing every stunt in the previous film. Which, of course, along with its popularity makes this sequel a perfect candidate for high-definition picture and sound.
If you recall from "Mad Max," a Third World War had pretty much devastated the world, leaving things in ruin, with no governments, no law, and almost no oil. Only the strongest and most cunning now survived, and gangs had taken over the highways. But, as the sequel's narrator (Harold Baigent) tells us, there is hope, as the mythic character of Max Rockatansky (Gibson), the "Road Warrior," leaves the rubble of his life behind and learns to live again, saving most of civilization in the process.
Like any good action movie, and this one is quite good, "The Road Warrior" begins (after a brief prologue exposition) with a thrilling action sequence, a chase, that sets the tone for the rest of the film, which is itself essentially one long chase. The amazing thing to remember is that the filmmakers created the film years before the advent of modern CGI special effects; they did the things you see on screen the old-fashioned way--with real cars and stunt drivers--and the stunts are often spectacular.
As he did with its predecessor, director George Miller made "The Road Warrior" on location in the Australian outback, where the characters in the movie live in the wasteland, half of them trying to maintain some semblance of order, the other half living like animals. The movie's punk hairdos and dark leather clothing set the fashion for postapocalyptic motion pictures to this day.
Gasoline is gold. Whoever's got it is rich. Whoever's got it is also in danger of not having it long, because everybody else wants it. The plot centers on a group of folks barricaded in a oil rig in the middle of the desert with a tanker of gasoline they can't move, surrounded by a gang of terrorists insisting on taking it from them. If they can just get the gasoline to a safe place, they feel they can rebuild civilization. Don't ask.
Enter Max. He doesn't care about saving Mankind. He just wants a little gasoline for his car and otherwise mind his own business. But in these kinds of hero quests, the protagonist always winds up saving the day, and so it is with Max. The movie plays out like an old-time Western, with a fort in the desert encircled by wild Indians, only in this case it's an oil compound surrounded by wild bikers and crazed motorists (say, it sounds like my old morning commute). Mel Gibson plays John Wayne.
The good guys are sweet and lovable, and the bad guys are evil incarnate--mean, vicious, savage, cruel, sadistic, and ugly. Their leader is a big, muscular fellow in a mask, Lord Humungus (Swedish weight lifter Kjell Nilsson), who looks like he's seen Carpenter's "Halloween" too many times. The rest of the cast follows suit, as everybody is a colorful character, like the Gyro Captain (Bruce Spence), with his miniature helicopter; the Feral Kid (eight-year-old Emil Minty), who seems to be half gopher; and Wez (Vernon Wells) and Pappagallo (Mike Preston) and the Toadie (Max Phipps) and the rest. Needless to say, the script does not flesh out any of these characters very well, yet they remain vividly in memory.
With its reluctant hero growing to legendary iconic proportions, its nonstop fights and explosions, and a final chase sequence that goes on for close to quarter of an hour, "The Road Warrior" provides everything a fan of the genre could want. Heck, it even set up the main character for a third sequel, "Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome," which probably was extending a good idea too far. Like most series, this one reached a point of diminishing returns.
As a matter of trivia, the director and co-writer of the three "Mad Max" movies, George Miller, went on to do "Babe: Pig in the City" and "Happy Feet." Go figure.
Mel Gibson roared onto the movie screen big time in "Mad Max" (1979) and then cemented his star with "Gallipoli" (1981), "Mad Max 2," aka "The Road Warrior" (1982), and "The Year of Living Dangerously" (1982). The "Lethal Weapon" series wouldn't begin until 1987, by which time he was a certified big timer.
I asked in my review of "Mad Max" some years ago, What was Max so mad about? I said, "It couldn't be the $100,000,000 this 1979, independent Australian action film earned worldwide or the Australian Film Festival Awards it garnered. It couldn't be the two successful sequels it spawned, "The Road Warrior" and "Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome." Maybe it was the measly $15,000 Mel Gibson got for starring in this breakout picture." You can bet Gibson got paid more than fifteen grand for doing "The Road Warrior."
In any case, "Mad Max" and "The Road Warrior" come down to us today as among the most original and visionary postapocalyptic adventure movies ever made, with "The Road Warrior" outdoing every stunt in the previous film. Which, of course, along with its popularity makes this sequel a perfect candidate for high-definition picture and sound.
If you recall from "Mad Max," a Third World War had pretty much devastated the world, leaving things in ruin, with no governments, no law, and almost no oil. Only the strongest and most cunning now survived, and gangs had taken over the highways. But, as the sequel's narrator (Harold Baigent) tells us, there is hope, as the mythic character of Max Rockatansky (Gibson), the "Road Warrior," leaves the rubble of his life behind and learns to live again, saving most of civilization in the process.
Like any good action movie, and this one is quite good, "The Road Warrior" begins (after a brief prologue exposition) with a thrilling action sequence, a chase, that sets the tone for the rest of the film, which is itself essentially one long chase. The amazing thing to remember is that the filmmakers created the film years before the advent of modern CGI special effects; they did the things you see on screen the old-fashioned way--with real cars and stunt drivers--and the stunts are often spectacular.
As he did with its predecessor, director George Miller made "The Road Warrior" on location in the Australian outback, where the characters in the movie live in the wasteland, half of them trying to maintain some semblance of order, the other half living like animals. The movie's punk hairdos and dark leather clothing set the fashion for postapocalyptic motion pictures to this day.
Gasoline is gold. Whoever's got it is rich. Whoever's got it is also in danger of not having it long, because everybody else wants it. The plot centers on a group of folks barricaded in a oil rig in the middle of the desert with a tanker of gasoline they can't move, surrounded by a gang of terrorists insisting on taking it from them. If they can just get the gasoline to a safe place, they feel they can rebuild civilization. Don't ask.
Enter Max. He doesn't care about saving Mankind. He just wants a little gasoline for his car and otherwise mind his own business. But in these kinds of hero quests, the protagonist always winds up saving the day, and so it is with Max. The movie plays out like an old-time Western, with a fort in the desert encircled by wild Indians, only in this case it's an oil compound surrounded by wild bikers and crazed motorists (say, it sounds like my old morning commute). Mel Gibson plays John Wayne.
The good guys are sweet and lovable, and the bad guys are evil incarnate--mean, vicious, savage, cruel, sadistic, and ugly. Their leader is a big, muscular fellow in a mask, Lord Humungus (Swedish weight lifter Kjell Nilsson), who looks like he's seen Carpenter's "Halloween" too many times. The rest of the cast follows suit, as everybody is a colorful character, like the Gyro Captain (Bruce Spence), with his miniature helicopter; the Feral Kid (eight-year-old Emil Minty), who seems to be half gopher; and Wez (Vernon Wells) and Pappagallo (Mike Preston) and the Toadie (Max Phipps) and the rest. Needless to say, the script does not flesh out any of these characters very well, yet they remain vividly in memory.
With its reluctant hero growing to legendary iconic proportions, its nonstop fights and explosions, and a final chase sequence that goes on for close to quarter of an hour, "The Road Warrior" provides everything a fan of the genre could want. Heck, it even set up the main character for a third sequel, "Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome," which probably was extending a good idea too far. Like most series, this one reached a point of diminishing returns.
As a matter of trivia, the director and co-writer of the three "Mad Max" movies, George Miller, went on to do "Babe: Pig in the City" and "Happy Feet." Go figure.
I asked in my review of "Mad Max" some years ago, What was Max so mad about? I said, "It couldn't be the $100,000,000 this 1979, independent Australian action film earned worldwide or the Australian Film Festival Awards it garnered. It couldn't be the two successful sequels it spawned, "The Road Warrior" and "Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome." Maybe it was the measly $15,000 Mel Gibson got for starring in this breakout picture." You can bet Gibson got paid more than fifteen grand for doing "The Road Warrior."
In any case, "Mad Max" and "The Road Warrior" come down to us today as among the most original and visionary postapocalyptic adventure movies ever made, with "The Road Warrior" outdoing every stunt in the previous film. Which, of course, along with its popularity makes this sequel a perfect candidate for high-definition picture and sound.
If you recall from "Mad Max," a Third World War had pretty much devastated the world, leaving things in ruin, with no governments, no law, and almost no oil. Only the strongest and most cunning now survived, and gangs had taken over the highways. But, as the sequel's narrator (Harold Baigent) tells us, there is hope, as the mythic character of Max Rockatansky (Gibson), the "Road Warrior," leaves the rubble of his life behind and learns to live again, saving most of civilization in the process.
Like any good action movie, and this one is quite good, "The Road Warrior" begins (after a brief prologue exposition) with a thrilling action sequence, a chase, that sets the tone for the rest of the film, which is itself essentially one long chase. The amazing thing to remember is that the filmmakers created the film years before the advent of modern CGI special effects; they did the things you see on screen the old-fashioned way--with real cars and stunt drivers--and the stunts are often spectacular.
As he did with its predecessor, director George Miller made "The Road Warrior" on location in the Australian outback, where the characters in the movie live in the wasteland, half of them trying to maintain some semblance of order, the other half living like animals. The movie's punk hairdos and dark leather clothing set the fashion for postapocalyptic motion pictures to this day.
Gasoline is gold. Whoever's got it is rich. Whoever's got it is also in danger of not having it long, because everybody else wants it. The plot centers on a group of folks barricaded in a oil rig in the middle of the desert with a tanker of gasoline they can't move, surrounded by a gang of terrorists insisting on taking it from them. If they can just get the gasoline to a safe place, they feel they can rebuild civilization. Don't ask.
Enter Max. He doesn't care about saving Mankind. He just wants a little gasoline for his car and otherwise mind his own business. But in these kinds of hero quests, the protagonist always winds up saving the day, and so it is with Max. The movie plays out like an old-time Western, with a fort in the desert encircled by wild Indians, only in this case it's an oil compound surrounded by wild bikers and crazed motorists (say, it sounds like my old morning commute). Mel Gibson plays John Wayne.
The good guys are sweet and lovable, and the bad guys are evil incarnate--mean, vicious, savage, cruel, sadistic, and ugly. Their leader is a big, muscular fellow in a mask, Lord Humungus (Swedish weight lifter Kjell Nilsson), who looks like he's seen Carpenter's "Halloween" too many times. The rest of the cast follows suit, as everybody is a colorful character, like the Gyro Captain (Bruce Spence), with his miniature helicopter; the Feral Kid (eight-year-old Emil Minty), who seems to be half gopher; and Wez (Vernon Wells) and Pappagallo (Mike Preston) and the Toadie (Max Phipps) and the rest. Needless to say, the script does not flesh out any of these characters very well, yet they remain vividly in memory.
With its reluctant hero growing to legendary iconic proportions, its nonstop fights and explosions, and a final chase sequence that goes on for close to quarter of an hour, "The Road Warrior" provides everything a fan of the genre could want. Heck, it even set up the main character for a third sequel, "Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome," which probably was extending a good idea too far. Like most series, this one reached a point of diminishing returns.
As a matter of trivia, the director and co-writer of the three "Mad Max" movies, George Miller, went on to do "Babe: Pig in the City" and "Happy Feet." Go figure.
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