Ruthless... Savage... Spectacular
Rating: 9/10
Running Time: 95 minutes
US Certificate: R UK Certificate: 18
On DVD
It might not on the same level as Aliens, The Godfather: Part II or Gremlins: The New Batch but Mad Max 2 is one of those rare occasions where the sequel comes out better than the original.
Max (Gibson) is still mad as hell and he spends his days in the post-Apocalyptic world endlessly wandering, keeping himself to himself and generally looking out for number one. He chances upon a community who’ve barricaded themselves into a compound surrounding a rich store of precious gasoline and after a lengthy bit of persuasion he agrees to help them against a ruthless (and once again, super camp) gang who are beseiging their home.
George Miller really steps things up in Mad Max 2 but without losing the stripped back feel of the original. The story is well developed, there’s plenty of character progression and the story focusses more on the bigger picture of the post-apocalyptic world and the hunt for gasoline with many new protagonists added to the mix. However, like the original, this sequel is primarily about the action. With a very compact 95 minute runtime, not a minute of screentime is wasted and it’s full of memorable scenes and stunts which comes to a climax with a climactic, tense and perfectly choreographed break-out chase that remains one of cinema’s truly great action scenes.
Now, just pretend the series ended here and the awful Tina Turner tainted Mad Max: Beyond the Thnderdrome never happened.
It's Got: Excellent plot progression, memorable and well excuted scenes, Mad Mel in his pomp
It Needs: For you to see past some of the dated action, a leather fetish
DVD Extras Quite an interesting director's commentary, video intro from film critic Leonard Maltin and a trailer - not a great deal but it's something at least DVD Extras Rating: 6/10
Summary
A sequel that’s better than the original thanks to excellent plot progression, characters to care about and one almighty action scene. Incidentally, if you have a leather fetish then this is the best film you’ll be able to find outside of your local Erotic City.