Marval Movie

The first Mad Max movie was hindered by its obvious lack of budget and resources to bring to life the vision that George Miller and company had. Now with the success of the first movie they are given those resources. The world they are able to show in this movie is a world without green grass, where the trees are all twisted, dead corpses and the gangs, people and vehicles are clad in wild crazy gear formed out of salvaged whatever threatening remnant of the old-world they could find.

Opening this movie is one of those quick edit montages that is accompanied by an unnamed narrator (Harold Baignet), it tells us that the world that seemed to be on the edge of destruction in the first movie has now tipped over. Gone are any kind of law enforcement, now there are the ones that want to survive as a shadow of society, the ones that feed on others like feral animals and the loners, namely Max.

The movie then hits the ground driving at full throttle, with Max in his car being chased by crazy bikers. He gets the better of them although their leader (Vernon Wells) survives. Max has also inexplicable gained a dog companion, the two of them wander searching for supplies when they come across a crazy man (Bruce Spence) that has set a trap for any curious wanderers and also owns a make-shift helicopter. Max gets the better of him too, they then bare witness to a small fort under attack by mad bandits. They have fuel, which means they are the sasaran of everyone. Max saves one of their lives, saying it's only for the fuel, but eventually gets wrapped up in their plight and conflict to get out of the wasteland and to a better place.

Max as a character in this movie has become darker and has clearly had to endure many hard times, he even gets two streaks of grey in his hair. Mel Gibson is given even less to say in this movie but Max as a character has grown more defined. He is a stoic figure that believes himself to be only interested in self-preservation but can't turn his back on the helpless that are being oppressed.

Like the last movie, though more heavily used in this one, is the sparing use of dialog. This is a world where action and smarts allow you to live to the next day, discussions and negotiations aren't out of the question but ultimately its what the people choose to do that really matters. There's also the great balancing act of the unexplained and the necessary. A few details are brushed by without really getting a full explanation, like what exactly was the devastating event that caused the world to plunge into this state? How did Max acquire a dog companion? How do these people know about this better place? These are extra details that might make you question things less but aren't essential to the viewing experience.

The movie operates like Alfred Hitchcock's Rear Window with a lot of information unfolding in-front of either Max or the audience, it happens then cut to Max's reaction. As well there are a few transitions that were made popular by Star Wars, they're just a fun gimmick to see.

Film, as a medium, is a visual art-form. This movie understands this, the obrolan is unmemorable and details of world-building slip through the cracks without any care from the filmmakers. But it is the experience it delivers. Having action in a movie is fine and can be very entertaining, but we must have a connection to the situation and characters so we can become invested. We are given brief but effective moments to engage us with the people and their conflict then we see then being put through the wringer in this iconic world and situation.

Rating: 3 1/2 stars out of 4