View source for Mad Max 2

{{short description|1981 Australian post-apocalyptic action film}}
{{Redirect|The Road Warrior||Road warrior (disambiguation)}}
{{Redirect|Pappagallo|the ice cream brand|Pappagallo (ice cream)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}}
{{Use Australian English|date=June 2011}}
{{Infobox film
| name = Mad Max 2
| image = Mad max two the road warrior.jpg
| alt = 
| caption = Theatrical release poster
| director = [[George Miller (filmmaker)|George Miller]]
| producer = Byron Kennedy
| writer = {{unbulleted list|[[Terry Hayes]]|George Miller|[[Brian Hannant]]}}
| based_on = {{Based on|Characters created|George Miller|[[Byron Kennedy]]}}
| starring = <!--Mel Gibson is the only one listed on the poster-->[[Mel Gibson]]
| music = [[Brian May (Australian composer)|Brian May]]
| cinematography = [[Dean Semler]]
| editing = {{unbulleted list|David Stiven|Tim Wellburn|Michael Balson}}
| studio = [[Kennedy Miller Mitchell|Kennedy Miller Entertainment]]
| distributor = [[Warner Bros. Pictures|Warner Bros.]]<ref>{{cite web|title=Top 100 Australian Feature Films of All Time|website=[[Screen Australia]]|access-date=25 December 2024|url=https://www.screenaustralia.gov.au/fact-finders/cinema/australian-films/feature-film-releases/top-australian-films}}</ref> (through [[Roadshow Entertainment|Roadshow Film Distributors]])
| released = {{Film date|df=yes|1981|12|24}} <!-- Only the first and country of origin releases as per WP:FILMRELEASE. -->
| runtime = 96 minutes<!--Theatrical runtime: 95:41--><ref>{{cite web |url=https://bbfc.co.uk/releases/mad-max-2-1970-2 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141024135447/http://www.bbfc.co.uk/releases/mad-max-2-1970-2 |url-status=dead |archive-date=24 October 2014 |title=''Mad Max 2'' (18) |work=[[British Board of Film Classification]] |date=19 January 1982 |access-date=19 March 2015}}</ref>
| country = Australia
| language = English
| budget = [[A$]]4.5 million<ref name="stratton2">{{cite book |first=David |last=Stratton |title=The Avocado Plantation: Boom and Bust in the Australian Film Industry |publisher=Pan MacMillan |date=1990 |pages=81–84}}</ref>
| gross = [[US$]]36 million ([[theatrical rental|rentals]])<ref name=ww/>
}}
'''''Mad Max 2''''' (released as '''''The Road Warrior''''' in the United States) is a 1981 Australian [[Apocalyptic and post-apocalyptic fiction|post-apocalyptic]] [[Utopian and dystopian fiction|dystopian]] [[action film]] directed by [[George Miller (filmmaker)|George Miller]], who co-wrote it with [[Terry Hayes]] and [[Brian Hannant]]. It is the sequel to ''[[Mad Max (film)|Mad Max]]'' (1979) and the second installment in the ''[[Mad Max]]'' franchise. The film stars [[Mel Gibson]] reprising his role as [[Max Rockatansky|"Mad Max" Rockatansky]] and follows a hardened man who helps a community of settlers to defend themselves against a roving band of [[Banditry|marauders]].<ref name=Scheib/> Filming took place in locations around [[Broken Hill]], in the [[Outback]] of [[New South Wales]].<ref>[http://www.madmaxmovies.com/mad-max-2-the-road-warrior/filming-locations/index.html Mad Max 2 / The Road Warrior Filming Locations]. Madmaxmovies.com. Retrieved on 18 November 2011.</ref>

''Mad Max 2'' was released in Australia on 24 December 1981 to widespread critical acclaim; praise was given to Gibson's performance, the musical score, cinematography, action sequences and costume design, with its sparing use of dialogue in particular being unprecedented for an action film. It was also a box office success, and the film's post-apocalyptic and punk aesthetics helped popularise the genre in film and [[fiction]] writing. At the [[10th Saturn Awards]], the film won [[Saturn Award for Best International Film|Best International Film]] and was nominated for five more awards: [[Saturn Award for Best Director|Best Director]], [[Saturn Award for Best Actor|Best Actor]] for Gibson, [[Saturn Award for Best Supporting Actor|Best Supporting Actor]] for [[Bruce Spence]], [[Saturn Award for Best Writing|Best Writing]], and [[Saturn Award for Best Costume Design|Best Costumes]] for [[Norma Moriceau]]. ''Mad Max 2'' is widely hailed as both [[List of films considered the best#Action|one of the greatest action films of all time]] and one of the greatest sequels ever made,<ref>{{cite magazine |title=Readers polls |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/movies/lists/readers-poll-the-10-best-action-movies-of-all-time-20150114/mad-max-2-the-road-warrior-20150114 |magazine=Rolling Stone |access-date=4 September 2017 |archive-date=19 June 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180619113035/https://www.rollingstone.com/movies/lists/readers-poll-the-10-best-action-movies-of-all-time-20150114/mad-max-2-the-road-warrior-20150114 |url-status=dead }}</ref> and fan clubs for the film and "road warrior"-themed activities continue into the 21st century.

The film was followed by ''[[Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome]]'' in 1985.

==Plot==
<!--  Per WP:FILMPLOT, plot summaries are 400 to 700 words. Words such as "realise", "recognise", or anything that relates to Australian English should NOT be changed to their American or British English versions without viewing the WP:ENGVAR guidelines. We don't need a complete scene-by-scene description! :)-->
After a [[World War III|global war]] results in widespread oil shortages and [[ecocide]], civilisation collapses and the world descends into barbarism.<ref>{{Cite book |title=Avenging nature: the role of nature in modern and contemporary art and literature |date=2020 |publisher=Lexington Books |isbn=978-1-7936-2144-3 |editor-last=Valls Oyarzun |editor-first=Eduardo |series=Ecocritical theory and practice |location=Lanham Boulder NewYork London |chapter=17 |editor-last2=Gualberto Valverde |editor-first2=Rebeca |editor-last3=Malla García |editor-first3=Noelia |editor-last4=Colom Jiménez |editor-first4=María |editor-last5=Cordero Sánchez |editor-first5=Rebeca}}</ref> Former policeman Max Rockatansky, haunted by the death of his family,{{efn|As depicted in ''[[Mad Max (film)|Mad Max]]'' (1979).}} drives around the desert [[Outback]] of what was once [[Australia]], scavenging for food and petrol with his dog. He outmanoeuvres a group of marauders led by biker Wez using his driving skills and a shotgun. He steals petrol from the wrecked vehicles of one of his pursuers and inspects a wrecked semi-trailer and [[Tractor unit|prime mover]].

Later, Max tries collecting an apparently abandoned [[gyrocopter]]'s fuel, but is ambushed by the pilot. Max overpowers the man with his dog's help, sparing his life in return for being led to a working oil refinery the pilot has discovered. They arrive during the daily attack on the facility by a motorised gang, of which Wez is a member.

The next day, Max witnesses cars leave the besieged compound and get chased down by marauders. He rescues Nathan, the sole survivor of one car, and strikes a deal to return him to the complex in exchange for fuel, but the man dies after Max gets him back, and the leader of the settlers, Pappagallo, says the deal died with Nathan. The settlers are about to confiscate Max's car and cast him out of their compound when the marauders return to negotiate. A feral child who lives in the refinery compound kills Wez's partner with a metal boomerang and Wez wants revenge, but the gang's leader, a masked man called "Lord Humungus", offers to spare the settlers' lives in exchange for their fuel supply and leaves for the day. However, the settlers are divided over whether or not they can trust Humungus.

Max offers his own deal: he will bring them the semi-truck he saw earlier so they can try to haul away their [[Tank truck|tanker]] full of oil, if they return his car and give him as much fuel as he can carry. The settlers agree, and that night Max sneaks past the marauders on foot carrying fuel for the truck. He encounters the Gyro Captain and forces him to fly him to the truck, which he gets started. It is somewhat damaged as Max passes through the marauders' encampment en route to the refinery, but he makes it, followed by the gyrocopter.

Max refuses Pappagallo's entreaty to accompany the settlers to a fabled northern paradise,{{efn|Revealed by a set of postcards to be the [[Sunshine Coast, Queensland|Sunshine Coast]].}} opting instead to collect his fuel and leave. Wez catches him using Humungus's [[Nitrous oxide engine|nitrous oxide]]-equipped vehicle and causes him to crash. A Marauder kills Max's dog and is about to kill the seriously injured Max when Marauder Toadie attempts to siphon the fuel from the tanks of Max's car, triggering the vehicle to self-destruct. Left for dead, Max is rescued by the Gyro Captain and returned to the compound.

Despite his injuries, Max insists on driving the repaired truck during the escape. His support consists of the Gyro Captain, Pappagallo in a separate vehicle, three of the settlers on the outside of the armoured tanker, and the Feral Kid, who jumps on the truck as it is leaving. The marauders pursue the tanker, allowing the remaining settlers to flee their compound in a caravan of smaller vehicles after rigging the refinery to explode.

Pappagallo and the three settlers are killed and the Gyro Captain is shot down. Max turns the truck around and, as he is fighting with Wez, Humungus collides with the truck head on, killing Wez and himself. The truck rolls off the road and the surviving marauders survey the scene, only to abandon their chase when they see the tanker leaking sand and not gas. As Max carries the Feral Kid from the wrecked tanker, he inspects the sand pouring out. The Gyro Captain drives up and the two share a grin as Max realises the tanker was a diversion the whole time. They rendezvous with the settlers, who transported the fuel in oil drums inside their vehicles.

The Gyro Captain succeeds Pappagallo as leader of the settlers and takes them north. The grown Feral Kid, "Chief of the Great Northern Tribe," reveals in [[voice-over]] that he never saw "the Road Warrior" again.

==Cast==
<!--- in the same order as the closing credits scroll --->
* [[Mel Gibson]] as [[Max Rockatansky|"Mad Max" Rockatansky]], a former member of the Australian highway patrol (the Main Force Patrol, MFP) who, after a biker gang killed his family, left the force and hunted down and killed all of the gang members. The trauma of the events of ''[[Mad Max (film)|Mad Max]]'' transformed him into an embittered "shell of a man", but in this film, he still elects to assist the settlers with their plan.
* [[Bruce Spence]] as The Gyro Captain, a wanderer who searches for fuel and supplies using a ramshackle old [[gyrocopter]]. He, too, decides to throw in his lot with the settlers and help defend their compound. Writing for ''[[Time (magazine)|Time]]'', [[Richard Corliss]] called the Captain "a deranged parody of the World War I [[Flying ace|aerial ace]]: scarecrow skinny, gaily clad, sporting a [[James Coburn]] smile with advanced [[caries]]".<ref name=POW>{{cite magazine |first=Richard |last=Corliss |url=http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,925397-2,00.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090113115730/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,925397-2,00.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=13 January 2009 |title=Apocalypse... Pow! |magazine=[[Time (magazine)|Time]] |date=10 May 1982 |access-date=24 May 2010}}</ref>
* [[Michael Preston|Mike Preston]] as Pappagallo, the idealistic leader of a group of settlers barricaded in an oil refinery. Even though the settlers' compound is besieged by a violent gang, Pappagallo "carries the weight of his predicament with swaggering dignity."<ref name=POW /> The novelization of the film expanded on Pappagallo's history, describing him as a top executive for one of the "7 Sisters" major petroleum firms who lost his family in the war and escaped to the wastelands, where he would join up with other refugees and become a leader of their efforts to establish a new civilization.
* [[Max Phipps]] as The Toadie, the [[crier]] of Humungus's gang and a classic [[sycophant]].
* [[Vernon Wells (actor)|Vernon Wells]] as Wez, a mohawked, leather-clad biker who serves as Humungus's lieutenant. [[Vincent Canby]], writing for ''[[The New York Times]]'', called Wez the "most evil of The Humungus's followers...[a] huge brute who rides around on his bike, snarling psychotically."<ref name="NYTIMES">{{cite news |first=Vincent |last=Canby |author-link=Vincent Canby |title=Road Warrior |url=https://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9E0DE3DB103BF93BA15757C0A964948260 |quote=has a film's vision of the post-nuclear-holocaust world seemed quite as desolate and as brutal, or as action-packed and sometimes as funny as in George Miller's apocalyptic ''The Road Warrior,'' an extravagant film fantasy that looks like a sadomasochistic comic book come to life. |work=[[The New York Times]] |date=28 April 1982 |access-date=24 May 2010}}</ref> In a 1985 interview with [[Danny Peary]], Miller said the characters of Wez and Max are near mirror images of each other.<ref name="thefilmist.wordpress.com" /> In 2011, ''[[Empire (magazine)|Empire]]'' magazine listed Wez as the greatest movie henchman of all time.<ref>[https://www.empireonline.com/features/top10/movie_henchmen.asp?NID=22096 Top 10 Movie Henchmen]. Empireonline.com. Retrieved on 18 November 2011.</ref>
* [[Kjell Nilsson (actor)|Kjell Nilsson]] as Lord Humungus, the violent, yet charismatic and articulate, leader of a "vicious gang of post-holocaust, motorcycle-riding vandals"<ref name="NYTIMES"/> who loot, rape, and kill the few remaining wasteland-dwellers. In the interview with [[Danny Peary]], Miller posited that he thought the character "was a former military officer who suffered severe facial burns", and that he "might have served in the same outfit as his counterpart, Pappagallo."<ref name="thefilmist.wordpress.com">[http://thefilmist.wordpress.com/2009/09/19/danny-peary-on-mad-max-2the-road-warrior/ Danny Peary on "Mad Max 2/The Road Warrior."]. Thefilmist.wordpress.com. Retrieved on 18 November 2011.</ref>
* [[Emil Minty]] as The [[Feral child|Feral Kid]], an eight-year-old boy<ref name=POW /> who lives in the wasteland near the oil refinery. He speaks only in growls and grunts, wears shorts and boots made from hide, and defends himself with a metal boomerang that he can catch using an improvised mail glove.
* [[Virginia Hey]] as Warrior Woman, a settler who initially distrusts Max.
* William Zappa as Zetta, a settler.
* [[Arkie Whiteley]] as The Captain's Girl, a beautiful young settler who chooses to stay with her compatriots rather than escape with the Gyro Captain, prompting him to stay as well.
* [[Steve J. Spears|Steven J. Spears]] as The Mechanic, a settler who is [[paraplegic]].
* [[Syd Heylen]] as Curmudgeon, an elderly settler who wears a military helmet and decorations.
* Moira Claux as "Big" Rebecca, a settler who wields a bow and arrow and initially wants to take Humungus's offer of safe passage if they abandon their compound.
* David Downer as Nathan, one of the settlers who leaves the compound to look for a truck to tow the oil tanker. He is wounded by some of Humungus's bikers and dies shortly after Max brings him back to the refinery.
* David Slingsby as Quiet Man, a settler.
* Kristoffer Greaves as Mechanic's Assistant, a settler.
* Max Fairchild as Broken Victim, a settler who is caught and tied to the front of Humungus's car. Gibson and Fairchild are the only two actors who appear in both ''Mad Max'' and ''Mad Max 2'', though Fairchild portrays a different character in each film.
* [[Tyler Coppin]] as Defiant Victim, a settler who is caught and tied to the front of Humungus's car.
* Jerry O'Sullivan (credited as Jimmy Brown) as The Golden Youth, Wez's companion, who is killed by the Feral Kid's boomerang.

==Production==
===Development===
Following the release of ''[[Mad Max (film)|Mad Max]]'', director [[George Miller (filmmaker)|George Miller]] tried to develop a [[rock and roll]] movie, the working title of which was ''Roxanne''. After working together on the [[novelization]] of ''Mad Max'', Miller and [[Terry Hayes]] teamed up in [[Los Angeles]] to write ''Roxanne'', but the script was ultimately shelved.<ref name="Loder">{{cite magazine |last1=Loder |first1=Kurt |title=Mad Max: The Heroes of 'Thunderdome' |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/movies/features/the-heroes-of-thunderdome-19850829 |access-date=17 May 2015 |magazine=[[Rolling Stone]] |issue=455 |publisher= |date=29 August 1985 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150502035843/http://www.rollingstone.com/movies/features/the-heroes-of-thunderdome-19850829 |archive-date=2 May 2015}}</ref> Miller then became intrigued with the idea of returning to the world of ''Mad Max'', as a larger budget would allow him to be more ambitious. He said: "Making ''Mad Max'' was a very unhappy experience for me. I had absolutely no control over the final product", but "There was strong pressure to make a sequel, and I felt we could do a better job with a second movie."<ref name="Specter">{{cite news |last1=Specter |first1=Michael |title=Myths Shape a Movie From Australia |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1982/08/15/movies/myths-shape-a-movie-from-australia.html |access-date=17 May 2015 |work=[[The New York Times]] |date=15 August 1982 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150517183354/http://www.nytimes.com/1982/08/15/movies/myths-shape-a-movie-from-australia.html |archive-date=17 May 2015}}</ref> Inspired by [[Joseph Campbell]]'s ''[[The Hero with a Thousand Faces]]'' and the work of [[Carl Jung]],<ref name="Barra">{{cite news |last1=Barra |first1=Allen |title=FILM; A Road Warrior Is Still on a Roll |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1999/08/15/movies/film-a-road-warrior-is-still-on-a-roll.html |access-date=17 May 2015 |work=[[The New York Times]] |date=15 August 1999 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141206003256/http://www.nytimes.com/1999/08/15/movies/film-a-road-warrior-is-still-on-a-roll.html |archive-date=6 December 2014}}</ref> as well as the films of [[Akira Kurosawa]],<ref name="stratton2"/> Miller recruited Hayes to join the production as a scriptwriter.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Moran |first1=Albert |last2=Vieth |first2=Errol |title=The A to Z of Australian and New Zealand Cinema |date=21 July 2009 |publisher=[[Rowman & Littlefield|The Scarecrow Press]] |location=[[Lanham, Maryland]] |isbn=978-0810868311 |page=174 |url=http://ir.nmu.org.ua/bitstream/handle/123456789/132756/6eb508c9aefef88002e1c5e253759afe.pdf?sequence=1 |access-date=17 May 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150517192121/http://ir.nmu.org.ua/bitstream/handle/123456789/132756/6eb508c9aefef88002e1c5e253759afe.pdf?sequence=1 |archive-date=17 May 2015}}</ref> [[Brian Hannant]] also came on board as co-writer, first assistant director, and second unit director.

===Filming===
[[File:Track in arid zone.jpg|thumb|Filming took place in the desert surrounding the remote mining town of [[Broken Hill]], [[New South Wales]].]]
[[Principal photography]] took place over the course of twelve weeks in the winter of 1981 near [[Broken Hill]], [[New South Wales]].<ref>{{cite web |last1=Das |first1=Abhimanyu |title=The Craziest Stories About The Making of Mad Max and the Road Warrior |url=http://io9.com/stories-from-the-sets-of-mad-max-the-road-warrior-1702490722 |website=[[io9]] |publisher=[[Gawker Media]] |access-date=17 May 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150509095041/http://io9.com/stories-from-the-sets-of-mad-max-the-road-warrior-1702490722 |archive-date=9 May 2015 |date=8 May 2015}}</ref> The scene where the Pursuit Special rolls over and explodes was shot at Wilangee Road near the Mundi Mundi Plains lookout, just outside of [[Silverton, New South Wales|Silverton]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Silverton Sights |url=http://www.silverton.org.au/sights.htm |website=Discover Silverton |publisher=Silverton Village Committee |access-date=18 May 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150412202131/http://www.silverton.org.au/sights.htm |archive-date=12 April 2015 |url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last1=Bennett |first1=Adrian |title=Directions from George, Menindee Rd |url=https://open.abc.net.au/explore/20858 |website=[[ABC Online]] |publisher=[[Australian Broadcasting Corporation]] |access-date=18 May 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150518183826/https://open.abc.net.au/explore/20858 |archive-date=18 May 2015 |date=21 May 2012}}</ref> Filming also took place at the Pinnacles, which is where the set of the oil refinery compound was constructed.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Ratcliffe |first1=Jenia |title=A step back in time with Mad Max 2 |url=http://www.abc.net.au/local/videos/2012/07/27/3555167.htm |website=[[ABC Online]] |publisher=[[Australian Broadcasting Corporation]] |access-date=18 May 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150518184922/http://www.abc.net.au/local/videos/2012/07/27/3555167.htm |archive-date=18 May 2015 |date=27 July 2012}}</ref>

In one scene, stunt coordinator Guy Norris broke his femur when he flew off his motorcycle and his leg hit the car. His injury is visible in the released film.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Austin |first=Henry |date=2022-08-20 |title=Mad Max 2's Coolest Stunt Was A Total Accident |url=https://screenrant.com/mad-max-road-warrior-motorcycle-stunt-accident/ |access-date=2024-01-28 |website=ScreenRant |language=en}}</ref>

===Music===
{{Main|Mad Max 2 (soundtrack)}}
The [[film score|musical score]] for ''Mad Max 2'' was composed and conducted by Australian composer [[Brian May (Australian composer)|Brian May]], who had also composed the music for [[Mad Max (film)|''Mad Max'']]. A soundtrack album was released by [[Varèse Sarabande]] in 1982.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Osborne |first1=Jerry |title=Movie/TV Soundtracks and Original Cast Recordings Price and Reference Guide |date=2010 |publisher=Osborne Enterprises Publishing |location=[[Port Townsend, Washington]] |isbn=978-0932117373 |page=489}}</ref>

===Censorship===
The original cut of the film was more bloody and violent, but it was cut down heavily to receive an "M" rating from [[Australian Classification Board|Australian censors]]. Entire scenes and sequences were deleted completely, and others were edited. When the film was submitted to the [[Motion Picture Association of America|MPAA]] in the United States, two additional scenes were shortened (the scene in which Wez pulls an arrow out of his arm and the one in which he pulls the boomerang out of the Golden Youth's head). Although the version of the film that includes those scenes before they were trimmed down for the MPAA survives, no version without the previous deletions exists.<ref name="stratton2"/><ref>{{cite web |title=Mad Max II / The Road Warrior (1982) |url=http://users.tpg.com.au/boschy69/chopping/titles_m.html#Mad_Max_II |website=[[TPG Telecom]] |access-date=14 May 2015 |date=2 December 2009 |archive-date=4 March 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150304021440/http://users.tpg.com.au/boschy69/chopping/titles_m.html#Mad_Max_II |url-status=dead }}</ref>

==Reception==
===Box office===
''Mad Max 2'' was a commercial success, grossing A$10.8 million in Australia alone, which was double what ''[[Mad Max (film)|Mad Max]]'' had earned in the country which was at its time, the [[List of highest-grossing films in Australia|highest-grossing Australian film at the Australian box office]].<ref name=OzBO>[https://web.archive.org/web/20110723234802/http://film.vic.gov.au/resources/documents/AA4_Aust_Box_office_report.pdf ''Film Victoria – Australian Films at the Australian Box Office''] Retrieved 19 March 2012</ref> Despite doubling its predecessor box office, however, ''Mad Max 2'' never obtained the national record as ''[[Gallipoli (1981 film)|Gallipoli]]'' was released earlier in 1981 and grossed A$11.7 million in Australia.<ref name=OzBO/>

In the United States, with a gross of US$23.6 million<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=roadwarrior.htm |title=Box Office Information for ''Mad Max 2'' |website=[[Box Office Mojo]] |access-date=10 April 2020}}</ref><ref name="stratton2"/> and [[theatrical rental]]s of $11 million,<ref name=ww>{{cite magazine |magazine=[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]] |date=11 January 1989 |page=24 |title=Foreign Vs. Domestic Rentals}}</ref> the film also outperformed ''Mad Max''. When that film was released in the U.S. in 1982, it did not receive a proper release from its distributor, [[American International Pictures]], as AIP was in the final stages of a change of ownership after being bought by [[Filmways|Filmways, Inc.]] a year earlier, and its box office was affected.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.the-numbers.com/movie/Mad-Max#tab=summary |title=Mad Max - Box Office Data |work=The Numbers.com |year=2015 |access-date=31 January 2015}}</ref> [[Warner Bros. Pictures|Warner Bros.]] decided to release ''Mad Max 2'' in the United States, but, recognising the first film was not well known in North America (although it was becoming more popular through cable channel showings), they decided to change the name of the sequel to ''The Road Warrior''. The advertising for the film, including print ads, trailers, and TV commercials, did not refer to the Max character at all and shied away from the fact that the film was a sequel. For the majority of American viewers, their first inkling of ''The Road Warrior'' being a sequel to ''Mad Max'' was when they saw the black and white, archival footage from the first film during the prologue of the second. When [[Vestron Video]] later released ''Mad Max'' on home video, they capitalized by labeling it "the thrilling predecessor to ''The Road Warrior''".

Outside of the U.S., the film earned rentals of $25 million (including Australia), for a worldwide total of $36 million,<ref name=ww/> making it the [[List of highest-grossing films in Australia|highest-grossing Australian film]] worldwide.<ref>{{cite news |magazine=[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]] |date=5 November 1986 |title=Aussie Gator Grappler Kayos Mad Max |page=3 |last=Groves |first=Don}}</ref>

===Critical response===
The film received highly positive reviews and is regarded by many critics as one of the best films of 1981.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.filmsite.org/1981.html |title=The Greatest Films of 1981 |publisher=Filmsite.org |access-date=21 May 2010}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.films101.com/y1981r.htm |title=The Best Movies of 1981 by Rank |publisher=Films101.com |access-date=21 May 2010 |archive-date=16 June 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100616082154/http://www.films101.com/y1981r.htm |url-status=dead }}</ref> On [[review aggregator]] website [[Rotten Tomatoes]], the film holds an approval rating of 94% based on reviews from 62 critics, with an average rating of 8.40/10; the site's "critics consensus" reads: "''The Road Warrior'' is everything a bigger-budgeted ''Mad Max'' sequel should be: bigger, faster, louder, but definitely not dumber."<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/road_warrior/ |title=''The Road Warrior'' Movie Reviews, Pictures |work=Rotten Tomatoes |publisher=Flixster |access-date=21 September 2023}}</ref> On [[Metacritic]], the film has a rating of 77 out of 100 based on 15 reviews, indicating "generally favourable reviews".<ref>{{Metacritic film}}</ref>

Film critic [[Roger Ebert]] of the ''[[Chicago Sun-Times]]'' gave the film three-and-a-half stars out of four, praised its "skillful filmmaking", and called it "a film of pure action, of kinetic energy", which is "one of the most relentlessly aggressive movies ever made". While Ebert pointed out the film 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 praised its action sequences. Ebert called the climactic chase sequence "unbelievably well-sustained" and stated that the "special effects and stunts ... are spectacular", creating a "frightening, sometimes disgusting, and (if the truth be told) exhilarating" effect.<ref name="Ebert">{{cite web |last1=Ebert |first1=Roger |title=Mad Max 2: The Road Warrior |url=https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/mad-max-2--the-road-warrior-1981 |website=RogerEbert.com |date=1 January 1981}}</ref>

In his review for ''[[The New York Times]]'', [[Vincent Canby]] wrote: "Never has a film's vision of the [[Nuclear holocaust|post-nuclear-holocaust]] world seemed quite as desolate and as brutal, or as action-packed and sometimes as funny as in George Miller's apocalyptic ''The Road Warrior'', an extravagant film fantasy that looks like a sadomasochistic comic book come to life".<ref name=NYTIMES /> Writing for ''[[Newsweek]]'', Charles Michener praised Mel Gibson's "easy, unswaggering masculinity", saying that "[his] hint of Down Under humor may be quintessentially Australian but is also the stuff of an international male star".<ref name="michener">{{cite news |last=Michener |first=Charles |title=''Shane'' in Black Leather |newspaper=[[Newsweek]] |date=31 May 1982}}</ref>

Gary Arnold, in his review for ''[[The Washington Post]]'', wrote: "While he seems to let triumph slip out of his grasp, Miller is still a prodigious talent, capable of a scenic and emotional amplitude that recalls the most stirring attributes in great action directors like [[Akira Kurosawa|Kurosawa]], [[Sam Peckinpah|Peckinpah]] and [[Sergio Leone|Leone]]".<ref name="arnold">{{cite news |last=Arnold |first=Gary |title=The ''Warrior'' Western Back on the Road Again |newspaper=[[The Washington Post]] |date=20 August 1982}}</ref> [[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", but criticised Miller's "attempt to tap into the universal concept of the hero", stating that this attempt "makes the film joyless", "sappy", and "sentimental".<ref>{{cite web |last1=Kael |first1=Pauline |title=Mad Max 2/The Road Warrior |url=http://www.geocities.ws/paulinekaelreviews/m1.html |website=Geocities.ws |access-date=18 May 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120328130111/http://www.geocities.ws/paulinekaelreviews/m1.html |archive-date=28 March 2012}}</ref>

Richard Scheib called ''Mad Max 2'' "one of the few occasions where a sequel makes a dramatic improvement in quality over its predecessor." He called it a "kinetic comic-book of a film" and 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 stated 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 protect "decent frightened folk" from the "marauding Redskins".<ref name=Scheib />

Christopher John reviewed ''The Road Warrior'' in ''[[Ares (magazine)|Ares Magazine]]'' #13 and commented that "Its taut scripting, exceptional performances, and pulse-pounding pacing, which leaves an audience breathless, combined to make it one of the best SF films of the year. It also has the courage to show what the face of death ''really'' looks like. Mel Gibson's portrayal of Max is hard, bitter and realistic; he is neither hero nor coward, but a man caught up in a mad future which he confronts unafraid."<ref name="Ares">{{cite journal |last=John |first=Christopher |title=Film & Television |journal=[[Ares (magazine)|Ares Magazine]] |publisher=[[TSR, Inc.]] |date=Winter 1983 |issue=13 |pages=40, 43}}</ref> ''The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction'' says ''Mad Max 2'', "with all its comic-strip energy and vividness ... is [[exploitation film|exploitation cinema]] at its most inventive."<ref>{{cite book |last1=Clute |first1=John |last2=Nicholls |first2=Peter |title=The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction |date=November 1995 |publisher=St. Martin's Press |location=[[London]] |isbn=031213486X}}</ref>

===Accolades===
At the [[1982 Australian Film Institute Awards|24th Australian Film Institute Awards]], the film won [[AACTA Award for Best Direction|Best Direction]], [[AACTA Award for Best Editing|Best Editing]], [[AACTA Award for Best Production Design|Best Production Design]], [[AACTA Award for Best Sound|Best Sound]], and [[AACTA Award for Best Costume Design|Best Costume Design]], and it was nominated for [[AACTA Award for Best Cinematography|Best Cinematography]] and [[AACTA Award for Best Original Music Score|Best Original Music Score]]; it received the most nominations and wins of any film at the ceremony, but it was not nominated for [[AACTA Award for Best Film|Best Film]]. At the [[Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror Films]]' [[10th Saturn Awards]], the film won the award for [[Saturn Award for Best International Film|Best International Film]] and generated nominations for [[Saturn Award for Best Direction|Best Director]], [[Saturn Award for Best Actor|Best Actor]] ([[Mel Gibson]]), [[Saturn Award for Best Supporting Actor|Best Supporting Actor]] ([[Bruce Spence]]), [[Saturn Award for Best Writing|Best Writing]], and [[Saturn Award for Best Costume|Best Costumes]]. Additionally, the film won the [[Los Angeles Film Critics Association]] Award for [[Los Angeles Film Critics Association Award for Best Foreign Language Film|Best Foreign Film]] and was nominated for the [[Hugo Award for Best Dramatic Presentation]], and [[George Miller (filmmaker)|George Miller]] won the Grand Prize at the Avoriaz Fantastic Film Festival for his work on the film.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0082694/awards |title=''Mad Max 2'': Award Wins and Nominations |publisher=IMDb.com |access-date=21 May 2010}}</ref>

===Legacy===
{{main|Mad Max in popular culture}}

The film's depiction of a post-apocalyptic future has so widely influenced other filmmakers and science fiction writers that its gritty "junkyard society of the future look ... is almost taken for granted in the modern science-fiction action film."<ref name=Scheib>{{cite web |first=Richard |last=Scheib |title=Mad Max 2 aka The Road Warrior |year=1990 |url=http://www.moria.co.nz/sf/madmax2.htm |access-date=24 May 2010 |publisher=Moria |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100520015240/http://moria.co.nz/sf/madmax2.htm |archive-date=20 May 2010 |url-status=dead}}</ref> The [[dystopian]], [[apocalypse|apocalyptic]], and [[post-apocalyptic]] themes and imagery in the ''[[Mad Max (franchise)|Mad Max]]'' series of films have inspired some artists to recreate the look and feel of some aspects of the series in their work, and fan clubs and "road warrior"-themed activities continue into the 21st century.

In 2008, ''Mad Max 2'' was selected by ''[[Empire (magazine)|Empire]]'' magazine as one of "The 500 Greatest Movies of All Time".<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.empireonline.com/500/41.asp |title=''Empire's'' The 500 Greatest Movies of All Time |publisher=[[Empire (magazine)|Empire]] |access-date=21 May 2010}}</ref> Similarly, ''[[The New York Times]]'' placed the film on its "Best 1000 Movies Ever" list.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/ref/movies/1000best.html |newspaper=The New York Times |title=The Best 1,000 Movies Ever Made |date=29 April 2003 |access-date=21 May 2010}}</ref> ''[[Entertainment Weekly]]'' ranked ''Mad Max 2'' 93rd on its list of the "100 Greatest Movies of All Time" in 1999 and 41st on its updated list of the "All-Time 100 Greatest Films" in 2013, and the publication ranked the character of Mad Max 11th on its list of "The All Time Coolest Heroes in Pop Culture".<ref>{{cite magazine |url=https://www.ew.com/ew/gallery/0,,20268279_10,00.html |title=''Entertainment Weekly's'' 20 All Time Coolest Heroes in Pop Culture |magazine=[[Entertainment Weekly]] |access-date=24 May 2010 |archive-date=6 January 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100106191422/http://www.ew.com/ew/gallery/0,,20268279_10,00.html |url-status=dead }}</ref> In 2016, James Charisma of ''[[Playboy]]'' ranked the film 11th on a list of "15 Sequels That Are Way Better Than the Originals".<ref name="Playboy">{{cite magazine |title=Revenge of the Movie: 15 Sequels That Are Way Better Than The Originals |magazine=[[Playboy]] |url=http://www.playboy.com/articles/15-sequels-better-than-the-original |author=Charisma, James |date=15 March 2016 |access-date=19 July 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160726093750/http://www.playboy.com/articles/15-sequels-better-than-the-original |archive-date=26 July 2016 |url-status=dead}}</ref>

A museum dedicated to ''Mad Max 2'' was established in 2010 in the small town of [[Silverton, New South Wales|Silverton]] (which is 25 kilometres from [[Broken Hill]] in [[New South Wales]]) by Adrian and Linda Bennett, who had built a collection of ''Mad Max'' props and memorabilia after moving to Silverton.<ref>{{cite web |title=Mad Max Museum |url=https://www.silverton.org.au/mad-max-museum/ |website=Discover Silverton |publisher=Silverton Village Committee |access-date=3 February 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190406141242/http://silverton.org.au/mad-max-museum/ |archive-date=6 April 2019}}</ref>

In 2025, ''[[The Hollywood Reporter]]'' listed ''Mad Max 2'' as having the best stunts of 1981.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Doherty |first=Thomas |date=June 7, 2025 |title=The Best Stunts of All Time, Over Nearly 100 Years of the Oscars |work=[[The Hollywood Reporter]] |url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/lists/best-stunts-all-time-movies-oscars-stunt-design-100-years/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250720043450/https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/lists/best-stunts-all-time-movies-oscars-stunt-design-100-years/ |archive-date=July 20, 2025}}</ref>

==See also==
* [[List of cult films]]
* [[List of films considered the best]]
* [[Seven Sisters (oil companies)]], a conspiracy theory referred to in the film
*"[[Two Tribes]]", a song inspired by the opening of this film

==Notes==
{{Notelist}}

==References==
{{Reflist|30em}}

== Bibliography ==
* {{Cite book |lang=fr |author=Melvin Zed |title=Mad Max 2 : les guerriers de la route (1979-1982) |publisher=Rififi |year=2025 |isbn=9782958046842}}.

==External links==
{{Wikiquote}}
* {{IMDb title|0082694}}
* {{mojo title|roadwarrior}}
* {{Rotten Tomatoes|road_warrior}}
* {{Metacritic film}}

{{Mad Max}}
{{George Miller}}
{{Navboxes
|title = Awards for ''Mad Max 2''
|list =
{{Los Angeles Film Critics Association Award for Best Foreign Language Film}}
{{Saturn Award for Best International Film}}
}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mad Max 2}}
[[Category:1981 films]]
[[Category:1981 independent films]]
[[Category:1980s road movies]]
[[Category:1980s science fiction action films]]
[[Category:Films set in deserts]]
[[Category:Australian independent films]]
[[Category:Australian science fiction action films]]
[[Category:Australian sequel films]]
[[Category:1980s chase films]]
[[Category:Films about automobiles]]
[[Category:Films directed by George Miller (filmmaker)]]
[[Category:Films set in Australia]]
[[Category:Kennedy Miller Mitchell films]]
[[Category:Mad Max films]]
[[Category:Peak oil films]]
[[Category:Australian post-apocalyptic films]]
[[Category:Australian road movies]]
[[Category:Warner Bros. films]]
[[Category:Films scored by Brian May (composer)]]
[[Category:1980s exploitation films]]
[[Category:Films with screenplays by George Miller (filmmaker)]]
[[Category:1980s English-language films]]
[[Category:1981 science fiction films]]
[[Category:English-language science fiction action films]]
[[Category:English-language independent films]]
[[Category:English-language action thriller films]]
[[Category:Saturn Award–winning films]]
[[Category:Outlaw biker films]]