End of summer is here. Man it flew by fast!! In Toronto we have the CNE (Canadian National Exhibition) Air Show all weekend. It’s fun!!
Mad Max 2: Road Warrior – back in 1982 George Miller released the sequel to his first film in this series set in Australia after an apocalypse. I decided to revisit this film after the most recent Furiosa just released and reviewed by me with Anya Taylor-Joy and Chris Hemsworth. The latest release lacks all of the things that made the Road Warrior movie some compelling and a success that drove the series forward. Mel Gibson is the young star who builds this successful role into super stardom.
But what’s the difference? Same director. Many years later in a similar world.
For me it’s the human heart and soul of the original. There were a band of people that you cared about. They were keeping their decency and humanity while fighting off the vermin of society, leftovers in an age when violence and might rule the day. The good guys wearing white are introduced after we see Max (the former cop) on the wild highways with chases and explosions. Everyone is seeking petrol which is in limited supply.
Max has a dutiful and loyal dog who helps him greatly and early on meets up with a gangly stranger who has a flying helicopter contraption.
They aren’t exactly friends as Max makes him a prisoner. Together they see a task, hoping to help the protectors of a refinery who seek new life and hope. The bad guys with two ferocious and merciless leaders just want what they want. The gas, and along with it the power. The intrigue begins along with the humanity in a few forms. The mercenary and loner learns a lesson about being human and having purpose.
The contrast is striking to Furiosa where it seemed the focus was on the crazy stunts and make up while losing any sense of connection. Humungous and his sidekick are played straight and intensely in Road Warrior. Hemsworth have made it a caricature. It is laughable how Hemsworth plays his role which is as disingenuous as the make up and prosthetic nose and chin that he wears.
Sometimes it isn’t a good idea to remake what was a success. Having said that Mad Max: Fury Road was a decent episode in the series. There is always another movie to be made and more money to be made at the box office.
Mondays With Robbie 