Thursday, October 7, 2010

A Complete Synopsis Of The Hit Film Mad Max 2

By Mitchell Singleton

Mad Max 2, also known as the Road Warrior, is simply put, one of the greatest action films ever created. It might even be one of the greatest films of all time, period, depending on your perspective. It is, at the very least, one of the most well crafted films in existence, one of the most well told, with clarity and coherence even amidst all the chaos the story provides. This is the one that made Mel Gibson a household name, and certainly one of the must download movies of all time.

There aren't a lot of movies that work so well on so many levels, much less action films, which are typically used just to turn over a quick and easy profit at the box office. The movie is just, very, very strong on all possible levels. It's exciting, fun and has some moments of great humor, drama and humanity.

You probably know everything about the movie, but it's worth a recap nevertheless: After World War III, food, water and gasoline have all become scarce. The outback of Australia has become a wasteland, overrun by ruthless gangs of warlords and thugs. Mad Max is a former cop now just trying to stay alive and find enough gas and water to get from one day to the next, to keep himself, his dog, and his car alive.

Throughout the previous film, Max lost touch with his humanity, becoming just as cruel and ruthless as the villains he pursued. This time, he needs to take a chance at redemption and at getting in touch with his humanity once more by getting involved once more with society, or what's left of it.

The movie is, really, one big chase scene. It stops here and there just long enough for the viewer to catch his or her breath. A lesser movie might have grown boring with this structure, having sacrificed story and character for chase scenes. However, The Road Warrior uses action to tell the story, to develop character. This is how the old westerns did it, and it's too bad that this structure isn't really used anymore.

The movie is really all about the nature of heroism. It gets into the Joseph Campbellian concepts of mythology and comes out with a legendary story that many Australians consider "The Australian Star Wars" in terms of cultural importance. It is, of course, one of the national treasures of the Australian cinema, and one of the most successful films ever to come from that country.

The movie is really a western and deserves to be classified alongside films like Stagecoach and The War Wagon as one of the all time great action packed adventure films.

The movie is loud, fast and aggressive, full of insane characters and crazy stunts (several stuntmen almost died, in fact). It may well be one of the greatest films ever made for storytelling and craftsmanship, and if not, it's certainly one of the all time great action films, and certainly worth a watch whether or not you're usually an action fan. It's definitely one to see before you die, and if you haven't seen it yet, you want to ASAP.

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