Mad Max 2

Mad Max 2 (known as The Road Warrior in the United States) is a 1981 Australian post-apocalyptic action film. George Miller directed it and co-wrote the screenplay with Terry Hayes and Brian Hannant. It is the sequel to the 1979 film Mad Max and the second movie in the Mad Max series. Mel Gibson returns as "Mad Max" Rockatansky, a hardened survivor who aids a group of settlers fighting off a roaming gang of marauders. Filming took place in locations around Broken Hill in the Outback of New South Wales. The film premiered in Australia on 24 December 1981 and received widespread critical acclaim. Critics praised Gibson's performance, the musical score, cinematography, action sequences, and costume design. Its sparing use of dialogue was particularly noted as unprecedented for an action film. Mad Max 2 was also a box office success, and its post-apocalyptic and punk aesthetics helped popularise the genre in film and fiction. At the 10th Saturn Awards, it won Best International Film and received five more nominations: Best Director, Best Actor for Gibson, Best Supporting Actor for Bruce Spence, Best Writing, and Best Costumes for Norma Moriceau. The film is widely considered one of the greatest action films ever made and one of the best sequels. Fan clubs and "road warrior"-themed activities continued into the 21st century. It was followed by Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome in 1985. After a global war causes widespread oil shortages and ecocide, civilisation collapses and the world becomes barbaric. Former policeman Max Rockatansky, haunted by his family's death, drives through 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 wrecked vehicles and inspects a damaged semi-trailer and prime mover. Later, Max tries to collect fuel from an apparently abandoned gyrocopter, but the pilot ambushes him. Max overpowers the man with his dog's help and spares his life in exchange for being led to a working oil refinery the pilot discovered. They arrive during the daily attack on the facility by a motorised gang, of which Wez is a member. The next day, Max watches cars leave the besieged compound and get chased down by marauders.