Mad Max 2 (1981)

The last of the V8 Interceptors and the battle for gasoline! It's post nuclear war Australia and the precious commodity is gasoline, all the varying degrees of survivors pursue it in anyway they can. Director George Miller is here armed with considerably more cash than was available for the first cult hit offering in the series, and boy does it show as we get more destruction, even more outlandish stunts, and a fully realised apocalyptic vision of the future. It's incredible to note that there is no CGI here, this is pure raw stunt work, the film plays out as a standard good versus evil tale, but it's the realisation of the crash bang wallop sequences that lift it to being one of the most important sci-fi action movies of modern times. The baddies are a seething mass of leather, masks, and mohawks, they scowl as they rape pillage and plunder anything in their path, they will stop at nothing to get the craved gasoline that is so important in this world. The good guys are joined by the road warrior himself, Mad Max Rockatansky, a former police officer who turned to being the angry lone warrior of the road after his wife and child were murdered. Can these honest folk survive the onslaught of the crazed plunderers?. Well it's high octane entertainment finding out, and the pace is relentless. The direction is first rate, the scenes are put together with breath taking exhilaration, and the sound mix is incredible for those fortunate enough to own home cinema. Pic may be guilty of having little to no dialogue for the most part, yet it really isn't needed since the story unfolds via the smartly stitched together action sequences. So just strap yourself in and enjoy the ride given to you by a film that's still a benchmark for the genre. 9/10