The Mad Max 2 change explains why it’s so much better than the first movie

Mad Max 2: The Road Warrior Joined the gonzo absurdity of George Miller’s post-apocalyptic wasteland, realizing the vision he didn’t have the money to pull off the first time. While the original Mad Max is a timeless gem, the series didn’t become the uniquely uncomfortable, surreal, high-octane action franchise it is today until Miller expanded The Wasteland into The Road Warrior. The first film is a dystopian police thriller set in a world on the brink of a gas-guzzling apocalypse, but the second film takes it way past the brink to the desolate badlands that remain.

Since Miller was working from a shoestring budget in his independent directorial debut, he could only fulfill a fraction of his vision of a lawless post-apocalyptic world. But Mad Max It proved to be successful enough for Miller to complete his vision in the bigger-budgeted sequel. Mad Max is a great movie – as evidenced by its impressive Rotten Tomatoes score, which is matched by Furiosa Earlier this year – however The Road Warrior is even greater. Until fury way came in 2015, The Road Warrior is widely regarded as the best Mad Max film (and this big change is why).

Mad Max 2 fully embraces the outlandish nature of the first movie’s apocalypse

The Road Warrior goes into the heart of the wasteland

The first Mad Max Film takes place in a dystopian near-future Where widespread ecocide and oil shortages have led to a breakdown in civil order. But It is still a law enforcement body in operation It’s the last line of defense against the outlaw bikers and sadistic berserkers who are quickly taking over the world. Fearless Max Rokkatansky is the top bounty hunter working for the Major Force Patrol, an underfunded police force desperately trying and failing to maintain law and order as the world descends into chaos. Because the rest of the Mad Max saga is post-apocalyptic, The first film is pre-apocalyptic.

Mad Max 2On the other hand, Miller’s interesting sci-fi universe takes way past the brink of annihilation to the ruins of that destruction. The land is a cold, unforgiving desert as far as the eye can see and the survivors have gathered in various makeshift towns and communities, built with scraps. The original movie introduced Max’s driving motivation, the ruthless tone of Miller’s filmmaking, and the frenetic pace and style of his action scenes. But The Mad Max Universe is not fully established yet The Road Warrior has arrived.

Mad Max’s success allowed the sequel to properly realize the vision of George Miller

Mad Max was such a hit that Miller was able to secure 10 times the budget for Mad Max 2

As a first-time filmmaker with a truly unique vision, Miller could only secure a budget of anywhere between AU$350,000 and AU$400,000 for the first Mad Max Movie (by Vanity Fair). This was enough to cover some big action scenes, like a car chase and an explosion, but it wasn’t enough to transform his shooting locations into a barren wasteland. Against all odds, the original Mad Max became a massive blockbuster. It earned over $100 million at the box officemaking Mad Max The most profitable movie ever made. The film’s success allowed Miller a much larger budget for the sequel.

According to David Stratton’s book The Avocado Plantation: Boom and Bust in the Australian Film Industry, Mad Max 2 It had a budget of AU$4.5 million, more than 10 times what the original movie cost. This allowed Miller to finally realize his vision of a gonzo post-apocalyptic wasteland full of bleak landscapes and gas-guzzling marauders. The Mad Max Universe as it is known today – and as it always was in Miller’s imagination – was born.

Mad Max 2 is a rare example of a sequel that is bigger and better

Most sequels get bigger, but very few are better

Mad Max 2 is a rare example of a sequel that is both bigger and better than its predecessor. It’s par for the course for a sequel to be bigger than its predecessor, with greater scale, higher narrative stakes and more explosive action. The Terminator is a low-budget tech-noir slasher; Terminator 2: Judgment Day is a giant, action-packed blockbuster. First blood is an intimate small-town cat-and-mouse thriller; Rambo: First Blood Part II is a loud, gun-toting action epic. But it’s rare that the bigger sequels are actually better than the original.

Usually, in expanding the scale, a sequel loses the magic that made the original so great. Mad Max 2 is a rare example of a sequel that goes bigger with the spectacle, but also improves upon the narrative and characterization of its predecessor. Mad Max is a very simple revenge story; The Road Warrior is more like a post-apocalyptic spaghetti western About a lone warrior protecting an innocent community from a nefarious gang. Along with The Godfather Part II And The empire strikes back, Mad Max 2 is one of the greatest sequels ever made.

Source: Vanity Fair, The Avocado Plantation: Boom and Bust in the Australian Film Industry