Blu-Ray Review: Mad Max 2 (1981)

The Movie:

Mad Max 2 or The Road Warrior as its known to US film fans is the second in the Mad Max series and sees the return of Mel Gibson in the title role and in a new environment: the Wastelands of tomorrow and in this he has to help a group of strangers in charge of an oil refinery escape to the coast with their prize and fend off the marauders who lurk in the darkness.

Mad Max 2 is the type of sequel I alluded to in my editorial regarding sequels, which is that whilst its as good as the original film that came before it, it also needs the first film to properly work and the viewer to have seen it but apart from that the movie is also a masterpiece of action cinema with director George Miller setting a bar only Christopher Nolan, James Cameron and John McTiernan have managed to step up too with some of their action pictures: 5 out of 5.

The Blu-Ray:

Mad Max 2 has now been issued on the new Blu-Ray format and I’m pleased to report that for the most part, the film excels its clear that it has undergone a brand new restoration and it looks great and really shows the unmistakable outback where the film was shot (Broken Hill, NSW for those who are wondering).

The audio is sadly not as good as the video for while it sounds clearer, it doesn’t bring you into the environment of the film as a DVD mix does and with a film like this which relies so much on the sound, it’s a bit disappointing.

One last thing I want to bring up is that while the disc correctly gives us the Australian version of the film, it changes the Warner Brothers logo to a modern day one in widescreen instead of the original logo from the film’s original release which was modified to fit in the opening, I know this is nitpicking but I really hate this practice and want it to end, the same thing happened on Christmas Vacation and its no better here.

The Extras:

Audio Commentary by Director/Co-Writer George Miller and Cinematographer Dean Semler: This is a wonderful track that fans will find delightful, its clear from the first go that the two are old friends and are having a blast reminiscing about the film, possibly the best commentary track I’ve heard since John Carpenter and Kurt Russell’s track for Big Trouble in Little China.

Introduction by Film Critic/Historian Leonard Maltin: Maltin provides a nice intro that older fans may not enjoy so much but younger fans like myself will find very appealing.

Theatrical Trailer: This is the US Trailer for the film and focuses on the chases and stunts instead of the plot, a nice change and sets the mood very well also, a huge thumbs up to Warner’s for including this.

Overall:

While this Blu-Ray of Mad Max 2 is very nice, to me it just feels like a step in the right direction towards a legitimate special edition of the film with the original logo intact as well the extras presented here and a new making of documentary plus the vintage featurette that's been seen elsewhere, but this feels good so I say get it as it’s the next best thing.