---
title: "Mad Max 2"
year: 1981
kind: "film"
canonical: "https://film.one/film/mad-max-2"
fi1m_id: "mad-max-2"
imdb_id: "tt0082694"
tmdb_id: 8810
wikidata_id: "Q1125262"
fi1m_score: 88
critics_score: 81
critics_reviews: 10
published: "2026-09-15"
updated: "2026-09-18T08:38:02.132011+00:00"
region: "US"
licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL."
---

# Mad Max 2 (1981)

Directed by George Miller · 1h 36m · MPA R · Action, Thriller, Science Fiction

## Identity

Mad Max 2

- **Canonical:** https://film.one/film/mad-max-2
- **Type:** Film
- **Fi1m ID:** mad-max-2
- **IMDb ID:** tt0082694
- **TMDB ID:** 8810
- **Wikidata ID:** Q1125262
- **Same entity:** https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0082694/, https://www.themoviedb.org/movie/8810, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q1125262

**Fi1m score: 88** · Critics 81 from 10 reviews

*In a sentence:* Petrol is scarce, but nobody has considered driving sensibly

> *Mad Max 2* is a superb action film, with George Miller making a thin story hurtle through precisely staged vehicle combat. The people get less attention, and the brutality will put some off.

## Synopsis

Fuel is scarce in a post-apocalyptic future, and armed gangs compete for what remains. Rockatansky (Mel Gibson) encounters an oil fortress under siege by motorised raiders, bringing him into a struggle over the resource that keeps everyone moving. Around him are the Gyro Captain (Bruce Spence), Pappagallo (Michael Preston), Wez (Vernon Wells) and the Humungus (Kjell Nilsson). George Miller’s action film follows that conflict through a landscape where vehicles provide both transport and the means to wage war. The conflict centres on who controls the fuel and who has the force to take it.

## Review

This is a superb action film with a thin story, and George Miller understands how much that story can carry. Fuel is scarce, motorised gangs fight over it, and Rockatansky encounters an oil fortress under siege. The premise puts vehicles at the centre of the struggle without requiring much explanation whenever somebody starts an engine. Miller makes the pursuit of petrol clear enough that we can concentrate on the more pressing business of who is about to hit whom.

The screenplay by Miller, Brian Hannant and Terry Hayes keeps motives basic, which serves the action better than it serves the people. Rockatansky is played by Mel Gibson, whose reserve gives the film a useful centre without making him especially rewarding company. We do not need a speech whenever he enters a dangerous situation, but a little more feeling would be welcome. The script is at its most useful when it gives an immediate practical reason for the next confrontation.

Dean Semler’s photography is crucial to why the fighting remains absorbing. The vehicles are allowed enough space for us to follow their movement, and the image gives the stunt work a scale that frantic cutting alone could not supply. We were exhilarated by the vehicle combat: being able to judge how close the machines come to one another makes the danger register before the impact. There is pleasure in seeing a complicated piece of action made comprehensible, even when what is happening is thoroughly unpleasant.

Editors David Stiven, Tim Wellburn and Michael Balson deserve as much credit as the stunt work. The cutting keeps the action moving without reducing it to an unrelated succession of crashes; one movement prepares us for the next, so the speed has something we can follow. Brian May’s music supplies a further push, treating the struggle with a seriousness that suits the film’s relentless aggression. At 96 minutes, it has little time to spare, and the briskness is welcome.

There is humour here, although Miller makes no effort to keep things comfortable. The sheer excess of the vehicle combat can be funny, even while the people taking part appear entirely committed to it. That helps, but the ugliness of the violence is a real qualification to our enthusiasm. Some action films encourage us to enjoy destruction without considering bodies at all; this one is harder to settle into, and anyone put off by its brutality is not missing the point.

The Western influence gives the siege a familiar shape, with Rockatansky arriving at a conflict that already has its own momentum. Miller is good at the part of the genre that involves deciding who controls a patch of ground and who can move across it. He is less interested in giving the people on that ground much of a life beyond their immediate predicament. If you need much human warmth from an action film, this is not the evening for it. Otherwise, turn the sound up and leave any conversation until the engines stop.

*Fi1m score 88, published 15 September 2026.*

## What the critics say

The reviews are almost uniformly positive, and the praise gathers in one place: the action. Critics single out the sustained closing chase, the stunt work and the vehicle choreography, with several naming that final sequence among the best of its kind. The photography and editing draw repeated notice, as does the pace, which most describe as relentless without becoming shapeless. A clear majority also rank it above the first film, and several call it the strongest entry in the series.

The reservations cluster around what sits underneath the spectacle. Most critics accept that the plot is slight; a few count it against the film. The New Yorker calls it visually terrific but joyless and short of real resonance, and Slant finds it conventional in spirit next to the original. Empire has doubts about Gibson’s charisma while crediting Miller’s set pieces with making up the difference. The spread is narrow: nine positive, one mixed, none negative.

## Straight answers

**How long is Mad Max 2, and what is it rated?**

*Mad Max 2* runs 1h 36m and is rated R by the MPA in the US. It is an action and thriller film.

**Where can I watch Mad Max 2 in the US?**

*Mad Max 2* is available to rent from Amazon Prime Video from $4.99. Availability is checked daily; the links above go straight to each service.

**What should I watch after Mad Max 2?**

After *Mad Max 2*, try [*The General*](https://film.one/film/the-general) (1926, Fi1m 91): Vehicle choreography so clear that the danger and the jokes need no explanation. Then [*The Wages of Fear*](https://film.one/film/the-wages-of-fear) (1953, Fi1m 90): For more danger measured in distance, speed and the behaviour of vehicles; and [*Seven Samurai*](https://film.one/film/seven-samurai) (1954, Fi1m 95): A besieged community, reluctant alliances and action that keeps the ground legible.

**What order should I watch the Mad Max films in?**

Release order is the safe choice for Mad Max, and it is the order [our collection page](https://film.one/collections/mad-max) lists them in. *Mad Max 2* is number 2 of the 5 Mad Max titles on Fi1m; before it comes [*Mad Max*](https://film.one/film/mad-max) and after it [*Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome*](https://film.one/film/mad-max-beyond-thunderdome). [The full order.](https://film.one/collections/mad-max.md)

### Reviews we read (10)

- **RogerEbert.com**, Roger Ebert (90/100, inferred): The film is pure kinetic action with the barest plot, a skillful and exhilarating (if sometimes disgusting) experience like no other. Ebert singles out the sustained final chase sequence as one of the great modern action set pieces, comparable to classics like The General. [Read](https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/mad-max-2-the-road-warrior-1981)
- **The Guardian**, Luke Buckmaster (90/100, inferred): The critic calls Mad Max 2 vastly superior to the first film and the jewel in the trilogy’s crown. They single out its cyclonic energy in moving images, characters and set pieces, plus the epic chase sequences directed with galling flair. [Read](https://www.theguardian.com/culture/australia-culture-blog/2014/jul/25/mad-max-2-the-road-warrior-hell-for-leather-roadside-anarchy)
- **Variety**, Variety Staff (90/100, inferred): The uncomplicated plot leads to a dazzling demolition derby climax with fine stunt work, special effects, and cyclonic direction. The review highlights the photography, tight editing, and stirring music in this high-energy Australian action film. [Read](https://variety.com/1980/film/reviews/mad-max-2-1200424947/)
- **Time Out**, DP (80/100, inferred): The film presents a post-industrial future where motorised warlords fight over fuel, with Max encountering an oil fortress under siege by biker barbarians. Its simple plot draws from comic-strip machismo and is sustained by humour and exceptional visual energy, particularly the extraordinary vehicle choreography. [Read](https://www.timeout.com/movies/mad-max-2-the-road-warrior)
- **Empire**, Bob McCabe (70/100, inferred): The film is an all-out stuntfest with minimal plot, as nomads hunt for gasoline in a post-apocalyptic world. Gibson is uncharismatic but Miller compensates with whizz-bang action sequences. [Read](https://www.empireonline.com/movies/reviews/mad-max-2-review/)
- **Slant Magazine**, Chuck Bowen (70/100, inferred): The critic calls The Road Warrior the best in the series as a poetic action sonata rich in beautifully composed wide shots and an inventive climax, but finds it disappointingly conventional in spirit compared to the original Mad Max. [Read](https://www.slantmagazine.com/dvd/mad-max-trilogy/)
- **The New Yorker**, Pauline Kael (65/100, inferred): The Road Warrior is an intense, amazing piece of taut, visually terrific junk food with distinctive editing and a mutant blend of action genres. Kael praises the visual style and chase but finds it joyless, abstract, and lacking real resonance or fun. [Read](https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/1982/09/06/1982-09-06-096-tny-cards-000340613)
- **Collider**, Dave Trumbore (A): The critic praises the film's grander action sequences and epic Western-inspired storytelling as an improvement over the original, singling out the legendary tanker chase as one of cinema's best. [Read](https://collider.com/mad-max-2-the-road-warrior-review/)
- **Digital Spy**, Ben Rawson-Jones (85/100, inferred): The re-view praises the sequel for making everything bigger, bolder and bloodier than the first film while reversing Max's arc to gradually restore his humanity through subtle performance and visceral action that still holds up decades later. [Read](https://www.digitalspy.com/movies/re-viewed/a650066/re-viewed-mad-max-2-the-road-warrior-bigger-bolder-bloodier/)
- **Den of Geek**, Joe George (80/100, inferred): The critic ranks Mad Max 2: The Road Warrior as the second-best entry in the franchise, praising how it fully immerses Max in the wasteland and realizes its fallen world with memorable villains and a narrator framing him as a folk hero. [Read](https://www.denofgeek.com/movies/the-mad-max-and-furiosa-movies-ranked/)

## Details

- **Director:** George Miller
- **Director:** George Miller
- **Screenplay:** Terry Hayes, George Miller, Brian Hannant
- **Cinematography:** Dean Semler
- **Editor:** Tim Wellburn, Michael Balson, David Stiven
- **Music:** Brian May
- **Costume design:** Norma Moriceau
- **Producer:** Byron Kennedy
- **Cast:** Mel Gibson as Max Rockatansky; Bruce Spence as The Gyro Captain; Michael Preston as Pappagallo; Max Phipps as The Toadie; Vernon Wells as Wez; Kjell Nilsson as The Humungus; Emil Minty as The Feral Kid; Virginia Hey as Warrior Woman
- **Runtime:** 1h 36m
- **Certificate (MPA):** R
- **Release (the US):** 21 May 1982
- **Genres:** Action, Thriller, Science Fiction
- **Part of:** [Mad Max](https://film.one/collections/mad-max.md) · 2 of 5
- **Budget:** $2 million
- **Box office:** $25 million
- **Trailer:** https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bwcADuJZDNA

## Where to watch in the US

- Amazon Prime Video: rent $4.99, uhd
- Amazon Prime Video: buy $12.99, uhd

*Checked 2026-09-15.*

Also available in: AR, AT, AU, BE, BR, CA, CH, CL, CO, DE, EC, FR, GB, IE, IT, LT, MX, NZ, PA, PE, PT, US. Add `?region=XX` to this URL for another country.

## Awards

- Hugo Awards 1983: Best Dramatic Presentation (nominated)
- Los Angeles Film Critics Association Award for Best Foreign Language Film 1983: Los Angeles Film Critics Association Award for Best Foreign Language Film (won)
- AACTA Award for Best Cinematography 1982: AACTA Award for Best Cinematography (nominated)
- AACTA Award for Best Costume Design 1982: AACTA Award for Best Costume Design (won)
- AACTA Award for Best Direction 1982: AACTA Award for Best Direction (won)
- AACTA Award for Best Editing 1982: AACTA Award for Best Editing (won)
- AACTA Award for Best Original Music Score 1982: AACTA Award for Best Original Music Score (nominated)
- AACTA Award for Best Production Design 1982: AACTA Award for Best Production Design (won)
- AACTA Award for Best Sound 1982: AACTA Award for Best Sound (won)
- Saturn Awards 1982: Best International Film (won)
- Saturn Awards 1981: Best Costume (nominated)

## If you liked this

- *The General* (1926), Fi1m 91: Vehicle choreography so clear that the danger and the jokes need no explanation. — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/the-general.md)
- *The Wages of Fear* (1953), Fi1m 90: For more danger measured in distance, speed and the behaviour of vehicles. — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/the-wages-of-fear.md)
- *Duel* (1971): A road thriller that makes a vehicle’s position enough to frighten us.
- *Seven Samurai* (1954), Fi1m 95: A besieged community, reluctant alliances and action that keeps the ground legible. — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/seven-samurai.md)
- *The Raid* (2011), Fi1m 83: For tightly organised action in which every metre of space matters. — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/the-raid.md)

---
© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Canonical: https://film.one/film/mad-max-2