Mad Max 2: The Road Warrior

Mad Max 2: The Road Warrior (1981)

  • 100% of critics liked it
    (36 reviews)

  • 76% of users liked it
    (75,832 ratings)

Director George Miller's follow-up to his own 1979 hit Mad Max is proof that not all sequels are inferior to their originals. If anything, this brutal sci-fi action film is even more intense and exciting than its predecessor, although the state of its post-apocalyptic world has only become… More

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In Theaters
Dec 24, 1981 Wide
Warner Bros. Pictures

Critic Reviews

  • Richard Corliss, TIME Magazine

    Exhilarating entertainment -- and a textbook for sophisticated, popular moviemaking.

  • James Berardinelli, ReelViews

    A straightforward action/adventure film, filled to the brim with over-the-top chases and stunts.

  • Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times

    A film of pure action, of kinetic energy organized around the barest possible bones of a plot.

  • , Variety

    Director Miller keeps the pic moving with cyclonic force, photography by Dean Semler is first class, editing is supertight, and Brian May's music is stirring.

  • Dave Kehr, Chicago Reader

    For pure rhythm and visual panache, Miller has few real competitors; the climactic chase, with its deft variation of tempo and point of view, is a minor masterpiece.

Read all 16 critic reviews

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Featured Audience Ratings

  • KJ P


    With such an adrenaline fuelled storyline, this sequel to the "Mad Max" trilogy is far superior to the first. With better action sets, better location scouting, much more enjoyable secondary characters, and a plot that is not as ridiculous as the first, "Mad Max 2: The… More

  • Phil H


    The story continues as 'Max Rockatansky' is now a roaming lone wolf, a highway mercenary who does what he can for precious fuel and to survive. For me this is easily the best of the trilogy as it gives you everything you kinda wanted from the first but didn't quite… More

  • Lucas M


    Mad Max 2: The Road Warrior, is the sequel of the unforgettable saga of mystical and lone rebel Max. With much more action the the first film, The Road Warrior is an mind blowing adventure post-apocalyptic action masterpiece and one of the best sequel ever made in cinema story. Fresh.

  • Chris W


    This is easily one of those cases where the sequel is in fact quite superior to the original. You don't necessarily have to have seen the first to get this one, as the opening scene fills in some of the gaps, though it wouldn't hurt because that one is a good film, and… More

  • Eric S


    A brilliant look into the apocalyptic life of Max Rockatansky(Mel Gibson) on the road in his V8 Interceptor fighting off scoundrels with his faithful blue healer at his side. A must see for fans of good action films and undoubtedly one of the very best!

Read all 20 featured audience ratings

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