Saturday, May 22, 2010

Mel Gibson Stars In The Road Warrior

By Liz Keller

There's something to be said for action flicks, especially when they're as well crafted as The Road Warrior. This film was what really got Mel Gibson started on a global level. Mad Max saw him explode in the US, but since the film hadn't been released in the US yet, or throughout much of the rest of the world, it was The Road Warrior that made him a household name. It's definitely one of the must download movies of all time.

There aren't many movies that work so well as action movies while being one of those films you might consider to be one of the greatest ever made. However, the film is just so incredibly strong on so many levels that you have to recognize how good it is as a film regardless of whether or not you're usually a big fan of action flicks.

If you haven't seen it, and somehow have no idea what it's about: Mad Max Rockatansky is a former cop wandering a wasted outback in Australia. Food and water have become scarce after World War III, as has gasoline. Max is trying to find enough resources just to keep himself alive from day to day as he wanders across the wasteland.

Eventually he must come to terms with his own humanity or lack thereof. Throughout the previous film, the first Mad Max, Max lost touch with his own humanity in the pursuit of vengeance. Now he must reaffirm himself as human, as a member of society, or... What's left of it, anyways.

The movie is essentially one long chase scene, stopping here and there just long enough to give us a breather and some more character and story development. Of course, the majority of character and story is developed through the action, which is how it's supposed to be. Too often, action is only thrown in to get in the way of the story and put the viewer's brain on pause. Here, the action IS the story, just as it was in the days of the old westerns.

In the end the movie is really a statement on heroism, delving into Joseph Campbellian mythological structure and coming up with what many Australians consider to be "Star Wars Down Under". It's certainly one of the most successful films to ever come out of that country, and is still considered a national treasure of the Australian cinema all these decades later.

It will likely go down as one of the great westerns and western influenced films. It should stand alongside Stagecoach in that regard, in that it really is just great action and physical heroism from beginning to end.

The movie is loud, fast and aggressive, full of insane characters and crazy stunts (several stuntmen almost died, in fact). It may well be one of the greatest films ever made for storytelling and craftsmanship, and if not, it's certainly one of the all time great action films, and certainly worth a watch whether or not you're usually an action fan. It's definitely one to see before you die, and if you haven't seen it yet, you want to ASAP.

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