20 Greatest Direct Sequels Ever Made

7. The Road Warrior

Mad Max 2 The Road Warrior
Warner Bros. Pictures

Ten times more expensive than the original but still relatively cheap at 4.5m Australian dollars, Mad Max 2: The Road Warrior firmly established Mel Gibson's Max Rockatansky as one of cinema's ultimate bad-asses, with George Miller crafting one of the greatest post-apocalyptic movies ever made, regardless of genre.

The Western-inspired plot is thin to say the least, but that's exactly the point. Nobody watches a Mad Max movie for its engrossing narrative and witty dialogue, we're here for the action. On that front, The Road Warrior delivers in spades.

Backed by razor-sharp editing and atmospheric cinematography, Miller orchestrates some stunning vehicular chaos; turning the exploitation flick into an art form, Mad Max 2 is a relentless, stylish, kinetic, bone-crunching, visceral assault on the senses that has rarely been bettered in the 36 years since its release.

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