20 Greatest Direct Sequels Ever Made
7. The Road Warrior
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.