Though I had only seen the previous installment, 'Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome', which I enjoyed whilst a great many people didn't, with the present sequel earning ten (!?) Oscar nominations, I wanted to catch up on things before seeing the new film at the Cineplex. I was very pleased with this early film in the post-apocalyptic movie category, and can see how and why both it and star Mel Gibson became so successful. Other than Kenneth Anger's experimental film, 'Scorpio Rising', I have never seen a work that so fetishes both cars and the ritual of dressing, either for driving or for war. It's very well directed and suspenseful for a first-timer in Miller, and I'm so glad he's still helming the films of the series 36 years later! All that one has to do to see How To and How Not To Continue a Fine Franchise is compare how both George Miller and George Lucas have done this century. It's sad that they were so short on funds that only Gibson could be fitted with real leather in the film--I think I can rightly assume that money isn't a problem anymore...
