116. Mad Max 2: The Road Warrior

Load Bearing Beams: A Movie Podcast

Matt, Laci, and their unnamed dog are on a quest for as much guzzoline as they can carry in this episode covering one of the all-time great action movies, George Miller’s Mad Max 2 (1981).

In this wonderfully weird film that we yanks tend to call The Road Warrior, Max Rockatansky (Mel Gibson) is enlisted against his will by a ragtag band of oil refinery folks in their war against the dread Lord Humungus. It’s kind of like Casablanca, but after the world ends. And Australian.

Mad Max is Matt’s favorite movie franchise, so listen up and he’ll tell you how this movie is actually politically poignant and emotionally devastating. A grand adventure indeed!

Matt made a six-minute video about how Babe: Pig in the City is George Miller’s most Mad Max movie: https://youtu.be/ah38veX7RSc

Watch this episode in full: https://youtu.be/fEIYAIczSJo

Next week: William Shakespeare’s Romeo + Juliet (1996) with special guest Screen Time Kota!

Time stamps:

00:01:50 — Our history with the Mad Max franchise

00:17:33 — Pre-movie predictions

00:22:46 — History segment: Brief overview of Australian cinema in the ‘70s and ‘80s; overview of director George Miller

00:46:14 — In-depth movie discussion

01:23:23 — Final thoughts and star ratings

Artwork by Laci Roth.

Music by Rural Route Nine. Listen to their album The Joy of Averages on Spotify (https://bit.ly/48WBtUa), Apple Music (https://bit.ly/3Q6kOVC), or YouTube (https://bit.ly/3MbU6tC).

Songs by Rural Route Nine in this episode:

“Your Ambition” - https://youtu.be/ZHudVTCkrQY

“Winston-Salem” - https://youtu.be/-acMutUf8IM

“Snake Drama” - https://youtu.be/xrzz8_2Mqkg

“The Bible Towers of Bluebonnet” - https://youtu.be/k7wlxTGGEIQ

Sources:

Not Quite Hollywood - 2009 documentary directed by Mark Hartley

“‘Mad Max’ has lived in George Miller’s head for 45 years. He’s not done dreaming yet” by Jake Coyle | The Associated Press, 2024 - https://bit.ly/3WOVj09

“Myths Shape a Movie from Australia” by Michael Specter | The New York Times, 1982 - https://bit.ly/3yubaqT