This excellent movie could easily have come across as a cartoon.  But it doesn't.
A compact, post-Apocalyptic classic, this film is the core of the Mad Max trilogy and by far the best of the three in every sense.  Neatly framed by a haunting narrative delivered years after the events in  the film, this is a complete story of imperfect redemption.  Mel Gibson as  Max (a reprise from his role in the earlier _Mad Max_) is the classic  anti-hero.  His motives are mixed.  He does not get the girl.  He barely  survives, in fact, and the last we see of him is standing bloodied but  unbowed and defiant amid a field of wreckage-at sundown, appropriately  enough.
There are so many great characters and lines in this movie that  it would be impossible to review them all in 1,000 words.  I will just  mention Bruce Spence as the Gyrocaptain, and Emil Minty, as the Feral Kid.  Spence is the "sidekick," bringing a bit of comic relief in a wonderfully  acted part.  Minty is the sort of surrogate for the son lost in _Mad Max_,  and the spiritual hand-off from "father" to "son" at  the end of the story is poignant.
There are some great plot twists for  anyone lucky enough to be seeing this for the first time, as well as irony  by the bucketful.  Perhaps the strongest point of the film is its gritty,  unsentimental realism.  The bad guys don't win, but neither are they  totally wiped out.  The "heroes," in large part, don't survive.  The  spiritually flawed somehow eke through, leaving us with a bit of a murky  moral.
A brooding soundtrack and excellent cinematography round out what  is in every sense a classic film.
This excellent movie could easily have come across as a cartoon. But it doesn't. A compact, post-Apocalyptic classic, this film is the core of the Mad Max trilogy and by far the best of the three in every sense. Neatly framed by a haunting narrative delivered years after the events in  the film, this is a complete story of imperfect redemption. Mel Gibson as  Max (a reprise from his role in the earlier _Mad Max_) is the classic  anti-hero. His motives are mixed. He does not get the girl. He barely  survives, in fact, and the last we see of him is standing bloodied but  unbowed and defiant amid a field of wreckage-at sundown, appropriately  enough. There are so many great characters and lines in this movie that  it would be impossible to review them all in 1,000 words. I will just  mention Bruce Spence as the Gyrocaptain, and Emil Minty, as the Feral Kid. Spence is the "sidekick," bringing a bit of comic relief in a wonderfully  acted part. Minty is the sort of surrogate for the son lost in _Mad Max_,  and the spiritual hand-off from "father" to "son" at  the end of the story is poignant. There are some great plot twists for  anyone lucky enough to be seeing this for the first time, as well as irony  by the bucketful. Perhaps the strongest point of the film is its gritty,  unsentimental realism. The bad guys don't win, but neither are they  totally wiped out. The "heroes," in large part, don't survive. The  spiritually flawed somehow eke through, leaving us with a bit of a murky  moral. A brooding soundtrack and excellent cinematography round out what  is in every sense a classic film.