In my last post on Mad Max, I talked about how that original film feels so wildly different from all of the ones that came after it. The Road Warrior feels like an entire rework of the series, starting off in a vastly different environment and tonally shifting the film to a more extreme, apocalyptic stand point. In fact if it weren’t for the prelude in the beginning, it would be fine to assume these two films weren’t related1. If this were a stand alone film, it could honestly work completely on its own. However it is not and it still fucking rules. Which got me to thinking, is this the best sequel (based on original IP) that exists?
For this exercise, I’m going to disqualify characters and story arcs that are based on previous material as well (sorry The Dark Knight and Logan), any spin offs based on previous property (sorry Creed), as well as make it about the direct sequel to the original (sorry Fury Road and Toy Story 3). Now, I know the immediate reactions will be “Godfather Part II! Aliens! Paddington 2!” and those are all very fair points. However, I will say from a personal standpoint that I don’t care for The Godfathers, the original Alien is far superior to the Vietnam action film, and yes, Paddington 2 is great, but I personally like the first one more. That is not to say that those films aren’t good, nor that they aren’t the best sequels of all time, but for me I don’t believe they are.
I think James Cameron might be the god of the sequel though, because aside from Aliens, he also did T2: Judment Day2 and Avatar: The Way of Water3. Granted, these films rule and are incredible follow ups, but the reason I’m making the case for Road Warrior is because I feel as if anyone can just jump into this film and completely enjoy it. For a lot of these sequels, you have to have a basic knowledge of the world that was created in the original to thoroughly understand and appreciate these films. With Road Warrior, you really don’t at all. So that also would eliminate films like John Wick 2, Blade Runner 2049, and Empire Strikes Back.
So am I just making up rules to make a case for The Road Warrior? Maybe. But I’m going to stop right there and say that it isn’t the best sequel. Because even in this world of asinine rules, that still leaves incredible masterpieces such as Ocean’s Twelve and Top Gun: Maverick. Soderbergh has a knack for filling in universes that while you should watch Ocean’s Eleven before the sequel, you don’t have to at all. There’s no information from the first one that is necessary to understand the second. You also might think that’s the case with Top Gun: Maverick, but it’s not. Sure there is a very lovely Val Kilmer scene that might be hard to understand without context, but you know what film had no plotline or story or anything worthwhile? The first Top Gun, and the second one was far and away superior to the first.
So no, Road Warrior is not the best sequel based on my stupid criteria, but it is really fucking great.
Instead they give a narration and summation of the previous film with some cuts, so you can catch up.
An absolute ripper.
As someone who really hated the first Avatar save for its visuals, the sequel was so fucking good and completely blew me away.