Mad Max 2 (1981) Director: George Miller Starring: Mel Gibson, Bruce Spence, Vernon Wells, Kjell Nilsson
Eighteen-rated because of the brutality of some of its action scenes (not to mention the bit where a guy gets his head sliced in two by a razor-tipped boomerang), George Miller's startling sequel - rather aptly for a film known as The Road Warrior in the States - is the ultimate road movie. Not in an introspective, navel-gazing, Jack Kerouac way, but in a pedal-to-the-metal, scenery-whizzing-past, unstoppable force kinda way. Famed for sparse economy of dialogue, Mad Max 2 is a grim mixture of siege movie and sustained car/truck chase, with Miller marshalling the incredibly intricate vehicular mayhem with military precision.
RoboCop (1987) Director: Paul Verhoeven Starring: Peter Weller, Nancy Allen, Kurtwood Smith, Ronny Cox
Having grown up in occupied Holland, Paul Verhoeven knows a thing or two about fascism and the future of RoboCop's Old Detroit is a clear reflection of the fact. More subtle than the screaming satire of Starship Troopers, RoboCop's digs at authoritarianism are beautifully conveyed by its line-up of mock television commercials, as well as the corporate dictatorship of OCP. But beyond the social commentary is a gripping thriller about bringing law to the lawless and a man struggling to recover his lost identity. This is Dirty Harry with cybernetic implants - the ultimate maverick cop, one who's incorruptible, bulletproof and thoroughly pissed off.
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