George R. R. Martin Thinks This '80s Action Classic Has One Of The Best Chase Sequences Of All Time

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There have been some truly incredible chase scenes in cinema history. From "The Blues Brothers" to "Fast Five," there are numerous examples one could cite, and the "Mad Max" franchise has been responsible for several of them. "Mad Max: Fury Road" is spectacular action filmmaking and is, for much of its runtime, essentially several big ass, incredible chase sequences. But as "Game of Thrones" creator George R. R. Martin sees it, the final chase scene in "Mad Max 2," aka "The Road Warrior," has never been topped.

The first "Mad Max" was a low-budget movie that made a killing at the box office. That allowed "Mad Max" creator George Miller to up the ante for the sequel, which once again follows Mel Gibson's Max as he travels the post-apocalyptic highways of the Australian outback whilst contending with attacks from nomadic tribes. He eventually winds up in an encampment led by relatively peaceful people. Max initially intends to steal their oil, but he instead becomes the group's reluctant defender from the hulking Humungus (Kjell Nilsson) and his band of marauders, leading to the epic chase sequence in question.

In a post on his blog (which is called Not A Blog) in 2024, Martin shared his thoughts on "Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga," which /Film's BJ Colangelo dubbed a "thrilling epic" and "George Miller's Magnum Opus" in her review at the time. Martin, however, wanted to share his broader feelings about the "Mad Max" franchise, including his continued adoration for "The Road Warrior" and its memorably epic climax. Per Martin:

"I would still rank 'Road Warrior's' climactic action chase as one of the best in movie history, especially since it was all practical, amazing real world stuntwork and not the sort of SFX and AI that dominates so many movies currently."

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To George R. R. Martin's point, the long, ridiculous, and almost indescribable chase sequence that concludes "Mad Max 2" is the stuff of legend. It involves endless vehicles rampaging through the desert, with helicopters wreaking havoc, explosions galore, and stuntmen risking their lives for some of the most dangerous, practically accomplished action one will ever come across on screen. It's the delightful work of an absolutely gonzo filmmaker.

In fact, the stunts in "The Road Warrior" were even more dangerous than you'd think, as difficult as that may be for some to comprehend. Anyone who has seen this sequence can tell you just how wild it is. Anyone who hasn't will probably be shocked that nobody died for real while filming it. And, again, George Miller did all of this long before CGI was even a thing. It's bedlam of the greatest sort.

Miller wanted "The Road Warrior" to overcome all of the perceived mistakes of "Mad Max." That thinking resulted in the legendary chase scene that George R.R. Martin described. Continuing, Martin explained how that chase sequence compares to everything else Miller's done with the franchise over the decades:

"George Miller keeps trying to top himself. 'Beyond Thunderdome' had some great action too, with the train chase ... and the fight in the Thunderdome, though that was a different sort of animal. After that there was a long hiatus before 'Fury Road' came along, with a different Max and several huge chase scenes. You can make a case for that one being bolder and bigger than any that had come before, though on balance I still liked 'Road Warrior' more."

You can grab the "Mad Max" 5-film collection on Blu-ray from Amazon.