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Mad Max 2 poster

Movies that feel likeMad Max 2 (1981)

Max Rockatansky returns as the heroic loner who drives the dusty roads of a postapocalyptic Australian Outback in an unending search for gasoline. Arrayed against him and the other scraggly defendants of a fuel-depot encampment are the bizarre warriors commanded by the charismatic Lord Humungus, a violent leader whose scruples are as barren as the surrounding landscape.

If you loved Mad Max 2, the closest films we have are Escape from New York (1981), They Live (1988) and RoboCop (1987). All three share Mad Max 2's kinetic and tense feel, which is what we rank on before quality.

Seen the big three already? The under-the-radar pick below is District B13 (2004).

πŸ… 93% Rotten Tomatoesβ˜… 7.6 IMDb β†—TMDB β†—dir. George Millerkinetictensecerebralbleak
11 of 12 streaming nowAmazon Prime Video Β· Paramount Plus Premium Β· MGM Plus

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If Mad Max 2 hit the spot, these will too

Looking for the series itself? Also in this series: Mad Max (1979) Β· Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome (1985) Β· Mad Max: Fury Road (2015) Β· Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga (2024)

Escape from New York poster
Escape from New York
1981 Β· dir. John Carpenter
πŸ… 70%β˜… 7.1action Β· thriller Β· science fiction

Both are built on the same subject: dystopia

In a world ravaged by crime, the entire island of Manhattan has been converted into a walled prison where brutal prisoners roam free. After the US president crash-lands inside, war hero Snake Plissken has 24 hours to bring him back.

They Live poster
They Live
1988 Β· dir. John Carpenter
πŸ… 86%β˜… 7.2science fiction Β· action Β· thrillerPrime Video

Common ground: dystopia

A lone drifter stumbles upon a unique pair of sunglasses that reveal aliens are systematically gaining control of the Earth by masquerading as humans and lulling the public into submission.

RoboCop poster
RoboCop
1987 Β· dir. Paul Verhoeven
πŸ… 84%β˜… 7.6action Β· thriller Β· science fiction

The same mix in both: momentum, then tension

In a violent, near-apocalyptic Detroit, evil corporation Omni Consumer Products wins a contract from the city government to privatize the police force. To test their crime-eradicating cyborgs, the company leads street cop Alex Murphy into an armed confrontation with crime lord Boddicker so they can use his body to support their untested RoboCop prototype. But when RoboCop learns of the company's nefarious plans, he turns on his masters.

eXistenZ poster
eXistenZ
1999 Β· dir. David Cronenberg
πŸ… 77%β˜… 6.8action Β· thriller Β· science fiction

Cerebral where it counts, bleak underneath

A game designer on the run from assassins must play her latest virtual reality creation with a marketing trainee to determine if the game has been damaged.

The Omega Man poster
The Omega Man
1971 Β· dir. Boris Sagal
πŸ… 65%β˜… 6.4science fiction Β· action Β· drama

Both keep coming back to the same thing: life after the end

The difference: The scrappier of the two with critics

Due to an experimental vaccine, Dr. Robert Neville is the only human survivor of an apocalyptic war waged with biological weapons. Besides him, only a few hundred deformed, nocturnal people remain; sensitive to light, and homicidally psychotic.

The Terminator poster
The Terminator
1984 Β· dir. James Cameron
πŸ… 90%β˜… 8.1action Β· thriller Β· science fictionPrime Video

One thread runs through both: villain

In the post-apocalyptic future, reigning tyrannical supercomputers teleport a cyborg assassin known as the "Terminator" back to 1984 to kill Sarah Connor, whose unborn son is destined to lead insurgents against 21st century mechanical hegemony. Meanwhile, the human-resistance movement dispatches a lone warrior to safeguard Sarah. Can he stop the virtually indestructible killing machine?

The Running Man poster
The Running Man
1987 Β· dir. Paul Michael Glaser
πŸ… 59%β˜… 6.6action Β· thriller Β· science fictionParamount+Starz

Action built on momentum, twice over

By 2017, the global economy has collapsed and U.S. society has become a totalitarian police state, censoring all cultural activity. The government pacifies the populace by broadcasting a number of game shows in which convicted criminals fight for their lives, including the gladiator-style The Running Man, hosted by the ruthless Damon Killian, where β€œrunners” attempt to evade β€œstalkers” and certain death for a chance to be pardoned and set free.

District B13 poster
District B13
2004 Β· dir. Pierre Morel
πŸ… 81%β˜… 7.1action Β· thriller Β· science fictionPrime Video

Thriller with a pulse of tension, in both cases

The difference: Made in the 2000s, in a different era of the craft

Set in the ghettos of Paris in 2010, an undercover cop and ex-thug try to infiltrate a gang in order to defuse a neutron bomb.

Equilibrium poster
Equilibrium
2002 Β· dir. Kurt Wimmer
πŸ… 40%β˜… 7.3action Β· science fiction Β· thrillerParamount+

Both lean on ideas more than on science fiction

In a dystopian future, a totalitarian regime maintains peace by subduing the populace with a drug, and displays of emotion are punishable by death. A man in charge of enforcing the law rises to overthrow the system.

Logan's Run poster
Logan's Run
1976 Β· dir. Michael Anderson
πŸ… 58%β˜… 6.8action Β· science fiction

The same preoccupation in both: life after the end

The difference: Easier on the tension than Mad Max 2

In the 23rd century, inhabitants of a domed city freely experience all of life's pleasures β€” but no one is allowed to live past 30. Citizens can try for a chance at being "renewed" in a civic ceremony on their 30th birthday. Escape is the only other option.

Surrogates poster
Surrogates
2009 Β· dir. Jonathan Mostow
πŸ… 37%β˜… 6.3science fiction Β· action Β· thriller

Bleak action, and it commits to that

Set in a futuristic world where humans live in isolation and interact through surrogate robots, a cop is forced to leave his home for the first time in years in order to investigate the murders of others' surrogates.

Death Race poster
Death Race
2008 Β· dir. Paul W. S. Anderson
πŸ… 41%β˜… 6.4action Β· thriller Β· science fictionStarz

Kinetic thriller in both cases

Terminal Island, New York: 2020. Overcrowding in the US penal system has reached a breaking point. Prisons have been turned over to a monolithic Weyland Corporation, which sees jails full of thugs as an opportunity for televised sport. Adrenalized inmates, a global audience hungry for violence and a spectacular, enclosed arena come together to form the 'Death Race', the biggest, most brutal event.

In the mood for more kinetic?

all kinetic movies β†’

The best-reviewed films that share Mad Max 2’s defining feeling.