Yes, and no. The chase scenes are better, the atmosphere is more grim, the climax is better. However, there's a bit of comedy in this one that (I feel) lightens the tone in places a bit too much. I do enjoy this one more than the original though.
shareI like them about equal for different reasons. I am talking here about the proper, Australian version of Mad Max and not that terrible American dub.
Mel Gibson was much better in the sequel. He was too baby faced in the original to be convincing as a tough cop. Here, just a few years later, he'd bulked up a bit and looked much rougher. He was only 24 and did a great job making Max cool and charismatic yet sympathetic with very little dialogue. And I love the dog, and the Gyro Captain is very funny. However, apart from them, I prefer the characters in the original film overall.
The police officers were better than the majority of those at the oil refinery, Toecutter, Johnny Boy, Bubba Zenetti, and even Nightrider in his short appearance, were better than Lord Humongous, Wez, and the rest of the villains. In fact, I still think the villains in the first remain the best in the franchise.
RW of course has more action but I still love the opening sequence in MM where they pursue Nightrider, and think it's as good as anything in RW. And the original had more POV camera shots where you felt as though you were actually speeding on the road yourself that I love.
MM has a darker tone and the ending packs a punch as he's driving out into nowhere, emotionally dead, having lost his wife and kid. But then again, I love the ending of RW. After a superb action scene where Humongous and Wez smash into each other that makes you want to punch the air no matter how many times you see it, you realise there was never any fuel in the tanker anyway, and that the old man narrating the story was the Feral Kid. Brilliant.
Nope, I can't choose between them. I enjoy both.