Battletruck, also titled Warlords of the 21st Century, is a 1982 New Zealand post-apocalyptic film co-written and directed by Harley Cokliss and starring Michael Beck, Annie McEnroe, James Wainwright, John Ratzenberger, and Bruno Lawrence. Set in the aftermath of a devastating series of wars known as the Oil Wars, it tells the story of a community fighting against a local warlord in the lawless rural American countryside.
Battletropes:
- After the End: Following a series of wars over depleting petroleum reserves, the world has completely gone to shit, with the Mesopotamia Basin reduced to a radioactive wasteland due to limited nuclear exchange, oil fires burning out of control throughout the Middle East, food riots breaking out on a regular basis, most major cities under martial law, much of the American countryside a lawless wasteland, and large groups of citizens fleeing the cities to find food and fuel.
- Big Badass Rig: The titular Battletruck is a tank-like armoured semitrailer truck owned by Col. Straker which serves as his base of operations.
- Cool Bike: Hunter owns a high-tech, armoured Suzuki bike that serves as his primary means of personal transport.
- Cool Car: The town's mechanic rigs an armored VW Bug for Hunter to use in the climactic battle.
- Companion Cube: The Battletruck's driver considers the huge rig his baby. It gets him killed when he tries to warn Straker that they are pushing the engine too hard in the final chase.
- Deadfoot Leadfoot: Straker kills his driver in a fit of anger, and attempts to take the wheel himself, only to be incapacitated by Hunter. The Battletruck ultimately meets its obvious end.
- Every Car Is a Pinto: When the Battletruck is run off a cliff and into the nearby ravine, it goes up like a tinderbox.
- From Camouflage to Criminal: Col. Straker was a decorated U.S. Army officer before the Oil Wars, and now he's a post-apocalyptic warlord in the same vein as Lord Humungus.
- General Ripper: Colonel Straker is the last guy in the world that you want to fuck with. His very first scene has him encountering two survivors with access to a secret fuel depot, and after asking them where it is listens to their attempts at misdirection for about a second before stabbing one in the heart and telling the other one to quit the funny business.
- Not Even Bothering with the Accent: A few of the supporting characters are played by New Zealanders, most notably Bruno Lawrence as Willie, and no effort is made to explain their accent.
- Pop-Star Composer: The film's score was composed by Australian prog-rock musician Kevin Peek and mostly performed by the Japanese rock band Eastern Orbit.
- Post-Peak Oil: When the world's petroleum reserves began to dry out, it resulted in a worldwide conflict that left society in ruins. The few survivors cling to what little oil remains, which is now a precious commodity fought over by mercenaries and warlords.
- Ridiculous Future Inflation: The opening scene features an abandoned petrol station with a faded sign reading, "GAS FOR LESS - ONLY $59.99 A LITRE - WHILE IT LASTS". Justified in that the film takes place in a Mad Max-style dystopia where dire oil shortages have led to the collapse of civil society.
- Riding into the Sunset: The film ends with Hunter riding into the sunset on horseback, promising Corlie and the others that he will return in due time.
- The Triple: After the villains have just seized a village:Big Bad: [to The Dragon] Tell the men to Inventory and Requisition.
The Dragon: [to his Mook Lieutenant] Tell the men to Inventory and Requisition.
Mook Lieutenant: [to everyone else] LOOT! LOOT! - Vehicle Title: Battletruck.
- Vehicular Assault: Colonel Straker commands an armoured big rig, in search of fuel at any cost - even if it means running down anything in its way or murdering civilians. In the end, Straker kills his driver in a fit of anger, because he is too arrogant to be warned that the motor is overheating. Straker attempts to take the wheel himself, but is incapacitated by Hunter, leaving the truck driverless. The end result? The truck flies over a cliff and combusts big time.
