Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome (1985)

Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome (1985) was a travesty. Even though it takes place in an even bleaker future, the filmmakers decided to line their pockets even further by making this one "family friendly (i.e. P.G.-13). What made the other films gritty and nihilistic is missing from this film. Only a few spots but other than that it's just other one of those sequels that morphed into a more mainstream movie (i.e Robocop 3). Needless to say I was very disappointed because when I was much younger I was a huge Mad Max mark.

The story takes place years after the events that transpired in part two. Max is content with his life out in the wastelands. But one day, the fates would appear. Someone has robbed him of his caravan and his old souped up vehicle (sadly no longer in running condition). When he recovers he finds that all roads lead to one of the last vestiges of civilization, an arm pit called "Bartertown". Whilst in "Bartertown" Max finds the person who cold cocked him but his unable to do anything about it. So, after a brief scuffle with the local authorities Max is taken to meet the "mayor" of "Bartertown" Aunt Enity (Tina Turner). After a brief display of his talents, Enity and Max strike a deal....

Like the other films, the world of Pro Wrestling has taken several themes and characters from this movie (i.e. The Thunderdome and The Master Blasters, etc..). Many knock-offs and wannabes have spawn off of this one as well. It even started up a sub-genre, children living in a post-apocalyptic society films. Not a bad film but die-hards of the first two will be disappointed.

C+

Fmovies: When he is attacked and robbed of his animals, Max Rockatansky follows his attackers to Bartertown – a den of deceit and violence that is made possible thanks to the methane power source from pigs kept underground. Bartertown may be ruled above ground by Aunty Entity but the real owner is Master Blaster – a team of two men who control the power supply. In exchange for his goods, Aunty offers Max a deal where he will challenge Blaster to a fight in the town's duelling arena and kill him –thus removing the muscle and putting Master under Aunty's control. Max accepts, although he rightly suspects that he will be the next to be betrayed.

At least one reviewer on this site has said that the reason people dislike this film is because it is about the start of a new world whereas the other two Mad Max films were about the end of the world as we know it. Sadly I believe he is mistaken because I think the reason people dislike this film is because it is messy, excessive, unconvincing (even within the apocalyptic situation it makes no sense) and just isn't really any good. The plot swings between an excessive violent society at the start, to a child colony in the middle to a big noisy chase scene right at the end. In terms of the narrative that connects this all, don't worry about that because it doesn't really work and just feels very episodic throughout – making it messy and uninteresting. It is unconvincing and, although I accept that the entire film is fantasy, you gotta wonder where all the excesses and such came from and how we were supposed to buy into it; hell, a fuel blockade by lorry drivers brought the UK to its knees a few years ago but yet we're suppose to believe this? The apocalyptic here lacks imagination and just feels like the sort of thing that exists in an art director's mind rather than something that convinces.

The episodic feel isn't helped by the rambling, pointless dialogue associated with the children – it tries to have a mysticism that nothing else in the film has worked to deserve; however it could be helped by developing Max better. If he was a strong lynch pin holding all these bits and pieces together then it would matter less but he isn't – he is just a grunting rock that doesn't really have a character to speak of and I had little or no interest in him at all – even when he becomes "caring and sharing" I didn't care because I had had nothing to work with up till that point. Turner is not terrible but she doesn't really act and just sort of swans around in an unconvincing manner. In that regard she is like the majority of the cast, who don't really give the performances – whether it e the clunky child actors or the grunting brutes that are just stunt fodder. The stunts are OK and the final chase provides some distraction but without really caring about the plot or the characters, I found it hard to get into any action.

Overall a disappointing film whose core failing is the lack of a convincing new world. The film feels episodic and lacks anything to hold it together. Throwing a lot of cars around at the end does provide some distraction but by then it was too late for me and the whole thing was clunky, pointless and surprisingly uninteresting.

What the hell happened with this one? I understand that it's the third entry into an otherwise flawless series and that George Miller didn't put his whole heart into it (suffering the loss of longtime friend and producer Byron Kennedy), and that it had two directors, but still...what the hell? This movie starts out top-notch, and it seems like it's going to be a superb follow up to the brilliant Road Warrior, and then about halfway through it turns into friggin' Peter Pan meets Lord of the Flies! Mel Gibson was great in this film, and working as hard as he could to make it work. Tina Turner was adequate, but not spectacular. I understand the film maker's intentions to try and take the series into a completely different direction and all, but why would you pick this direction? And what was up with that Gyro Captain guy from Road Warrior being cast as a similar character? Why not just bring his character back? I don't know, maybe it was the same character, I really wasn't awake for most of this film. If you want to catch a top-notch Mad Max film pick up either the first or second, both are far superior to this one.

I give this one * * 1/2 out of * * * * *

Oh yeah, and what's up with that annoying Ironbar guy not dying? He gets hit by a train, thrown off a bridge, and has his car destroyed with him in it, and yet he still doesn't die!

Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome fmovies. I know, I know, "The Road Warrior" was really awesome, but "Mad Max 3: Beyond Thunderdome" is an archetypal journey, and Max transforms a lot. Max is like wine; he gets better and better. And while some might wince at the things he has to resort to, he never deviates from his principals or beliefs. This movie has an amazing cast. Mel Gibson and Tina Turner act well together, and Angry Anderson is awesome as Tina Turner's toadie.

Who could not love this movie? It's got more imagination than five average postbomb flicks, incredible visual design, enough alternate societies with enough backstory apiece for three more movies (including an aboriginal clan who look like Peter Pan's Lost Boys and speak a dialect you'll be copying for days after you see it), car chases, amazing costumes, one of the most original death-duel sequences ever, Tina Turner, *and* Mel Gibson! I mean, goddamn, what more do you want? I personally want another movie just set in Bartertown AND a movie that follows what happens to Anna Goanna and her clan, and they don't even have to have Mel Gibson in them - that's how rich I think the imaginative depth of this movie is. I like it more every time I see it. Genuinely something special.

Sure it's probably the least good of the Mad Max films, but it is still entertaining as heck! It is maybe a little more Hollywood (which is a bad thing) than the first two. The music is overbearing at times, and some of the attempts at jokes were very cheap and American blockbusterish.

One of the main faults that has to be sited with this one is that the last thirty minutes or so are basically taken straight from The Road Warrior. The car chase and then the speech about how a stranger helped them establish a new society were taken right out of the 2nd installment.

It still is very creative, and the action has a wonderful momentum. I love the whole society that finds Max in the desert. I loved the recitation of their foundation, and I loved their dialect. I loved Masterblaster. And Tina Turner was actually cool, too. 8/10