A drifter called Max is exiled from a haven called Bartertown,
where he is rescued by a tribe of kids who believe he is their savior. ACTION/SCI-FI
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Mad Max: Beyond Thunderdome (1985)Directed by George Miller and George Ogilvie
Written by Terry Hayes and George Miller Starring Mel Gibson, Tina Turner, Bruce Spence, Angelo Rossitto, Angry Anderson, Robert Grubb, Helen Buday, Tom Jennings Sequel to 1981's Mad Max: The Road Warrior |
After one decent action movie and one awesome one, I had high hopes for Beyond Thunderdome. I was highly disappointed by the third Mad Max film. It seemed highly stylized, had a ridiculous plot, and the characters were way too over-the-top.
The film seemed more like a caricature of The Road Warrior, taking the crazy wastelanders and amping the ridiculous factor to eleven. Tina Turner feels out of place, as a character who only appears in the first act and a bit at the end. What really irritated me was that the whole Thunderdome thing really only lasted for less than twenty minutes. After that, Thunderdome isn't mentioned once. The remainder of the film deals with Max and this tribe of kids, which never bodes well for any franchise. The Ewokification of this film made it plummet to the bottom of this franchise, and I did not enjoy it nearly as much as the first two. |
Mad Max: Beyond Thunderdome is a classic example of a studio interfering way too much and creating a highly disappointing entry in an otherwise high-octane action franchise. A film that starts out good before it quickly takes a massive nosedive in quality and features an off character performance from Mel Gibson, the third Mad Max movie feels like a step down from the previous two entries.
The performances are the first thing that really give a bad taste in the viewer's mouth. Mel Gibson, who generally owns the character, gives a very off performance. Max, a man who rarely speaks and likes to be by himself, is all of a sudden talkative and welcomes help from anybody. Tina Turner, who does a decent job, comes off as more of a gimmick. Especially considering she only pops up in the beginning and end of the film. While the segment featuring Bartertown is quite entertaining , the moment Max is rescued from a tribe of kids after being exile, the film immediately starts to crumble. The kids are generally annoying, to the point where even Max starts to look obviously exasperated. The title of this film also bugs me as the Thunderdome is only used for about ten minutes in the beginning, and quickly disappears for the rest. Luckily, the film ends on a well done chase scene, something that has become a staple for the franchise. It doesn't make up for the rest of the film, but at least it's exciting and on par with previous ones. After two really fun movies, Beyond Thunderdome ends up being a boring affair. Apart from the sequences in Bartertown, the character of Master Blaster, and the climactic chase sequence, most of the film is a slog to sit through. At the very least, it shows why studios need to not always be so heavily involved in a movie. |