On a budget of A$4.5 million, Mad Max 2 grossed $36 million worldwide and received widespread critical acclaim. The film’s success kickstarted a wave of similarly themed post-apocalyptic movies, especially in Italy and The Philippines. It also led to George Miller working alongside John Landis, Steven Spielberg, and Joe Dante on Twilight Zone: The Movie. Sadly, around the same time, Miller’s producing partner Byron Kennedy died in a helicopter crash at age 33. While Miller wanted another Mad Max movie, he still grieved and hired George Ogilvie to help direct the film. Mel Gibson returned, and they cast Tina Turner, whose 1984 platinum-certified album Private Dancer won a Grammy, as the villain. With a $10 million budget, filming occurred around Coober Pedy, Homebush Bay, and the Australian Blue Mountains. Warner Bros, who owned the franchise rights at this point, released Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome in the summer of 1985.
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Synopsis
After losing his caravan to a pilot (Bruce Spence) and his son (Adam Cockburn), Max Rockatansky (Mel Gibson) gives chase. He follows them to a trading post called Bartertown and gains an audience with its leader, Aunty Entity (Tina Turner). She explains that Bartertown’s power is run by a dwarf, Master (Angelo Rossitto), and his brute sidekick Blaster (Paul Larsson). Aunty makes Max an offer: if he can defeat Blaster and help her usurp power from Master, she’ll resupply him. Through some circumstances, Max challenges Blaster to combat in Thunderdome, where there’s one rule: two men enter, one man leaves. While Max defeats Blaster, he refuses to kill him, so Aunty kills him and banishes Max to wander the desert. Though left for dead, Max gets rescued by a clan of children who believe he’s their hero despite his objections. Now, Max must go Beyond Thunderdome and save the children.
Review
To say that Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome is a divisive entry in the series is a vast understatement. While not a terrible movie on its own, this is easily the weakest film in the franchise. Before going into what doesn’t work in this movie, there are some positive qualities to highlight. First, Mel Gibson still does a solid job as Max, now playing him more burned out and disheveled. Like before, he’s more of a reluctant hero who isn’t a bad guy but finds himself inadvertently helping others. Also, while it may have been stunt casting, Tina Turner steals the show as the villainous Aunty Entity. She chews up all the scenery around her while staying intimidating and spouts some great, instantly quotable lines. While he doesn’t have as big of a role as the last film, seeing Bruce Spence is always fantastic.
Like the last film, this one does have a big climactic chase sequence, and it’s entertaining in its own right. However, compared to the oil rig chase from Mad Max 2, the train truck chase feels like a last-minute edition. It makes sense, considering Miller initially planned a post-apocalyptic Lord of the Flies movie but added Max as a suggestion. This leads to the film’s biggest issue: the first and third acts are solid, but the middle is the weakest. Once the movie introduces the kids, the story grinds to a halt, the pacing drags, and the film loses focus. It feels like Max suddenly becomes a secondary character in his own movie, and the kids become the stars. I’m not saying this kind of story could never work, but how it’s done here falls flat. It helps that none of the kids are particularly annoying.
I feel bad critiquing this film, given that George Miller was grieving while making it, which couldn’t have been easy. That and the fact that he hired a codirector would explain why this lacks the gritty quality as the first two. Some fans have said this was more of the Hollywood version, and it has that quality. This one had a much bigger budget than its predecessors and shows in the production design, costuming, and action sequences. However, the original and even the first sequel showed that you don’t need big budgets to make a good movie. As I said before, while I think this is the weakest entry, I don’t think it’s an inherently terrible movie. Plus, at an hour and 47 minutes, the film goes by fairly quickly. Overall, Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome is a far cry from its predecessors but not without its merits.
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