When Max (Mel Gibson) has all of his belongings stolen he strikes a deal with the leader of Bartertown, Aunty Entity (Tina Turner). Defeat her rival in the Thunderdome and he will be furnished with everything he needs.
Of course things are never as simple as they seem and Max later finds himself trying to save a group of young children against Aunty and her men.
Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome feels as much of a departure from Mad Max 2 as that film did from the original. This film nearly eschews vehicular mayhem entirely with only the final action sequence featuring a vehicle chase of any kind. Whilst the focus seems to be entirely on two completely different societies that have evolved in the wasteland.
The first is the town of Bartertown which has a hidden rivalry for power bubbling under its surface. Aunty rules the city from her rooms above the surface looking down on the town from her balcony. Whilst ‘The Master Blaster’ (Angelo Rossitto plays The Master whilst Paul Larsson plays The Blaster) rules from below where he has devised a methane power generator that gives the town power. It’s a fascinating place that features the titular Thunderdome where rivalries are solved before they can become the sort of wars that destroyed the world in the first place. “Two men enter, one man leaves”.
The second is known as “Planet Erf” and is a green oasis where the survivors of a plane crash have created their own community. Made up entirely of children it is a little too reminiscent of Peter Pan’s Lost Boys for comfort. The children have their own sing song type language and recount stories of how they came to be there and how they will be saved as part of an oral tradition.
This film shows George Miller’s visual panache and inventiveness more so than the first films in the franchise but there are also some odd choices that flummoxed me. Although feeling off balance in this universe is perhaps not an impediment to enjoyment and rather achieves the exact goals needed when representing a world that has moved on from how we know it.
The move away from the vehicle chase focus will certainly disappoint some. Mel Gibson’s interesting wig choice should leave many baffled. The battle in the Thunderdome certainly does not follow a traditional showdown by any stretch of the imagination. Choosing the same actor (Bruce Spence) to play an entirely different character who has a flying machine to the one he played in the second film is certainly an odd and confusing choice. But everything does somehow feel cohesive in this melting pot of peculiar characters and environments.
One change I welcomed more than any other was changing the composer from the first two films to Maurice Jarre who gives a much more balanced if very 1980’s sounding score. But it is perfectly accompanied by two Tina Turner songs that belt out over the opening and closing credits. “One of the Living” and “We Don’t Need Another Hero (Thunderdome)” are exactly what you would expect from a 1980’s blockbuster.
It is worth noting as well that Miller chose to co-direct with his friend George Ogilvie as he was grieving the death of his producing partner Byron Kennedy to whom the film is dedicated.
Another strange entry in the Mad Max saga but it somehow works.
If you want to read more of my opinions on Mad Max check these out:
Phil the Bear's Film Reviews 
6 thoughts on “Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome”