Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome (1985)

Charles Dance February 20, 2017

★ 8/10

**The best of the Mad Max films** High production values and a compelling story line make this the best of the series. This one doesn't rely on basic car smashes for the duration and instead gives us a moving and more thoughtful adventure. No campy men dressed for the _Blue Oyster_ bar in this one, thank goodness. _The Road Warrior_ (1981) is widely regarded as the best but I have to disagree. That film had a very one note narrative that verged on the bland and an overload of homoerotic imagery. This is a beautiful looking and entertaining film that does not have the shoddy and amateur vibe of the first two. _Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome_ is the film that the first should have been. - Charles Dance

John Chard April 14, 2020

★ 3/10

Max Rockatansky and the Goonie feral gang. Even allowing for my unabashed love of the first two films in the franchise, and sweeping away any sort of biased leanings I might of had for the character of Max, I just can't bring myself to rate at average this cartoonery waste of space that so nearly soils what had gone before it. Gone is the rugged nasty streak that brought feeling to the character Mad Max Rockatansky, gone is the impacting feeling of desolation in an apocalyptic world, and more crucially, gone is director George Miller's passion for the franchise. The dreadful score matches the cartoon heart of the film, it seems that the makers didn't really know what to do with the amount of cash given to make this third instalment. Sure the stunts are spot on (to be expected by now), and of course Miller manages to paint a barren desert landscape by purely lifting from what he has…

Wuchak June 5, 2020

★ 6/10

_**Bizarre comic book post-nuclear adventure in the Outback with Mel Gibson and Tina Turner**_ In post-apocalyptic Australia, Mad Max (Mel Gibson) travels to Bartertown in the Outback run by Aunty Entity (Tina Turner) & her associate The Collector (Frank Thring). Max accepts a deal to take out MasterBlaster, who runs the town’s methane production underground, but ends up exiled to the deadly desert where he meets… (watch the movie and see). “Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome” (1985) is the third in George Miller’s franchise after “Mad Max” (1979) and “The Road Warrior” (1981). The fourth installment, “Fury Road,” didn’t surface until 2015 (meanwhile Miller has announced a fifth entry, “The Wasteland”). All of these films were rated R except “Beyond Thunderdome,” which turns off some devotees. I could care less since the amount of gore, violence, sex and …

CinemaSerf June 24, 2022

★ 6/10

The wandering "Max" (Mel Gibson) finds himself in the brutal "Bartertown" ruled either by "Aunty Entity" (Tina Turner) or "Master" (Angelo Rossitto) depending on whether or not you needed electricity! The former, and her devious cohort "The Collector" (the always reliable Frank Thring) concoct a plan by which they can use the ingenuity of "Max" to sort out this power struggle once and for all. That goes to plan, to a certain extent, but when that sense of decency still within our hero causes him to defy his new boss, he is consigned to the "gulag" whereupon he alights upon some youngsters who believe him a god capable of flying them to safety. When he tries to point out that they have the wrong man, dissent amongst these children leads him, and them, back for a final confrontation with the "Aunty". Tina Turner was very much at the top of her musical renaissance when this was made, and ha…

r96sk May 26, 2024

★ 7/10

Feels like a watered down version of 'Mad Max', albeit one that is still worth watching. 'Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome' turns out to be a problematic title, given the most entertaining moments happen at the Thunderdome - so when events move away from said location, it isn't quite as interesting. I didn't really like the 'Peter Pan' Lost Boys-esque parts, not that what's produced is bad it just isn't what I want to see from this franchise, personally. Mel Gibson is good value as the lead once more, while it is noteworthy to see one Tina Turner in a big supporting role. Yet again, though, I didn't get that much off the cast performances. I'm sounding like a broken record, I know, but it's very much the action that keeps these movies ticking over. The weakest of the series, for me. Here's hoping 'Mad Max: Fury Road' is the best one, which - based on murmurs down the years - I am led …