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What started out as a low-low-budget road movie about a young cop facing off against ruthless bandits in a post-apocalyptic world quickly turned into a cult classic trilogy for Aussie director George Miller. The slightly-futuristic world of 1979’s Mad Max became the gritty desert wasteland of 1981’s The Road Warrior before going all-out for the wild-and-crazy, over-the-top action of 1985’s Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome.
The final film in the trilogy (before the upcoming sequel, that is) follows Mel Gibson’s iconic hero, Max Rockatansky, as he ventures into what’s left of civilization to recover some stolen goods in Bartertown. It isn’t long before he catches the eye of the town’s leader, Aunty Entity (Tina Turner), who promises to give Max everything he could possibly need to survive in the wilderness if he’ll kill Blaster (Paul Larsson), one half of the two-man ruler of the town’s underworld. By the town’s laws, that means taking part in an acrobatic death match held in a giant cage known as the Thunderdome, where two men enter but just one man leaves.
Of course, the movie is called Beyond Thunderdome, so there’s much more to it than just a one-on-one battle to the death. What starts out as a kind of wacky post-apocalyptic game show set in a town full of murderers and crooks and bandits soon returns to the desolate wilderness for a story about Max being rescued by a colony of kids who think he’s some kind of savior. More than a full, cohesive film, then, Thunderdome is like a rambling series of short stories, loosely held together by little more than their main character. The tone also shifts with the story, changing from the edgy action of Bartertown to the calm, almost spiritual feel of the kids’ colony.
Meanwhile, it isn’t until the end of the film that it really starts to feel like a Mad Max film. That’s not to say that it isn’t a gritty post-apocalyptic thriller. It’s truly a sight to behold, with its imaginative sets and eccentric characters (like Turner, who’s totally shrill and over-the-top as Bartertown’s crazed ruler). In fact, it’s definitely the grittiest—and most strikingly bizarre—film in the trilogy. Still, for the third film in a road movie trilogy, it’s surprisingly lacking in road-movie action—until the final scenes.
Really, Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome is a bit of a mess. It’s random and rambling, with touches of laughable melodrama. And, in the course of just three movies, the iconic main character who started this post-apocalyptic journey has become almost unrecognizable. Still, there’s just something so…extreme about this wild and wacky road warrior adventure that you just can’t help but include it on your list of guilty pleasures.
Blu-ray Review:
It may be light on extras, but this three-disc, three-movie box set (with Mad Max and The Road Warrior) is still worth picking up—especially if you’re a fan of Mel Gibson, strange mechanical creations, or post-apocalyptic adventures in general.
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