Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome

The film needs to be seen as an development of myth, where we meet other characters, witness Max's attempt to become a gladiator, there is a city that could truly function as an apocalyptic version of a terrifying paradise - or a gentle hell - and finally, there is also an effort to evoke certain emotions. The confrontation of civilization with human wildness is incredibly strong here, but the story gets a bit lost in it, being overly focused on the effect at times. However, Mel with long hair is definitely still good. (03/05/2014)

This is certainly the weakest episode in the Mad Max series. It lacks the amazing car chases and the story is rather fragmentary. But still, the beginning when Max arrives in Bartertown is pretty well done and the final action sequence with the train is also quite impressive. And at the end, we get to take a look at Sydney. Slightly above mediocre. (07/03/2006)

Not much action, bad actors, no plot, and on top of it all, some kind of wannabe philosophical musings about a new world. It really doesn't work together. Surprisingly, considering the increased budget, the film doesn't live up to expectations. The several beautiful shots of the desert horizon have little to do with the finances, and the production design is not particularly impressive. Everything feels very cheap and it doesn't have anything to do with the attempt to evoke a sense of authenticity of desert dwellings. Tina Turner is quite a monstrous acting mistake and I don't quite understand her presence here, and the whole skeletal structure of the plot is tragic, literally about nothing. The Thunderdome is essentially present only in the opening fight, and the rest is Mel Gibson wandering, dying, searching for himself, leading a group, etc... The worst part. (01/19/2007)

The worst for last, but fortunately it's not all that bad. When we arrive in Bartertown and the great fight in the titular Cathedral, everything is still fine, but as the kids arrive, the film starts to turn into a kind of adventure spectacle for the whole family, which is bad, bad, bad. Well, these are the tastes of American viewers. At least we get to enjoy the action scene with the "locomotive" at the end, although it's spoiled a bit by the kids again, and the great looking vehicles (especially Auntie's turbine-powered one and the one covered in cowhide). Maurice Jarre's music is also more than good. So three and a half crazy stars. (05/29/2015)

As much as I was impressed by the second installment, the third one was underwhelming, and it wasn’t Tina Turner's fault. Too many kids and shamefully little action and suspense. The Road Warrior certainly deserved a much better follow-up. (06/24/2016)