Mad Max: Beyond Thunderdome
Year: 1985
Director: George Miller
Starring: Mel Gibson & Tina Turner
Runtime: 107 mins
BBFC: 15
Published: 24/02/22
Director: George Miller
Starring: Mel Gibson & Tina Turner
Runtime: 107 mins
BBFC: 15
Published: 24/02/22
The Road Warrior, for all its faults, set a precedent for how action movies with vehicles could be made. Everything wanted to be the next Road Warrior with vehicular stunts becoming all the rage following its release. But series creator George Miller wanted to take the Mad Max series in a direction he hadn’t yet explored; broaden the horizons of the world and deepen the audience’s connection to Max. Puzzlingly enough it seemed the best way to do that was without cars.
When Max (Mel Gibson) is robbed and stripped of his belongings, he journeys to the nearby settlement of Bartertown. Once there he is given counsel by the leader of Bartertown, Aunty Entity (Tina Turner). In return for helping her get rid of a pain in her side by winning a cage match in the Thunderdome, Max will have his belongings returned to him, as well as a few extra gifts of food, water, and gasoline to get him on his way.
But when the deal goes south, Max is exiled to the desert and picked up by a cult who worship a ‘Captain Walker’ who will take them to Tomorrow-morrow Land. Mistaking Max for Walker, the cult help Max get back to Bartertown to get even with Aunty, and along the way Max rediscovers his lost humanity.
Mad Max: Beyond Thunderdome feels like the inspiration for the Fallout videogames, playing out almost like a quest in one of those games would. For the first time in the Mad Max series, Beyond Thunderdome presents a proper functioning civilisation, and a world that isn’t populated entirely by bandit gangs. There’s actual politics at play here with power struggles, economics, and energy production at the core of the story as Aunty does battle with Master-Blaster (Angelo Rossitto & Paul Larsson), a duo who challenge her authority. Max gets dragged into this dispute as a tool for Aunty but ends up developing his own motive and desires.
When Max (Mel Gibson) is robbed and stripped of his belongings, he journeys to the nearby settlement of Bartertown. Once there he is given counsel by the leader of Bartertown, Aunty Entity (Tina Turner). In return for helping her get rid of a pain in her side by winning a cage match in the Thunderdome, Max will have his belongings returned to him, as well as a few extra gifts of food, water, and gasoline to get him on his way.
But when the deal goes south, Max is exiled to the desert and picked up by a cult who worship a ‘Captain Walker’ who will take them to Tomorrow-morrow Land. Mistaking Max for Walker, the cult help Max get back to Bartertown to get even with Aunty, and along the way Max rediscovers his lost humanity.
Mad Max: Beyond Thunderdome feels like the inspiration for the Fallout videogames, playing out almost like a quest in one of those games would. For the first time in the Mad Max series, Beyond Thunderdome presents a proper functioning civilisation, and a world that isn’t populated entirely by bandit gangs. There’s actual politics at play here with power struggles, economics, and energy production at the core of the story as Aunty does battle with Master-Blaster (Angelo Rossitto & Paul Larsson), a duo who challenge her authority. Max gets dragged into this dispute as a tool for Aunty but ends up developing his own motive and desires.
Max is more than just a man of few words who can drive a car very well in this film, in fact by stripping Max of his car we’re able to learn much more about the man underneath and what drives him. For those of you worried that this strips away the appeal of his mystery, that isn’t lost here. It’s more how Max reacts to things happening around him that we learn more about who he is. The way he is willing to put himself in danger for the sake of people who he doesn’t even know just because they’re at risk and he can do something to help them. In the previous two films Max has kind of just looked out for himself for the most part and done things because he has something to gain from it. In Beyond Thunderdome, Max is more selfless, without completely sacrificing the wasteland survivor persona.
I really enjoy Tina Turner’s performance as Aunty. She’s exactly the kind of charismatic ‘villain’ that the Mad Max films desperately needed. I also love that she’s not outright bad, in fact for the first third of the film she’s Max’s ally. It’s only when their goals no longer align that she wants Max out of the picture. Even then, the films ending only goes to prove even more that she’s no villain, she just wants to run Bartertown, and with Master out of the picture she can do that, Max is free to go.
The inclusion of the cult is a peculiar one as it does both good and bad for the film overall. Bad because the pacing crawls to a complete standstill as Max gets to know more about them. But wonders because it allows more worldbuilding to occur, and presents several opportunities for character development with Max. Had these scenes been given a little more momentum, then I honestly feel like Beyond Thunderdome would have been an all-round excellent film, but because this section of the film drags its heels too much it can feel like a bit of a slog in the second act.
Mad Max: Beyond Thunderdome was a big gamble for George Miller to take with such a departure from what audiences expected of a sequel to The Road Warrior. But I would argue that Beyond Thunderdome is the best of the original Mad Max films because of the extra effort that goes into the story. There’re still some great action scenes, but these are now complimented by other strong components, and no longer have to carry the entire weight of the film.
Unfortunately, due to the underwhelming box office performance, we never got to see a sequel to Beyond Thunderdome and the franchise was put on hold for thirty years. But thankfully when George Miller and Max did return, they did it with one of the greatest action films ever made.
I really enjoy Tina Turner’s performance as Aunty. She’s exactly the kind of charismatic ‘villain’ that the Mad Max films desperately needed. I also love that she’s not outright bad, in fact for the first third of the film she’s Max’s ally. It’s only when their goals no longer align that she wants Max out of the picture. Even then, the films ending only goes to prove even more that she’s no villain, she just wants to run Bartertown, and with Master out of the picture she can do that, Max is free to go.
The inclusion of the cult is a peculiar one as it does both good and bad for the film overall. Bad because the pacing crawls to a complete standstill as Max gets to know more about them. But wonders because it allows more worldbuilding to occur, and presents several opportunities for character development with Max. Had these scenes been given a little more momentum, then I honestly feel like Beyond Thunderdome would have been an all-round excellent film, but because this section of the film drags its heels too much it can feel like a bit of a slog in the second act.
Mad Max: Beyond Thunderdome was a big gamble for George Miller to take with such a departure from what audiences expected of a sequel to The Road Warrior. But I would argue that Beyond Thunderdome is the best of the original Mad Max films because of the extra effort that goes into the story. There’re still some great action scenes, but these are now complimented by other strong components, and no longer have to carry the entire weight of the film.
Unfortunately, due to the underwhelming box office performance, we never got to see a sequel to Beyond Thunderdome and the franchise was put on hold for thirty years. But thankfully when George Miller and Max did return, they did it with one of the greatest action films ever made.