Search - Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome on DVD

Very disappointing sequel

Ryan Sweet | Denver, CO USA | 08/31/2005

(2 out of 5 stars)

"The Road Warrior/MM2 is one of my all-time favorite movies. I saw it when I was too young, probably about 12 years old, and it made an impression on me that lasts to this day. I really fell in love with The Road Warrior for its message, the raw action, the movement and feeling of the movie, the gripping plot, the fantastic soundtrack, and the fact that after watching it 50 times in my life, I can still only find a few small mistakes in The Road Warrior and would give it 6 stars if possible. I feel almost as strongly about Mad Max 1, and would give it 4 stars (only because there are some slow and boring parts in the middle and the "gang" is too "gay" in parts and not as convincing as cold blooded killers as the "gang" in The Road Warrior. Anyway, moving on to Beyond Thunderdome: I saw this in the theater when it was released and was incredibly disappointed. I've tried watching it a few times since to give it a more honest opinion but I just cannot accept BT as a quality sequel for several reasons. First, contrary to the raw power and gripping story line of the prequels, this one was watered-down and packaged for mainstream audiences. This cheats the movie and robs credibility from the "post apocalyptic" world of violence and chaos, which is an essential ingredient. Second, there is nothing funny about the "post apocalyptic" world. Did you ever laugh in MM1? How about MM2? Heck NO! But the director seems to try to make us chuckle in MM3 several times, mainly around Max's weapons (why is he carrying 15 guns on his person anyway when he was riding in a vehicle which is where he would presumably keep his weapons, within easy reach, not in the back where the monkey would get access to throw them out), the antics of the children and Ironbar, a ridiculously annoying character that just won't die (despite falling from Auntee's tower, falling from a moving train, getting hit on the front of a train, and ending up on the bottom of a head on collision between two vehicles he still manages to survive and give the audience "the finger"). Thirdly, Max is a different person and not nearly as cold or hard as he transitioned into between MM1 and MM2, where he became a reluctant hero. In MM3, he is a willing hero and "non-violent." I don't think he even kills a single person in MM3 if memory serves, contrary to his hunting and killing the bike gang in MM1 and his cold nature in MM2. Forth, the characters don't act like people would act in their situations. For example, it's hard to believe that people in a "post apocalyptic world" would send a perfectly good horse and water off into the desert when horses (and food/water for that matter) are likely very scarce. Also, nobody seems to try to salvage things, like in the end they just leave perfectly good "wrecked" vehicles, fuel, whatever else in the desert. This is unconvincing behavior for "nomads." Finally, what is the reason Max shoots a shotgun over an aggressor's head and feathers fall from his plum? Comedy? It was just stupid and inconsistent with Max. If the guy is a `real' threat, Max would have just shot him in the chest. If Max wanted to make a statement, aiming a 12 gauge shotgun at someone does it just as well as shooting! Besides, shooting in that environment would risk him upsetting the locals and being shot himself, not to mention a waste of preciously scarce ammo. It's not convincing nor comical nor consistent with Max's calculating behavior. Fifth, the timeline of the crash of the airplane and the believability of the children, their oasis, no adults, the similarities between Max and Captain Walker, and so many other things are just too far fetched as to be discounted. For instance, NO adults survived the plane wreck, but 20 kids who would have been between the ages of infancy and 12 years old all managed to survive? It's completely unbelievable! Next, my complaint is casting the same actor in a lead role, as the Gyro Captain in MM2 but as a different character in MM3. One must debate whether he's the same character or not. There are points on either side and I still can't figure out if he was cast as the same character or not. For instance, he's a pilot (a very rare skill) that seems to recognize Max and vise versa when they meet in the movie, and he has a 10 year old boy with blond hair, possibly the offspring from his relationship with the young blond woman from MM2. But, Max and the Gyro Captain don't "embrace" like one might think they would after being apart for years, and the Gyro Captains aweful teeth are magically white and straight in MM3. So, is he or is he not the same character? I just don't know! It was an aweful decision because it detracts from the movie. Next is the ripoff "train" chase at the end. This was stolen and watered down from MM2 semi chase at the end, which was the best and most creative car chase sequence in movie history. To use MM2 phraseology, MM3 was a maggot living off the corpse of the older movie. Nothing really BAD happened to people in this "dangerous" world. In MM1, Max's wife and son were run down, his best friend was burned alive, people were shot, lost hands, raped and tortured, there were car accidents, and it was a violent world. In MM2, people were raped, beaten, burned alive, tortured, run over, shot, there were car accidents, great stunts too. I can only really think of one person that dies in MM3 and the violence was more cartoon violence than anything. People got knocked into pig poop, fell off trains but didn't get hurt, got in car accidents but were okay, etc. It destroyed the credibility of this world being supposedly violent when nobody got hurt. Similarly, this movie lacked much action. The Thunderdome was very creative and memorable, but the ending of the Thunderdome fight was disappointing. The short fight in Auntee's tower was cool. Beyond that there just wasn't much good action or fight scenes or car chase scenes, contrasted with MM1 and MM2, so it was very watered down and not much of an action movie. In Thunderdome, I can really only think of 2 fight scenes (mentioned above) and the final train/car chase scene, and a short sequence with the plane take off being "chased" by cars. How can a movie called "The Road Warrior" have basically one car/train chase and NO ROADS? It was very watered down with mediocre casting and acting, it didn't make sense nor was it as thought provoking as the prequels. Next, the acting and casting were poor. The kids were useless and annoying, clearly marketed for mainstream and younger audiences. Mel Gibson was good, but less convincing than his prior roles as Max. Think about the bad guys in MM1 and MM2 and how chillingly bad they were. Tina Turner was good, but not "cold blooded" enough. Why wouldn't she kill Max in the end? Afterall he did turn her world upside down and cost her in significant ways. To its credit, MM3 had some creative scenes, mainly focusing on Thunderdome and the idea for methane as fuel. That's about it. I give it 1 star for the Thunderdome creativity and one star for general creativity, acting, and costuming, vehicles, and cinematography for a total of 2 stars.
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One of those universal epics

Freyashawk | Middle Earth, Final Age of Man | 07/09/2006

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Although the earlier 'Mad Max' films have achieved more renown, this is my favourite of the three, as it shows the hero redeemed by humanity. Max in this film becomes a saviour and regains some of his faith in the human race and the future. Although much of the music and imagery may be 'borrowed' from classics like 'Lawrence of Arabia', it nonetheless is very effective and the film possesses a lyrical quality that is unique, especially in the 'culture'developed by the children abandoned in the wilderness."