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| Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome (1985) |
So, what's familiar about this movie? Well, Mel Gibson is still great as Max, though that's nothing new by this point. Bruce Spence is back, which I love, but he's playing an entirely different character, which is somewhat confusing, but he does look different enough that I can buy it and just be happy that Bruce Spence is back. The wasteland setting is still very unique, and they find some really great things to do with it, particularly by the end, and that final sequence was almost hauntingly beautiful. Eh... look, I'm not going to lie, I almost feel as though the only way to properly discuss this movie is to take it act by act. The movie feels a little broken up into chapters, so to speak, which is a little off-putting, but it all worked out by the end.
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| Mel Gibson as Max Rockatansky |
Act 1 takes place in Bartertown, and may I just say that I love this environment. I love the society they've managed to build for themselves, and I love that we actually get to see how the place runs. Tina Turner does a great job here, and Angelo Rossitto's performance might be my favourite in the movie. I also love Robert Grubb's character but, let's be real, there's one big highlight in Act 1 and that's the Thunderdome. I love this thing. Not just the way it looks and the way the society almost reveres it, but that fight scene? Holy crap, this is how you do a unique fight scene. I loved every second of it, and it was just so different than any other Mad Max action sequence we've seen before whilst still being so intrinsically Mad Max.
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| Tina Turner as Aunty Entity |
Act 2 then goes in an entirely different direction, as we focus on this society of children living after a plane crash. I'll be honest, this is where the movie slowed down a but. We'd just had that amazing Thunderdome fight and then we get this? Don't get me wrong, it was still entertaining, but to me it lacked something. Until, that is, we get the explanation of how they think society works and the great Tomorrow-morrow Land that's out there. This scene really works. The way they recite their history like it's a prayer, the viewfinder, the prophecies, it all works together as a believable look at how people might look at the world after an apocalypse. That, combined with the fact that it works as a nice parallel to Bartertown and the all the kids are good actors, and overall Act 2 gets a big tick from me.
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| Helen Buday as Savannah Nix |
Act 3 is where everything comes together into an extremely satisfying conclusion, and this is probably the best part of the movie. The signature Mad Max chase scene is back, and this is probably the most entertaining variation of this scene. There's a train, a plane, a whole bunch of cars, and the initial escape from Bartertown is also really intense. Not only that, but there's also a fair amount of humour involved as well. All of the elements from the entirety of the movie pay off, and it's a joy to watch. My only big complaint is that I feel Aunty's ending comes completely out of nowhere, and if that was the story the whole time, it didn't have a sufficient enough build-up for me to be 100% on board.
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| Angelo Rossitto as Master |
All in all, Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome (1985) is a great ending to this Mad Max trilogy. Having heard nothing but good things about Fury Road, you better believe I'm excited to get to that one, but there's still a ways to go. 8.5/10.
Tomorrow: Prometheus.
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