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. (05/03/2014)

The tremendous worldwide success of the second Mad Max unleashed a flood of mostly second-rate copies that ruled video rental shops in the 1980s. Director and screenwriter George Miller responded with an unexpected move. Instead of appealing directly to viewers craving a repeat of the previous film, he conceived the third instalment in the series as an absolutely different variation on the post-apocalyptic myth. The still largely unappreciated but all the more fascinating Beyond Thunderdome stands out in the context of the whole saga due to its distinctive and inspiring eccentricity, which combines a post-apocalyptic setting with both extinct (western, noir) and popular genres of the time (children’s adventure stories in the style of Amblin). As in the second film, this time Max is a legendary figure in the myths of post-apocalyptic society. As such, he rather becomes a guide to this bizarre new world, where two women stand against each other, carrying on their shoulders the seeds of two new but fundamentally different civilisations. (Annotation for the series marathon at Kino Aero, 2019) (14/03/2021)

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. (24/06/2016)

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. (29/05/2015)

A big shift towards the mainstream compared to the previous parts, also thanks to the participation of Tina Turner. Still, a properly wacky affair, during which I had quite a good time. Some scenes, like the fight in the arena with the chainsaws, were good, others less so (there was too much shit for my taste), overall a very decent sequel. (11/05/2003)