Review of Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome (1985) by Craig F — 15 Jun 2015

"So what's the plan? Plan? There ain't no plan!" That's sort of what Thunderdome feels like as a whole. We're told the Master is supposed to be the brains and yet his intelligence is proven to be damn near non-existent.

A bad first act in Barter Town nearly ruins the film, featuring far too little focus on Max and an excessive amount of time on flamboyant side characters early on; These scenes are insensitive and often offensive.

The Thunderdome itself is impractical and juvenile, accompanied by bombastic costumes, a blaring score and no real feeling of desperation among the residents make the first 45 minutes of Thunderdome the weakest sequence in the Mad Max story.

Not entirely sure why Tina Turner is here. The final hour on the other hand proves superb, though their return to Barter Town and ultimate placement of importance on the Master is questionable, the action is vibrant and the stunt work still strong 30 years later.

An improvement in every aspect, the score does a 180 with the children's melodic and innocent themes followed by a booming battle accompaniment. The children's civilization nostalgia and curiosity bring a extremely human element to Thunderdome we hadn't seen in previous Mad Max films.

Though it starts horrendously, Thunderdome is thankfully saved by a poetic ending in the strongest final act of the trilogy.