Review of Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome (1985) by Lewis E — 14 Jun 2015

The third chapter in the original Mad Max series promises to be a remarkable entry from the first 40 mins, suggesting it will achieve the pinnacle of the trilogy like 'LOTR: The Return of the King'. To my despair, it soon reveals itself as more in line with 'Return of the Jedi'.

The movie excellently introduces a new hostile post-apocalyptic environment, placing Max in a threatening community boasting a fight for leadership, a peculiar energy source, and an imaginative one-on-one combat arena known as the Thunderdome. Mel Gibson improves in the role, complimenting coolness and charisma with gallantry to a character living by necessity yet not devoid of conscience. However, 'Beyond Thunderdome' goes beyond what was good and transitions into a Disney façade when our protagonist finds himself in the land of annoying children as if it was Peter Pan. Cue dumb kids needing rescuing, cringy action stunts and me gradually turning into Mad Lewis. For when it was time for the movie to return to its roots with the iconic car chases, the plot had steered so far off course that the vehicle-based climax seemed a mere formality rather than a main spectacle. Might still grab the prize for best entry in the original trilogy but perhaps also the biggest let down given the strong start which led me to believe this was going to be a 80's action classic.