Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome (1985)

• Directed by George Miller, George Ogilvie 
• Written by Terry Hayes, George Miller, Byron Kennedy
• Stars Mel Gibson, Tina Turner, Bruce Spence
• Run Time: 1 Hour, 47 Minutes
• Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9JKZKjFjHDM

Spoiler-Free Judgment Zone

Civilization is thriving in the post-apocalyptic world and everyone is getting along. Well, not quite, but there is a little town run by Tina Turner who is fun in this one. The whole thing is over the top with Max again being a reluctant hero in a world gone strange. It’s not critical seeing the first two movies first, but you’ll get more out of this one if you do. We thought it was the best of the three.

Spoilery Synopsis

An airplane, containing a pilot (who looks like the pilot from the previous film but isn’t the same character), along with his son, dive-bomb a guy with a truck being pulled by camels. The man driving the truck is thrown out, and we soon see that it’s Max, who chases after his truck as the boy drives it away. 

On foot now, Max walks through the desert toward Bartertown, a steampunk place where everyone dresses like the crazies from “The Road Warrior.” He talks to The Collector, who offers him a job to get his stuff back. They walk through town, and we see that it’s… quite a place. The Collector takes Max to see the town’s leader, Auntie Entity. 

Auntie Entity explains that she built this town, there’s power and law and order. It’s rough, but it’s a taste of civilization. Max’s job is to kill a man. She wants him to get rid of a former friend of hers, without anyone knowing he works for her. She shows him their methane factory that generates electricity, fueled by pigs. There’s a stupid giant, Blaster, and a smart dwarf, Master, who are always together– and very powerful. Master knows the science behind keeping the power on, and he thinks he should be in charge. Auntie disagrees. She wants Master alive and Blaster dead. 

Max goes down to “Underland” and starts working for Master-Blaster, and we see why he’s so powerful – he controls the energy, or the lack of it, for the town. Max also learns Blaster’s weakness– high pitched noises. Max agrees to take on the job, which is really a combat to the death inside Thunderdome, a big arena. 

That night, there’s a big party, and Max starts a fight with Blaster. The law says no fighting is allowed, disputes must be handled in Thunderdome. Next thing we know, the host Dr. Dealgood tells them all about the hard rain and how the law has come to Bartertown. “Two men enter, one man leaves,” everyone chants. There are no rules in Thunderdome, and the fight is to the death. 

The two men start fighting while on elastic cords, and it’s clear that Blaster overpowers “The man with no name” easily. It takes a while for Max to get the hang of the ropes, but he soon does. It gets very acrobatic as they jump and fly around the arena. Max eventually uses the whistle, which makes Blaster writhe in pain. Max knocks Blaster’s helmet off, and we all see who’s inside, a big simple-minded lug. Master runs inside to beg for leniency on the big childlike man. Master learns that Auntie and Max had a deal, but when one of the goons finishes off Blaster, Master has no power behind his threats. 

Auntie gets angry because Max wouldn’t kill Blaster and for spilling the beans about their arrangement. But right or wrong, they had a deal and the law says “Bust a deal and face the wheel,” which decides his punishment. He spins the wheel and gets… “Gulag.” They tie Max up, put him on a horse, and abandon him in the desert to die. 

When the power goes off that night, the men and Aunty torment Master until he agrees to fix the problem. Eventually, the horse under Max dies, and he’s brought water by a pet monkey. He heads back to Bartertown on foot again but passes out in the desert. Someone finds him that night and drags him away. 

“It’s Captain Walker,” says the oldest girl to the other children. There are a whole group of children living alone in caves in the desert. Max is unconscious for a long time, and the children take care of him. The children have waited for years for Captain Walker to return; they’ve developed a whole religion about the crashed airplane and the captain who brought them there after the “apoxyclips.” Apparently the Captain left them to go get help and never came back. 

Max tells the group that he’s not Captain Walker. He tells them that the cities are gone forever and that this place is their home now. Suddenly, the wind picks up and everyone runs off into the desert. They lead Max to the wreckage of their plane, and they expect him to make it go. 

The children, led by Savannah and Slake, argue about trying to walk to Bartertown, and Max warns them not to try. Max stops them, but the next morning, they find that some of the group has gone anyway. Max and two of the kids follow after. They catch up to the first group just as they’re about to be swallowed up by a sinkhole. 

Their only chance is to continue to Bartertown. They sneak into Undertown to find the Master imprisoned with the pigs. There’s an almost comic-booky battle as the children and Max take over the Undertown. Things are looking bleak, but there’s a train-truck thing they can use to escape. Auntie Entity sees what’s going on and is not amused. 

As the methane ignites, everything in town starts to explode, causing people to evacuate the town. Auntie and her warriors take off after Max, Master, and the kids with their dune buggy army. It’s time for the inevitable crazy vehicle chase. Auntie’s men soon learn you don’t fight the crazy train with a dune buggy. Many vehicular hijinks ensue. 

The train comes to the end of the line, where they run into the pilot and his son from earlier. Max takes a truck and everyone else gets into the tiny airplane. He needs to clear the way for them to take off, so he drives straight for Auntie Entity’s caravan. 

Everyone gets away except for Max, who is captured. Auntie laughs it off and leaves him there, alone. 

The pilot flies over the ruined cities, and everyone aboard gets a good look at what’s left. Time passes, and the group has set up a new colony in the old city with a little bit of the power on; they still tell the story of Max, who they hope to see again. 

Commentary

This is set fifteen years after the second film, and twenty after the first one. Society has completely devolved since the previous film, and this one pretty much defined what post-apocalyptic “civilization” would look like on film for decades after its release. Bartertown, and everything that goes with it, are iconic for the genre, and it’s all really well done. The story itself is all very over-the-top and ridiculous, but that’s the best thing about the film. 

It’s fairly long, but it really doesn’t drag at any point. The car chase is pretty crazy, but that’s actually only a small part of the story. 

Of the original three, I like this one the most.