We Don’t Need Another Hero: Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome

Threequelitis is a common phenomenon in film trilogies. After the initial spark of inspiration culminates in a rousing success, the filmmakers look to capitalize on that with a film that builds on what made its predecessor good and the result is something that is on the same level of quality if not better (provided of course we look at trilogies where the middle entry is a little more Empire Strikes Back and less The Matrix Reloaded). The Road Warrior was a middle entry that surpassed the original Mad Max in such a way that the inverse of The Last Crusade syndrome had to be put into effect. Instead of making a movie that adheres closely to the formula of the original’s success, the Mad Max series came back to theaters in the summer of 1985 with the intent of building on the barren wasteland aesthetics of The Road Warrior. The result is Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome, the most expensive, and most “Hollywood” of the three films that is easily comparing to films like Return of the Jedi and The Godfather Part III, “threequels” that fail to live up to the quality of their predecessors.

This film follows Max (although he is never referred to as such, merely called “the man with no name” as befitting the almost Fistful of Dollars like first act of this film) as he ambles into Bartertown, an outpost of “resurging civilization,” in search of a buggy that was stolen from him. He finds himself embroiled in the local politics and strikes a deal with Aunty Entity (Tina Turner, who brings her A-game to the soundtrack with the smash hit single “We Don’t Need Another Hero”) to kill the town’s energy supplier, a man known as “Master’s” bodyguard, the hulking mute known as Blaster. So, Max picks a fight with Blaster and the score has to be settled in the Thunderdome, where “two man enters, one man leaves.” This is easily the best part of the movie and I find it quite a shame that there is only one Thunderdome sequence in the film (although perhaps too much of a good thing could have proved disastrous). Instead, Max is banished from Bartertown about forty minutes in and is rescued by a pack of lost children (this trilogies equivalent of Ewoks). The rest of the movie has always felt a little anti-climactic in my eyes, as the climax features a chase sequence nowhere near thrilling as any in The Road Warrior.

The film’s main theme seems to be the resurgence of civilization from anarchy. So it makes some sense that the violence has been toned down somewhat. It creates a clear chain events from film to film. Mad Max wades its toes into the chaotic apocalypse to come, with Max painted as one of the last lines of defense between order and disorder. The Road Warrior then distinctly shows us the after effects of this apocalypse, with Max regaining some semblance of his humanity by ultimately coming to the aid of those in need. Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome begins with the simple currency of trade in Bartertown andconcludes with the lost children building a safe haven of their own, suggesting some semblance of hope shining through the chaos this trilogy has plunged us into.

Overall, Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome is an uneven film. It’s by no means a bad movie, but as a follow-up to Mad Max and The Road Warrior, it leaves something to be desired. Hopefully the seemingly interminable in development sequel Mad Max: Fury Road (with Tom Hardy taking up the role as Mad Max) will prove to be worth the wait.

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