Cinematography:
Dean SemlerComposer:
Maurice JarreCast:
Mel Gibson, Tina Turner, Bruce Spence, Frank Thring, Angelo Rossitto, Justine Clarke, Tushka Bergen, Sandie Lillingston, Helen Buday, Bob Hornery, Mark Spain (more)VOD (4)
Plots(1)
Two men enter. One man leaves. That’s the law in Bartertown’s Thunderdome arena. In his third go-round as the title hero Gibson takes on the barbarians of the post-nuclear future - and this time becomes the saviour of a tribe of lost children. Music superstar Tine Turner steals what’s left of the screen as Aunty Entity, a power-mad dominatrix determined to use Max to tighten her stranglehold on Bartertown. (Warner Bros. Home Entertainment)
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Reviews (8)
Not much action, bad actors, no plot, and on top of it all, some kind of wannabe philosophical musings about a new world. It really doesn't work together. Surprisingly, considering the increased budget, the film doesn't live up to expectations. The several beautiful shots of the desert horizon have little to do with the finances, and the production design is not particularly impressive. Everything feels very cheap and it doesn't have anything to do with the attempt to evoke a sense of authenticity of desert dwellings. Tina Turner is quite a monstrous acting mistake and I don't quite understand her presence here, and the whole skeletal structure of the plot is tragic, literally about nothing. The Thunderdome is essentially present only in the opening fight, and the rest is Mel Gibson wandering, dying, searching for himself, leading a group, etc... The worst part.
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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.
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The film probably needs to be taken as an exploration of myth, where we encounter various characters. We witness Max's attempt to become a gladiator, there's a city that could truly function as an apocalyptic version of a terrifying paradise - or a gentle hell - and ultimately, there's an effort to evoke certain emotions. The confrontation of civilization with human wildness is incredibly strong here, but the story sometimes gets lost in its emphasis on spectacle. Mel with long hair is definitely still great, though.
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A big budget made a big film this time. The post-apocalyptic world is amazing. Not only the magnificent set design, but the overall feeling of the film is at the best possible level. Although Tina Turner is as good an actress as she is a singer (take that as you will) and the terribly politically correct themes such as the rescue of young children dampen the benevolence of viewers who loved the previous two films, there's nothing to do other than to enjoy every last grain of sand from the Nothing, a gripping spectacle that for once doesn't rely on cars (only to impress you with the breathtaking chase at the end) and also deals a little with the world around it. Mel Gibson successfully rivals a diamond in terms of overall toughness and I believe everything that he does. I can also safely say that underneath the Thunderdome clearly resides the best film in the franchise!
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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.
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