First Things First…
The first time I watched the original trilogy, this was by far my least favorite. Once again, I’m anxious to see if my perception of it has changed after 10 years or so. But I’m not as optimistic about this one as I was with the first two films.
2 Things I Like
2. Towns, Above and Below
“Look around, mister. All this I built. Up to my armpits in blood and shit. Where there was desert, now there’s a town. Where there was robbery, there’s trade. Where there was despair, now there’s hope. Civilization. I’ll do anything to protect it. Today it’s necessary to kill a man. What do you say?”
Aunty
The Mad Max aesthetic is alive and well in Bartertown.
The look and feel of the city…the goons and corrupt government officials… even the style of dress all make this a great setting. (It’s just too bad the whole movie doesn’t stay here.)
Of course, Bartertown isn’t quite as wonderful as Aunty makes it sound. Max has to survive the “audition” he didn’t know he had signed up for just to get hired to kill someone who Aunty can’t officially put a hit out on because he’s “almost family.”
The word “civilization” is used very loosely.
And that’s before we even mention Underworld—basically a town beneath the town where their fuel source, methane, is refined from their endless supply of pig shit.
Underworld is sweaty, filthy, and looks infested with disease. Again, perfect for a Mad Max movie.
1. Welcome to Thunderdome
“Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls… dying time’s here!”
Dr. Dealgood
I love everything about Thunderdome. I love its intimidating design. I love how the combatants are attached to harnesses so they can leave their feet and glide through the entire structure, even grabbing weapons from the top. And I love the cultish chanting of “two men enter, one man leaves.” Thunderdome isn’t just a means of settling a dispute. The people of Bartertown treat Thunderdome as their religion. It’s the arbiter of innocence and guilt, worthiness and unworthiness.
Needless to say, Max’s fight with Blaster inside Thunderdome is the best part of the movie.
The action is incredible and unpredictable, like when Max careens toward the top of the dome and barely misses impaling himself on a spike, and when Max dodges a charge from Blaster with a spear, leading a spectator pressed up against the outside of the dome to get run through with it instead.
But the suspense comes from knowing Max’s game plan, but watching him get foiled multiple times. He clearly wants to use the whistle to incapacitate Blaster. We’ve already seen it cause him total distress. But Blaster nearly squeezes the life out of Max early on, taking all the breath out of him and making the whistle momentarily useless. And then Max drops it and needs to keep fighting off Blaster—along with some luck—to get it back and finally use it.
2 Things I’m Mixed On
2. Sticking with What Brought Them to the Dance
The first two movies have incredible chase sequences, so I’m glad there’s one at the end here, too. It’s not as exciting as those, though. This is an area where the PG-13 rating might really hurt what they can do. The absolute carnage and mayhem of past chases is replaced with weird kids hitting bad guys in the face with frying pans and learning to speak French off an old instructional record. It’s fun enough, but compared to the highs they’ve hit in the past, it’s also a letdown.
1. Pop Star Villain
“Do you know who I was? Nobody. Except on the day after, I was still alive. This nobody had a chance to be somebody. So much for history.”
Aunty
I expected Tina Turner to be horrible. I don’t know how much acting she ever did, but casting a pop star in a movie like this sounds like a terrible idea. And while her acting may not be great, she has charisma and screen presence in spades. She’s believable as a ruler and someone the town rallies behind.
As for her music…
I actually like Tina Turner as an artist. But these pop songs don’t fit, especially the song that plays over the opening credits. The lyrics might make sense for this movie, but it does NOT set the right tone.
2 Things I Don’t Like
2. Long Lost Twin?
I was so confused about Jedediah the Pilot. He and his son are the first two characters we see in full as the movie begins. I immediately thought, “Cool, he’s back. And he has a kid now.”
That’s because he’s played by Bruce Spence, the same actor who plays the gyro captain in Mad Max 2. And since he’s a pilot again here, I just assumed he’s playing the same character. But Jedediah doesn’t recognize Max and, even weirder, Max doesn’t recognize him—not even a “hey, you look like a guy I used to know.”
Why on earth would you cast the same actor in a sequel to play a very similar role if it’s not actually the same character? It’s a bizarre decision that causes more confusion than it’s worth.
1. The Waiting Ones
It’s like watching a completely different movie once Max lands with these kids.
It’s a compelling idea, having a tribe that’s concocted this oral history of what the world used to be like, along with the hope of what’s still out there for them once their “messiah,” Captain Walker, returns. And it would only work with kids. But in execution, I didn’t enjoy it at all.
Maybe it’s because their dialect is grammatically reprehensible.
Maybe it’s because when Max wakes up, they mimic every word he says and every sound he makes, and it’s annoying as shit.
Or maybe I’m just salty because I’d rather watch another fight to the death in Thunderdome.
Regardless of why, I hate the sudden left turn the movie takes.
Tim Matassa
