Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome (1985)

You learn what is wrong with Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome even before the movie really starts. Music. That it the biggest problem. Movie starts with Tina Turner song which takes you away from Mad Max mood. The Score isn't any better.  Score of previous movies was made by Brian May. Not the Brian May of Queen but another Brian May. Those scores worked so well I didn't realize they were there. It is not the case with Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome.

Score reminds me Conan movies in bad way. I like score of Conan The Barbarian so much that I own original score album. This felt like bad version of it. Movie's events are in future not in ancient past. Movie has same problem as A Good Day to Die Hard. There are moment when you feel like something is missing and then you realize there is no music. Most notable this is in Thunderdome scene. It should be exciting fighting scene but it feel boring because there is no music.

Music is not the only problem. Another problem is that this is Babysitter Max not Mad Max. Everything has been toned down and chase at the end is bad guys chasing Max and kids. You can imagine how much blood, death and destruction that chase can contain. Bad guys are like Max Mad versions of Home Alone villains.

I liked how movie completed post-apocalyptic Mad Max trilogy. Mad Max had decaying civilization. In Mad Max 2 there was very little left from civilization. In Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome survivors are building new civilization. I think this was worthy successor for Mad Max 2 at some point of writing process but then they decided to make this suitable for the whole family.

Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome has too many story elements from Mad Max 2. Bruce Spence plays comic version of his Mad Max 2 character and this time he has son because this is for the whole family. It has to be said for Bruce Spence's credit that I didn't realize it was the same guy playing almost same role until I checked from IMDB. Ending is almost the same as in Mad Max 2. This time it just has different characters.

Mad Max 2 is best movie of the trilogy but it is harder to say which one is better, first or third movie. I have to say third is better one. It feels more professional even with all the flaws. Mad Max feels too amateurish. Mad Max has better action scenes but Beyond Thunderdome is more even. I understand people who like first more. Many ways it is better but I prefer having less bad flaws.