Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome

PG-13

Released Jul 1, 1985

1h 46m

Sci-Fi

Action

List

81%

54 Reviews

Tomatometer

49%

50,000+ Ratings

Audience Score

In the third of the "Mad Max" movies, Max (Mel Gibson) drifts into an evil town ruled by Turner. There he becomes a gladiator and gets dumped in the desert where he is rescued by a band of feral orphans who have been looking for help for years. When several of them take his appearance as a sign and go off into the desert, he follows them back to the town.

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Critics Consensus

Beyond Thunderdome deepens the Mad Max character without sacrificing the amazing vehicle choreography and stunts that made the originals memorable.

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Audience Member

Apesar de não possuir a mesma ação frenética dos filmes anteriores o filme compensa com uma história mais concisa e ambiciosa, fazendo com que seja um ótimo encerramento para os filmes de Mad Max com Mel Gibson.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

04/19/24

Full Review

Rospi D

Violent, Gritty, Cult and 80s Beyond Thunderdome proves a 'Miller' vision to it's fullest.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

03/27/24

Full Review

David C

Me hubiera gustado ver más Acción

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

03/21/24

Full Review

M B

Legendary film and forever classic. George Millar and Byron truly created and owned this post apocalyptic genre

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

03/05/24

Full Review

Blu B

It's a mess but still ok enough. The cinematography & soundtrack are half decent though the weakest of the trilogy. Framing, special effects, and production value is all top notch and you can tell this has the highest production value of all of them, but it's used in very bizarre and surreal ways. Scenes like the Thunderdome fight are choregraphed in a very surreal borderline comedic way. The lost kids feels like something out of Hook not a Mad Max movie even though it is creative. The pig farm, midget, and other aspects are just bizarre and can almost come across as comedic in a gonzo like way though not fully if that makes sense. Everything else is just ok. The weakest parts of this that hold it back is the story and supporting cast. The first 40 minutes in Bartertown feel almost unneeded and not much happens and what does can feel borderline incoherent. Why doesn't he kill the guy when he made a deal? Who was he looking for? Also, the fact the airplane guy from the first happens to live right where the train stops and his kid just happens to stick them up at the exact time they need it is a bit farfecthed. Butt in general those questions at the start are never really answered and it feels like things just drag at certain points also. You could almost cut the first 30-40 minutes and not much would be lost. They should've started with Max in the sand but I guess they wanted to show off the higher budget but forgot to make a tighter story as well. That also extends to the characters in this in terms of nothing special. Tina Turner also is so miscast in this as a villian and isn't intimidating at all. Max himself doesn't do much in this or grow as a character. He doesn't really form any bonds with anyone and all the characters we meet in the first half are just abandoned and forgotten about for the kids who don't really have much personality and just sort of blend in. This needed a better script, better and more consistent supporting cast around Max, and lfix the tone ambiguity with less surreal/bizzare elements that can come across almost comedic. I can't really recommend this to anyone despite it being passable. Skip it and stick witth the first two.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

11/28/23

Full Review

Eric P

While my fav. two Mad Max films are The Road Warrior and Fury Road, this one is still pretty good. While strange and goofy at times, it's got some really memorable moments, and who doesn't love Blaster Master? I like how the director took some risks with the film even if it isn't my fav. Though not perfect, it's still a unique and fun movie that influenced a whole slew of others...

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

11/11/23

Full Review

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George Miller

Director

George Ogilvie

Director

Mel Gibson

Mad Max

Tina Turner

Aunty Entity

Angelo Rossitto

The Master

Bruce Spence

Jedediah the Pilot

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Paul Attanasio

Washington Post

It's comic books in a Cuisinart, all costumes and cute monikers and no story, a sort of case history of just what's wrong with sequelitis.

Jan 4, 2018

Full Review

Gene Siskel

Chicago Tribune

This middle portion of the picture becomes dangerously preachy, but just before we and Max are bored, director Miller returns Max to his roots, a screaming chase sequence through a desertlike Australian landscape.

Rated: 3.5/4

May 13, 2015

Full Review

Michael Wilmington

Los Angeles Times

Beyond Thunderdome is the third in George Miller's Mad Max series, and it closes the trilogy like a lightning blast followed by the ominous, resonant drone of thunder.

May 13, 2015

Full Review

James Olsen

Starburst

If Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome doesn't live up to the pace and power of its predecessors, its richer visual style and more substantial storyline and characterizations, are a welcome, if not wholly successful, change in emphasis.

Jul 22, 2022

Full Review

Brian Eggert

Deep Focus Review

While Miller explores his individual tonal shifts in his three disparate acts, he uses a visual sense and grandiosity that had become the mainstream—a blockbuster method popularized by Spielberg and George Lucas.

Rated: 3/4

Jun 21, 2022

Full Review

Eddie Harrison

film-authority.com

…it’s a watchable, big budget lo-fi, sci-fi spectacle, but something of an unnecessary pit-stop in the development of Max Rockatansky, and a boring hero we could all probably do without right now…

Rated: 3/5

Jun 9, 2022

Full Review

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Synopsis

In the third of the "Mad Max" movies, Max (Mel Gibson) drifts into an evil town ruled by Turner. There he becomes a gladiator and gets dumped in the desert where he is rescued by a band of feral orphans who have been looking for help for years. When several of them take his appearance as a sign and go off into the desert, he follows them back to the town.

Director: George Miller, George Ogilvie
Screenwriter: Terry Hayes, George Miller
Distributor: Warner Bros. Pictures
Production Co: Kennedy Miller Productions
Rating: PG-13
Genre: Sci-Fi, Action
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Jul 1, 1985, Wide
Release Date (Streaming): Aug 15, 2008
Runtime: 1h 46m
Sound Mix: Magnetic Stereo 6 Track, Dolby Stereo, Surround
Aspect Ratio: Scope (2.35:1)

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