After having essentially redefined the way stories are told with both Mad Max and its sequel The Road Warrior (one of the rare instances where the follow-up film is even better than the original), George Miller decided to round out the trilogy with Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome, the third entry into a series of films that started as a small germ of an idea, made by a director intent on exploring the generational trauma of what is still considered an epidemic in his native Australia in the form of the high fatality rate of road deaths, into one of the greatest action trilogies in the history of the medium. There are some that consider Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome to be the weakest of the series (which now includes Mad Max: Fury Road and the imminent Furiosa), whereas others see it as one of the most incredibly ambitious and a perfect conclusion to a story that would be revived over thirty years later, albeit in a very different form. My opinion has always swayed towards the latter – in fact, there’s an argument to be made that every one of these films is different in its way, a unique masterpiece all on its terms, and defined primarily by the fact that Miller rarely wants to repeat himself, at least in terms of how he approaches certain concepts and how his stories transpire in sometimes unexpected and offbeat ways. Bringing an end to our recent series of discussions around this iconic post-apocalyptic saga that has been integral to the development of the genre as a whole, Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome is a fitting conclusion to this particular iteration of the series albeit one that remained only a temporary for a few decades before Miller once again voyaged to this desolate futuristic landscape through the eventual revival, which he had so carefully crafted into the locations of some of the most daring and provocative stories to ever be produced within this genre, and which we are all the more enthralled to be able to witness for ourselves.

In each instalment of this series, Miller is driven to explore a different subject – he retains the same general tone and narrative style, but the subject matter that he chooses to tackle tends to vary. Mad Max was an elegy to his experiences as a doctor, seeing the rampant death rate of motorists on Australia’s roads. The Road Warrior was about gang warfare and racism, which has always been a major problem in his native country. Beyond Thunderdome follows a similar pattern, this time being about xenophobia and the fear natives tend to have of outsiders. Whether or not these themes are purposefully guiding the narrative, or simply the result of a deeper reading, we find that they help pad these stories, which are often quite paltry in terms of narrative detail, giving them a very particular tone and proving to be far more invigorating than we may initially expect based on a cursory glance. What is most interesting about these films, and something notable in this one, is that they always have something to say, even if it is subtle and exists only beneath the surface, since there are broader intentions than simply having 90 minutes of wall-to-wall action. The idea of an outsider making their way into a community that appears idyllic on the surface, but has a dark history that the stranger’s presence threatens to unearth is a common trope and one that Miller uses as the foundation for this film, which dives deep into the subject, albeit not in a way that distracts from the overarching intentions. Tonally, Beyond Thunderdome is very unique – it’s perhaps the funniest of the series, with Miller’s wry humour being more prominent than ever, and there is an air of absurdism that lingers over the film. There’s even a common belief that Miller made the right decision to end the series here, rather than immediately making a fourth film, which would have likely been even more bizarre and inadherent to logic, which is not necessarily a negative quality, but considering how each instalment of the original trilogy descended further into this very peculiar sense of eccentricity, it seems to be a fair assessment to assume that everything that was done here was purposeful and it concluded most appropriately.

Another quality that we are forced to admire about Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome is that, even though he had a much higher budget with which to work, Miller is the same rambunctious, audacious filmmaker he was when he first conceived of the idea of this character and his exploits across a post-apocalyptic hellscape. He initially intended to make a high-octane action film in which our protagonist takes revenge on those who deserve it the most, done through an endless flow of excessive action that threatens to leap off the screen in how bold and daring the execution behind the production was, and the sheer gumption that went into these films. Despite having monumentally more resources with which to tell the story, the director knows the value of these films doesn’t lie in anything that can be bought, but rather the budget is used in ways that supplement the underlying audacity. There is objectively a more developed story in this film, but it is almost rendered entirely inconsequential as a result, since the main attraction to these films has always been the constant action, with the adrenaline-fueled narratives being wildly entertaining. The appeal is not only because they are well-crafted (there is a reason behind these films being considered the greatest in the history of the action genre), but also since they speak a universal language – paltry dialogue is replaced by wall-to-wall action, which panders to both a primordial desire to witness the destruction, albeit from a distance and where the story doesn’t need to rely on existing knowledge or even the viewer’s ability to speak the same language, since the dialogue itself, which compelling, is somewhat secondary, only existing to provide context to the story, rather than having any real sense of complexity behind it. As a whole, Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome is a superbly crafted action drama with an abundance of unique components, but it’s the approach to the action that carries the most significant weight and is the core of the entire production.

Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome served to be the final voyage for Mel Gibson in what is unquestionably his most well-known role, and perhaps the best performance he has ever given. He’s a controversial figure, and someone who has not been able to maintain the popularity he amassed in the first half of his career, but he’s objectively brilliant in these films, and this one in particular has some of the most significant and complex development of the character. Playing one of cinema’s greatest heroes, he’s charismatic and compelling in a way that relies on his natural talents and his penchant for capturing both sides of the individual he is portraying, never making it seem like Max Rockatansky is without flaws, but also not allowing the moral ambiguity of the character to become too prominent to the point where his heroism is called into question. Gibson’s performance is incredibly layered and captivating, and he bids farewell to a role that essentially made him a star, so it is difficult to not appreciate those distinctive tinges of tenderness that begin to appear towards the climactic moments, knowing that this is the final outing with this iconic persona. Interestingly, Gibson’s performance in Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome has often been overshadowed by the presence of Tina Turner, who plays the main antagonist. Some consider it stunt-casting to enlist a singer of her calibre to play such a complex role, but considering Turner is the very definition of a versatile performer, her relative lack of acting experience is never noticeable, since she gleefully surrenders to playing this bizarre, off-the-wall villain, and the film is only enriched further by her presence. Turner brings a sense of heightened enthusiasm and excess to a film that didn’t require someone of her calibre to be present but certainly benefits from her presence, since not only does she play this role superbly well, but she is an excellent contrast to Gibson, the pairing being unlikely but not any less impressive based on the effort both put into playing these parts. There are several memorable supporting parts played, much like in the previous films, by a delightful rogue’s gallery of Australian character actors, all of which fit in perfectly and elevate the film even further.

Throughout its existence, these films have existed under the belief that those who understand what was intended will truly enjoy it, and those who cannot get on board with these wild ideas are bound to wonder what precisely it is that makes them so incredibly popular. Even those who are not adherents to the action genre find value in Miller’s work since the intense, action-packed filmmaking and the philosophical underpinnings make for highly unusual but deeply captivating stories that are as entertaining as they are thought-provoking, which is not something we necessarily expect from a genre in which everything is seemingly executed with such incredible simplicity and precision. There’s a beautiful harshness to Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome, which is by far the most offbeat of the entire series (including the recent entries, which take an even more nihilistic turn), and while there is a lot more humour and surrealism packaged into this film, the depths to which Miller is willing to dive to give this trilogy a fitting conclusion is admirable. This film ties up not only its narrative but also the themes that were introduced in the two previous entries, being a bold and ambitious conclusion to the sheer spectacle that defined an entire generation of filmmakers. There are so few filmmakers today that can take such bold risks, and while Miller may rely slightly too much on a few common techniques, his work is still polished, daring and provocative, and while Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome does have a couple of small narrative deficiencies, it is ultimately a far more engaging and complex film that is as enjoyable as it is bleak, the perfect description of this incredible universe that Miller has so carefully curated over the years.