MovieChat Forums > Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome (1985) Discussion > I can see why Mad Max 1 & 2 fans hate th...

I can see why Mad Max 1 & 2 fans hate this, but I like it anyway

posted 10 years ago by kgb383
39 replies | jump to latest

So many people have fits about how terrible they think this movie is on here, finding all kinds of flaws in it and reasons to hate it, subjecting it to scrutiny and criticism they'd never give the first two movies. It's pretty much always people who loved the action and chases and adrenaline factor that comes with the first two movies and especially with this new Mad Max movie.

I can see why they hate Thunderdome. There really isn't anything much of the first two movies in this one, besides a somewhat watered down homage to the car chases from The Road Warrior at the very end. The rest is mostly an exploration of the bigger implications of the post-apocalyptic world they only narrowly explored in TRW. How do people survive? What remains of the world that was lost? What kind of future could the survivors of post nuclear destruction ever be able to make for themselves? In those respects, I've always found this movie a fascinating exploration.

I saw this movie before the first two back in the 80s, so maybe that makes me a little biased in its favor. As a kid, living in Reagan's Cold War America, the possibility of growing up in a nuclear wasteland like the kids do in this movie, seemed pretty relevant to me. All the hate getting spewed toward this movie nowadays seems like folks not getting the point. Miller and company decided to do something very different with this one, but unfortunately for them it didn't register with the fans of the other movies in the franchise. I still enjoy it though.

[–] T-eschberger 10 years ago

Thunderdome is awesome. I find the complaints largely hyperbolic. The film does have a more Hollywood sheen to it, but the Mad Max factor is still there.The world building is fantastic and the action still very Miller. I love how this film cemented the idea of Max being this mythic kind of figure.

For me, it's the first film that's weak. The Road Warrior, Thunderdome and Fury Road make a great trilogy.

[–] darkknight-999 10 years ago

I'm glad I'm not the only one that thought he first one was weak. Road Warrior and Fury Road are my favourites, then Beyond then beyond thunderdome.First one I actually forced myself to sit through.

[–] rat_eater 9 years ago

irst one is great, keep watching it. goose, bubba zanetti, toe cutter, the railweay station man, max etc. awesome film.

[–] nystulc 10 years ago

The first 3 are different, but each fine in its own way. Its #4 that stinks.

[–] stephenmonachello 10 years ago

4 was actually pretty awesome. 3 was the weakest by far. There are certain elements I like, but there are too many flaws to make it awesome like the other 3. I guess you watched a different film compared to everyone else including critics that gave it a 98 % fresh rating.

http://www.imdb.com/name/nm2604794/

[–] !!!deleted!!! (15982702) 9 years ago

LMAO, WRONG!

[–] JurijFedorov 9 years ago

Yeah, the first one is a bad B-movie. I appreciate that it has its place in the series but it should really be forgotten. There are much better similar movies out there.

[–] 9 years ago

[deleted]

[–] The_Mob_Has_Spoken 10 years ago

This one has grown on me. In a few ways it's the "Return Of The Jedi" of the original "Mad Max" trilogy. I always thought it had the best art direction and sets and acting of all the movies (not coincidentally it had the biggest budget). But I also thought it was sanitized and a little too kid-friendly ("Thunderdome" was PG or PG-13 as opposed to an R rating for "The Road Warrior"). Tina Turner was great in it and some of the best 80s stunt-casting since Sting in "Dune" the year before and proved to be a more memorable performance than Sting's. The movie was a cash-in but it has proved the test of time because even though it is disjointed and uneven, it's still a well-made movie.

"Ass to ass. Ha ha ha ha. ASS TO ASS!" http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oa5z77EI8y0

[–] nystulc 10 years ago

This one has grown on me. In a few ways it's the "Return Of The Jedi" of the original "Mad Max" trilogy.

A somewhat damning assessment, though i suppose there's some truth to it. I think, though, that it might be just a bit better than that.

[–] NiteOwl94 9 years ago

I think it'd be more damning to call Return of the Jedi the 'Beyond thunderdome' of the Star Wars trilogy.
ROTJ is a much better movie.

[–] JurijFedorov 9 years ago

I think Mad Max 3 is better than any Star Wars movie... so you opinion is not universal.

[–] NiteOwl94 9 years ago

No, my opinion is not universal.
But we're veering into matters of taste right now.
If you can take that out of the equation, you'll see ROTJ is a better movie.
Thunderdome is uneven, it has pacing issues, a truncated plot, and is rather flat overall. Sure it might have fantastic production design, and some standout action scenes- but Return of the Jedi is solid overall. It has much better pacing, and I'd even argue the acting is better.
And to be honest, the opinion that Star Wars is better than Mad Max is kinda universal.
Star Wars is much more popular, and more well received. There's a reason for that, bro.

[–] iagrmc 10 years ago

It is imperfect and my least favorite of the 4 films, but I still enjoy it. The first half is awesome and even though the second half is a disappointment I appreciate that the filmmakers tried to create something unique and imaginative.

[–] omisan771 10 years ago

I like it, even if it has many flaws. I don't mind the "lost children", I just wish the movie wasn't so PG (only 3 deaths and one was an accident). Iron Bar sucked as a villain. The Japanese mask on his back to make up for his short stature was a great idea, but the character was mostly comic relief for the second half of the movie. Tina Turner felt completely out of place IMHO. She also had no valid reason to let Max live at the end.

I think a second car battle and more scenes with Jedediah could have greatly improved the movie.

[–] resnef 9 years ago

I think a second car battle and more scenes with Jedediah could have greatly improved the movie.

I agree with you! Maybe trying to escape Bartertown with some car chasing, getting caught and sent to Gulag... maybe.

Also in "Fury Road" it would have been even "more perfect" if the first scenes where the War boys chase Max with his interceptor V8 last a bit longer, but it was great anyway.

I like all of the 4 movies, each one on its way, for me #4 and #2 are in the same level to me. #1 for its original concept, precursor of most of car chases of cinema history, the V8 Interceptor kicking ass, made it a cult.

#3 is somehow ("just somehow") the same idea it was made in #4, of course with some flaws, but also a cult. Could anyone explain to me why Aunty let him live in the end? Despite all the critics against it, I quite like this scene.

[–] dereksevilclone 9 years ago

The reason that Aunty Entity allowed Max to live at the end of the movie is because she recognized him as a kindred spirit, hence the line, "Well, ain't we a pair...raggedy man."
If you recall at the beginning of the movie, Entity tells Max how she came from nothing, and following the apocalypse, suddenly "...this nobody had a chance to be somebody." After witnessing Max's indomitable spirit and refusal to accept defeat, she saw herself in him, and consequently let him go.

I DON'T BELIEVE IN CASUAL SEX. I ALWAYS WEAR A TIE.

[–] abstractutility 9 years ago

She also had no valid reason to let Max live at the end.

I disagree. Killing him would have been wasteful. Her defining characteristics are her pragmatism about using everything around her AND her optimism that humanity could rebuild. Max couldn't take anything more from her. He wasn't a threat. She liked Max. She saw him as an equal, and a survivor, and had respect for him. This was in keeping with a lot of the movie. Very few deaths. It's almost like a cartoon. Which I think is why a lot of folks don't like this one as much. I think because of the actual grit of MM (in part because it was a pessimistic movie), and the supposed "grit" of RW leads (which feels silly and ludicrous to me) people to see MMBT as a huge divergence. To me it's just as different from MM as RW was.

The other thugs who nearly died trying to chase him, however well might have killed him (or tried). I think some percentage of humans in their position would be angry and pumped up from the adrenaline, and just looking for an excuse to hurt someone at the end. Also, those guys would have been chosen/recruited for being aggressive and dangerous. But maybe they were also more likely to be disciplined, because if they weren't willing to take on the roles of retrained protectors, they could have chosen to be raiders instead of flatfoots. Seems like most of the time, they would just have to stand around anyway.

I didn't mind Iron Bar. I never felt he was burdened with the dramatic weight of being the "dragon" or nemesis. Perhaps that is something which is missing in MMBT.

[–] soonerpike697 10 years ago

The middle takes me out of the movie it just feels really cheap... The car battle at the end was pretty fantastic I think they really delivered on that front...

[–] standrkm 10 years ago

it starts off very well and the train chase is fantastic, but like most people say it gets a bit disney halfway through, the mad max films have always been special because of the high speed chases, this one lacked that feel through most of it, I don't hate it though, it has some really special and interesting scenes, but it feels like it loses momentum and though tina turner is great, she's just not that scary, the villains feel weak, they were really creepy in the other films, I just saw it again recently and I like it more now, the older you get the more you appreciate and notice the little things

"how's a fella go about gettin' a holt of the police?" -Karl

[–] DarkTheater 10 years ago

I like it also. I find the first movie to be out of place. (But still entertaining)

BLACK BAR

[–] polaren90 10 years ago

I think the different, "friendlier", tone could have to do with the death of producer of the two first Mad Max movies and friend of George Miller's, Byron Kennedy.

Maybe Miller was a bit fed up with gruesome violence and death at this point in his life.