Though reasonably well-received in 1985, Mad Max: Beyond Thunderdome is generally considered the least-essential entry in George Miller’s post-apocalyptic saga. True, the threequel does take a step away from the punky cynicism and bleak violence of its predecessors, but this is a virtue, not a creative misstep.
The tone is more audience-friendly, the humor sillier; Miller was keen to inject proceedings with a sense of slick spectacle fit for the age of MTV and the summer blockbuster. After all, why repeat yourself? At this stage in his career, Miller was becoming increasingly ambitious. He had the itch and the vision to paint on a Hollywood-sized canvas, and he did so with aplomb. Beyond Thunderdome is as impressive a franchise reinvention as the (much) later Mad Max: Fury Road (2015).
