Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome
Dir: George Miller
1985
***
For all intents and purposes, Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome was a difficult and unhappy experience for director George Miller and I think it shows somewhat in the final film. Having lost his friend, producer and co-creator of the Mad Max films, Byron Kennedy, who was killed in a helicopter accident before the third film started, his enthusiasm for the project waned and it very nearly didn't happen. Expectations were high and Mad Max 2: The Road Warrior was a tough act to follow. Instead of producing just another road movie, Miller decided to concentrate on what societies might exist in his futuristic universe and he was inspired by the films of Akira Kurosawa (his words, I don't see it myself) and Sci-fi novels of the time, Russell Hoban's Riddley Walker in particular. I believe he also went for the money, Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome loosing much of its rugged individuality in favour of a big Hollywood style production with a big name star (Tina Turner) and a questionable accompanying theme song (We don't need another hero). There is much to like about Thunderdome (and I do really like it) and it remains just as much of an influence on modern film as the first two films but it's not quite the Mad Max we'd grown to love and unfortunately it marked the end of a great series of films that could have probably continued for a few more films. Even more puzzling though was that Miller not only hung up his Mad Max hat but went onto directing Babe: Pig in the City and Happy Feet. Luckily Miller returned to the world of Max in 2015 after 30 years and it was well worth the wait.