The third film in the franchise, Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome sees Mel Gibson return for the final time as Max Rockatansky, a loner wandering the Australian wasteland following economic and environmental collapse.
First published in the October 2026 issue of Street Machine
Crossing the desert in a camel-drawn truck (apparently a Ford F-150 with XA Falcon body panels) Max is attacked by Jebediah (Bruce Spence, who, confusingly enough, played a completely different character, The Gyro Captain, in Mad Max 2) and his young son (Adam Cockburn), who make off with Max’s vehicle, camels and supplies.
Max tracks Jebediah to a makeshift settlement called Bartertown, ruled by the imperious Aunty Entity (fabulously played by Tina Turner). Struggling to maintain control of Underworld, the town’s methane-powered, subterranean energy refinery, Aunty Entity offers Max a deal: if he helps her eliminate the powerful Master Blaster, who runs the refinery, she’ll return his stolen possessions.
Master Blaster is in fact a dual entity made up of the diminutive Master (Angelo Rossitto), the brains behind Underworld, and Blaster (Paul Larsson), a giant protector who ferries Master around on his shoulders.
After accusing Master of stealing his vehicle, Max is forced to battle Blaster in the Thunderdome, Bartertown’s infamous fighting arena. The rules of engagement are brutally simple: Two men enter, one man leaves. Suspended on what appear to be post-apocalyptic bungee cords, the two combatants battle fiercely before Max gains the upper hand. But as he’s about to deliver the final blow, he discovers that the hulking Blaster is mentally disabled and refuses to kill him.
In response, Aunty exiles Max to the desert, where he’s rescued by teenage warrior Savannah Nix (Helen Buday), who takes him back to her tribe of children. There, Max learns that the children believe him to be something of a god, sent to lead them to “Tomorrow-morrow Land”.
Max eventually helps the children infiltrate Bartertown and free Master, and their escape culminates in a climactic train heist that finally unleashes some proper vehicular thrills and spills.
VERDICT: 3/5
Director George Miller (joined here by co-director George Ogilvie) was clearly aiming for full-tilt Hollywood blockbuster territory with Beyond Thunderdome, complete with enormous budget and a rather too gung-ho soundtrack by Maurice Jarre (replacing Australian Brian May, who scored the first two films). And on those terms, it succeeds well enough – part Indiana Jones, part Star Wars, part western. The problem is, with its more sentimental, kid-friendly tone and far less emphasis on car action, it just doesn’t feel much like a Mad Max film.
VEHICLES:
- Numerous custom-built vehicles
- 1965 Mack B-77
- International Harvester Loadstar
- 1959 Chrysler Royal
- XK Falcon
STARS:
- Mel Gibson
- Tina Turner
- Bruce Spence
- Adam Cockburn
- Frank Thring
- Angelo Rossitto
- Paul Larsson
- Edwin Hodgeman
- Angry Anderson
- Robert Grubb
- George Spartels
- Helen Buday
- Mark Spain
DIRECTOR: George Miller & George Ogilvie
ACTION: A Mad Max film with so little car action is almost unforgivable, although the spectacular train chase climax finally allows some weird and wonderful vehicular creations to come out and play
AVAILABLE: Streaming (Netflix, Prime, Apple TV, HBO Max), Blu-ray, DVD
COOL FLICK FACT:
All the vehicles in the film were built using manual transmissions – except one. Tina Turner couldn’t drive stick, so her car got an auto
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