![]() Turner is not terrible but she doesn't really act and just sort of swans around in an unconvincing manner. If he was a strong lynch pin holding all these bits and pieces together then it would matter less but he isn't he is just a grunting rock that doesn't really have a character to speak of and I had little or no interest in him at all even when he becomes "caring and sharing" I didn't care because I had had nothing to work with up till that point. The episodic feel isn't helped by the rambling, pointless dialogue associated with the children it tries to have a mysticism that nothing else in the film has worked to deserve however it could be helped by developing Max better. It is unconvincing and, although I accept that the entire film is fantasy, you gotta wonder where all the excesses and such came from and how we were supposed to buy into it hell, a fuel blockade by lorry drivers brought the UK to its knees a few years ago but yet we're suppose to believe this? The apocalyptic here lacks imagination and just feels like the sort of thing that exists in an art director's mind rather than something that convinces. In terms of the narrative that connects this all, don't worry about that because it doesn't really work and just feels very episodic throughout making it messy and uninteresting. The plot swings between an excessive violent society at the start, to a child colony in the middle to a big noisy chase scene right at the end. Sadly I believe he is mistaken because I think the reason people dislike this film is because it is messy, excessive, unconvincing (even within the apocalyptic situation it makes no sense) and just isn't really any good. At least one reviewer on this site has said that the reason people dislike this film is because it is about the start of a new world whereas the other two Mad Max films were about the end of the world as we know it. Max accepts, although he rightly suspects that he will be the next to be betrayed. In exchange for his goods, Aunty offers Max a deal where he will challenge Blaster to a fight in the town's duelling arena and kill him thus removing the muscle and putting Master under Aunty's control. Bartertown may be ruled above ground by Aunty Entity but the real owner is Master Blaster a team of two men who control the power supply. When he is attacked and robbed of his animals, Max Rockatansky follows his attackers to Bartertown a den of deceit and violence that is made possible thanks to the methane power source from pigs kept underground. The final chase scene, though, is worth watching, even if it is a case of revisiting past glories. So, the final result: a hit and miss effort, soon forgotten. ![]() ![]() I was also delighted by the casting of veteran dwarf actor Angelo Rossitto who bags something of a swan song performance late on in his career. I found Tina Turner to be pretty insipid as the would-be villainess, although I was happy to see Bruce Spence returning as the helicopter pilot, albeit he plays a different character this time around. There's no sense of his desperation or his primal nature here, he's just a stock hero character. Gibson's character is underwritten in this one, so that he barely speaks and seems like a void at the centre of the film. They actually reminded me of the Ewoks in RETURN OF THE JEDI. The colony of feral children are mostly irritating, with too many attempts to make them 'cute'. The action scenes, of which there are only really two – the 'gladiator combat' scene in the Thunderdome, and the final chase – are exquisite, as good as that which has come before, and very entertaining. Much of the blame must lie on the troubled production: the producer died causing George Miller to back out and only direct the action sequences while another hand took over the character and dialogue moments. It seems like a tired repeat of the last movie, with an unwelcome American presence in the likes of Tina Turner and more Hollywood ideals. The heart and soul of the story is missing from this one. I didn't get that, but this is definitely the weakest MAD MAX film of the series. When I saw MAD MAX BEYOND THUNDERDOME was showing on TV again, I decided to bite the bullet and sit down and watch it, fearing the worst. And the presence of Tina Turner seemed a definite distraction. I wasn't impressed by the scenes I saw: it seemed cheesier and sillier than what had come before, more child friendly. For some reason, I'd never got around to watching this, the third in the series, although I had seen snippets of it on TV. In fact, MAD MAX 2 is one of my favourite films ever, finishing with that massive, sprawling chase sequence that's still inspiring filmmakers today (Neil Marshall's DOOMSDAY, anyone?). They're the epitome of Australian cult filmmaking on a budget: filled with uniquely Aussie humour, outlandish characters and plenty of action.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |