Tagline:
Two men enter, one man leaves, unless there are special needs.
Entire Story in Fewer Words Than Are in This Sentence:
Max is banished for refusing to kill a grinning retard.
Homoeroticism:
Like in The Road Warrior, many men are dressed like they are going to a gay bondage convention, but the homoeroticism is virtually nil.
Corpse Count:
Unacceptably low. A spectator died gloriously at the Thunderdome fight, Blaster got whacked for losing the fight, a horse and a kid lost it to the quicksand in the desert and several bad guys were killed at the pig factory. The final fight with the vehicles in the desert was most disappointing, with only 12 or so sent to their flaming deaths. I would estimate no more than 20 deaths total.
Novelty Deaths:
None
How Bad Was it Really?
It wasn’t bad, but it wasn’t great, either. Ebert gave it 4 Stars and gushed over it, while giving The Road Warrior, a much superior film, 3.5 Stars.
Was there a Stupid Chief?
As with The Road Warrior, there was no law enforcement presence whatsoever.
Post-Mortem One Liners:
Like the corpse count, this film was pretty light on quotes as well.
“Remember: no matter where you go, there you are.” -Pigkiller (pre-mortem)
More Quotes and one-liners:
- “Ladies and Gentlemen, Boys and Girls, dyin’ times here” -Dr. Dealgood
- “I don’t know anything about methane.” -Max
- “You can shovel shit, can’t you?” -Aunt Entity
- “Two men enter, one-man leaves!” -The Bartertown Crowd
- “I’ve got skills. I could trade them.” -Max
- “Sorry, the brothel’s full.” -The Collector
Stupid Political Content:
You can’t say the word “retard”, much less retire them in a movie.
Was there an Atomic Blast at the end?
No, there was just a meaningless scene in a long-ago wrecked city.
Special Ruthless Ratings -or- What I learned from Mad Max: Beyond Thunderdome:
In spite of great costumes and cinematography, Thunderdome just didn’t cut it for me. The potential was there, but I give the movie a low 7.0. Thunderdome does not come close to the watchability of The Road Warrior.