We are thrust once again into the post-apocalypse world of Mad Max (Mel Gibson) and this time he's going up against Tina Turner's hair. Okay, so not really. But you have to admit that mane is pretty impressive. And those earrings!

Wandering the wasteland, our hero is set upon by thieves and must make a deal with the leader of the topside part of Barter Town, who would be Aunty Entity (Tina Turner). She wants him to kill a man in exchange for all of his possessions being returned to him. Of course it isn't just any man that she wants killed.

There is the requisite battle between our hero and Blaster, but when it is discovered that the behemoth is merely a man with the mind of a child, Max cannot make himself deliver the final blow. For breaking his deal with Aunty he is sentenced to the desert. Luckily for him, however, he is found by a rag tag group of children, survivors from a plane crash who have been awaiting their savior.

There is, of course, the subsequent return, and then escape from Barter Town and Aunty's clutches, but fifteen years after its release, it's hard to see what all the fuss was .... Oh wait. Mel Gibson. I remember now.

Perhaps I've been jaded by subsequent action movies, but Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome really shows its age. While the vision of such a harsh post-apocalyptic world is still riveting, the rather lackluster plot leaves a lot to be desired. It seemed almost a connect the dot sort of film, which, without the screen presence of Gibson would have completely fallen flat.

DROOL FACTOR: Hello?! Mel Gibson in leather.

GROSS-OUT FACTOR: Every other adult male in this movie.

STRONG CHICK FACTOR: Tina Turner as Aunty Entity. 'Nough said.

-- Linda M. Najera

Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome is currently available on video.

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