How can you describe the “Mad Max” universe? Well, it’s an unpleasant yet intriguing look at how the world might turn out after a nuclear holocaust. Mel Gibson (“Mad Max”, “Signs”) returns as the titular character in this third outing.

In “Beyond Thunderdome”, Mad Max (Gibson) ends up in Bartertown, which is run by Aunty Entity (Tina Turner). Max must have a fight to the death in the dreaded Thunderdome if is he to get back his weapons and ride. If you think Bartertown is messed up then you should see the tribe of children. The children want to find a supposed ‘paradise’. Max gets the idea of going back into Bartertown to free a smart individual to help create this ‘paradise’.

Mel Gibson portrays a more believable hero than the ones played by Schwarzenegger (“The Terminator”) and Stallone (“First Blood”) and I like that. This character is meaner than the ones by those two as well but that’s probably because he lives in a much harsher environment. Tina Turner does a reasonable job; she should have been more seductive and just generally more evil. The rest of the characters, especially the children are very disappointing in my opinion as no real effort has gone in.

The action scenes are great, especially the fight in Thunderdome, the hero is quick, smart, tough and nasty just like the world around him, the world created is barbaric yet still interesting and despite being far from perfection I had a lot of fun “Beyond Thunderdome”. If you’re looking for a decent film set is a gritty future then you have come to the right place my friend because “Beyond Thunderdome” has got it where it counts. I’m sure you’ll find much better post-apocalyptic future flicks out there but keep in my mind there are lots and lots of bad ones so this is an alright choice.