[7]

Mel Gibson returns as the iconic Mad Max, joined by Tina Turner in a fun, villainous role. But the third film in the series is also the weakest, first signaled by the PG-13 rating, a ridiculous attempt to make a hard-edged action franchise more family-friendly. The script splits the story into two distinct parts that then converge on each other in the third act. The first section, where Gibson meets Turner and fights in her Thunderdome arena, is all right. But when Max refuses to kill his opponent, the story goes a bit flaccid and never fully recovers. The second section features Max’s encounter with a bunch of desert children who think he’s their messiah — not a bad idea, but does it belong in a Mad Max movie? The final act is a thinly veiled rehash of the climactic chase from The Road Warrior. It’s a pretty cool chase, but it doesn’t compare with its predecessor.

It’s watered down Mad Max, but if you adjust your expectations, it’s still an entertaining film with a healthy offering of exotic escapism. I also have to single out Oscar-winning composer Maurice Jarre (Lawrence of Arabia, Doctor Zhivago), who delivers a one-of-a-kind score that marries tribal instruments, a rock band, a boys’ choir, and a ninety-piece orchestra complete with an organ and six grand pianos. The final cue, in which the pianos and percussion pound relentlessly while Max and the children escape from Turner and her mohawked minions, is one of my favorites from the decade. Turner also provides two terrific songs to the soundtrack, “One of the Living,” and “We Don’t Need Another Hero.”

Directed by George Miller and George Ogilvie.