Did anyone here see Thunderdome in the cinema?

[AquaCola]

I'm curious to hear if anyone on this forum saw Mad Max 1 + 2 and then saw Thunderdome in the cinema when it came out and what they thought of it? Were you expecting something like Road Warrior again and how did you react to the humour, kids and almost childish/family friendly fight scenes?

[Foxtrot X-Ray]

Opening night when it came to my theater.

I don't think my attitude towards it were any different then than they are now.
Loved the movie, but it was a... Departure from the look and feel of the other two
That said, the continuity was acceptable, the movie itself was Fun.
It was just a bit lighter..

Keep in mind, this was the eighties and the movie was a product of the film industry of the time.
But, in my mind, at least it was written by someone who was not totally UNfamiliar with it's predecessors.

[Artemis Flow]

Yeh I seen it at the cinema it was kind of cool because it had Angry Anderson in it as he was the singer on my favourite band, but the lack of car action was the big let down, the whole thing seemed childish, I think Miller made up for all that lack of cars in Fury Road quite adequately

[AquaCola]

Cheers for the replies lads. I figured a lot of people were taken back by such a change in tone after the brutality of Road Warrior.

[Immortan Joecutter]

Hi AquaCola, normally I don't speak about that 'experience' I had with Thunderdome

In 1982 I saw Road Warrior in the cinema and one year later I had the chance to see Mad Max 1 in a theater too.
Till today both films are my alltime-favourites and if you ask me, I do have no specific ranking between them.

Man, I was so pumped for the third Mad Max movie and the wait almost took 3 (looong) years...

AND THEN I SAW THE MOVIE...

Even after 30 years it's still one of the biggest cinematic disappointments I can remember and I truly HATE it!
Nothing with this film feels right, the characters, the tone, the music score, and even Mel Gibson is off...
This is simply no MAD MAX movie for me and no nostalgia factor or whatsoever can ever change this.

[roadwarriormfp]

I never saw MM1 at the movies, only on TV around the early 1980s. ( to co-inside with the release of MM2 im guessing)
But i did see MM2 and 3 at the cinemas.
Cant recall what i felt to be honest.. was a long time ago!

[OzRedMonkey]

I live in Sydney. Can remember the ads on TV for MM1 but couldn't see it, as it was rated R which in Australia is 18+ and I was too young.

Saw MM2 when it came out and due to its popularity, MM1 was re-released, so I saw them both pretty close together, both in the theatre first time.

Remember being at movies in 1985 when trailers were being shown for Beyond Thunderdome. People were cheering and hooting. Lots of anticipation for the movie, the trailer was very good and showed a lot of promise. It actually led me to believe that the thunderdome fight was the climax of the movie. I was very surprised when I saw the movie and it was in the first act.

Took my girlfriend of the time, she had seen the first two on video. When we walked out, she said something that I think really nailed what was missing (apart from cars). She said "you didn't hate anybody". Which I think was a great observation.

Aunty was a "baddy", but also a "goody", as she was building Bartertown to try and re-establish civilisation. Ironbar was her muscle, a baddy-type but not really Max's antagonist. Master Blaster was a kind of baddy combo, but you end up feeling sympathy for the both of them. There was definitely nobody of the calibre of Toecutter or Humungus when it came to pure evil.

[Anklecranker]

I saw MM2 at the theater in 1982. Found MM1 at the VHS rental store the same year. I worked at the local mall in 1985. I remember that MM3 was very anticipated that year. Tina Turner was at a peak in her career in '85. "We don't need another hero" played once very two hours at that mall . I agree with the appraisals posted above.

[Immortan Joecutter]

'We don't need another hero' from Tina Turner was very popular in 1985, it even became a #1 Hit here in Germany before the movie came out.

I still like this song, it's really catchy, but I remember back then I found it very strange that the titular song for MAD MAX is called We don't need another hero...

Oh boy, it was definitely no good sign (...)

[Mad_Jim]

I saw it at my local cinema club in 1992 when i was 12 not at release if i remember correctly as they showed old movies from the 80s a lot like Ghostbusters and back to the future ect... , i wasn't allowed to see MM1 and MM2 so i wasn't that excited until my dad let me see mm1 shortly after and my mum went nuts!!

but my obsession for mad max didnt start till i was 18 or so.

i recently got a limited edition beyond thunderdome magazine for when the movie came out on ebay a few weeks ago and it was in mint condition!

i think im one of the few that actually really enjoyed the movie, but my favourite was mm2 by far, the different tones was a huge leap tho it went from an amazing action epic to a family kids movie! which was just bizzare! but hey that hollywood for you!