Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome was a 1985 film, the 2nd sequel to the action movie Mad Max. The film was directed by George Miller and George Ogilvie , and starred Mel Gibson and Tina Turner.

The story picks up shortly after the events of "The Road Warrior". Max stumbles across the seedy community of "Bartertown", founded by and nominally run by Aunty Entity (Turner). Electricity, vehicles, functioning technology, all unheard of in this post-apocalyptic world, is made possible by a crude methane refinery, located under Bartertown and operated by the wise, diminutive "Master", who is harnessed to his enormously strong, but dim-witted bodyguard known as "Blaster". Together, "Master Blaster" hold an uneasy power-truce with Entity for control of Bartertown, which Master is beginning to exploit, usurping Entity's leadership. She is furious with him but cannot challenge him publicly, as Master is the only one with the technical knowhow to utilitize the machinery that powers Bartertown.

The controlled chaos of Bartertown is maintained by one inflexible law that states that no deal can be broken, no matter what. Entity recognizes Max as a resourceful, if disposable fighter, and strikes a deal with him to provoke a duel with and kill Blaster in the "thunderdome", a gladiatorial-esque arena where conflicts are resolved, turning what is arguably a political assassination into a lawful act. Max defeats Blaster, but refuses to kill him, as he realizes that Blaster is a retarded simpleton, innocent as a child. Entity is enraged, and invokes their single law, since Max broke his deal with her, as underhanded as it was. He is cast out of Bartertown, exiled to the desert.

The story radically shifts gears at this point. Some time later, Max, near death due to exposure to the hostile conditions, is saved by a group of children. The children, hardened to the desert environment, are survivors of a nearby plane crash, and have formed a sort of tribal community in the sheltered desert oasis they live in, keeping their fading memories of the past civilization alive in the form of ritualistic spoken "tells" until the return of a messianic "Captain Walker", who they believe Max to be. After nursing him back to health, they are shocked to hear Max's account of the dystopic state of the world and angry at his insistence that they all remain living in the relative safety of the oasis, knowing that the only "civilization" within reach is Bartertown. The children decide to leave anyways, determined to find "Tomorrow-morrow land", the mythic place they believe their parents left them to find. Max goes after them.

The third act begins as Max catches up with them at the outskirts of Bartertown. They sneak in, intent on finding Master. Without Blaster to protect him, the dwarvish Master is little more than Entity's slave. Max and the children free him, but alert the guards, and a frenetic chase ensues, ending at the hideout of the recurring "pilot" character. Max coerces him to help them escape in a triplane, but there isn't enough room for them all. Max stays behind, heroically clearing a path through the pursuing vehicles so the plane has enough room to take off. Rather than killing Max, Aunty spares him, but leaves the desert to decide his fate.

The story shifts to many years later, when the much older children are seen in the ruins of an old metropolitan area, lit up by thousands of fires. Savannah, the leader of the children, recites a final "tell":

"This you knows: the years travel fast and time after time I done the tell. But this ain't one body's tell; it's the tell of us all, and you've got to listen it and [re]member, 'cause what you hears today you gotta tell the newborn tomorrow. I's lookin behind us now, into history back. I sees those of us that got the luck and started the haul for home and I 'members how it led us here and how we was heartbroke cause we seen what they once was. One look and we knew'd we'd got it straight. Those what had gone before had the knowin' and the doin' of things beyond our reckonin', even beyond our dreamin'. Time counts and keeps countin' and we knows now, findin' the trick of what's been and lost ain't no easy ride. But that's our trek. We gotta travel it and there ain't nobody knows where it's gonna lead. Still, in all, every night we does the tell so that we member who we was and where we came from. But most of all we 'members the man who finded us, him that came the salvage, and we lights the city not just for him but for all of 'em that are still out there, cause we knows there'll come a night when they sees the distant light and they'll be comin' home."

The theme song "We Don't Need Another Hero" was performed by Tina Turner, who also performed other songs in the film's soundtrack.

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