Reviews

Perhaps the weakest link in the Mad Max series, Beyond Thunderdome is sharply divided into four acts. The first act is superb! Production design, world building and action are all interwoven into a great tapestry of Mad Max greatness and the cage fight is the highlight of the entire movie. Then act two comes along, drags the tempo down, and even though it delivers a lot of interesting mythology and world building, it just lacks the intensity and tempo which has come to define the series as a whole. Act three is the return to Bartletown which has little to offer in the way of spectacle and both the simple, slap-stick humour and the new supporting characters (a bunch of children) suggest that the movie in fact tries to target a broader demographic, as the new PG-13 rating also suggests. Finally, in act four we finally get the trademark car chases, but they aren't anywhere near as good as those featured in The Road Warrior with the exception of a few breathtaking stunts. The ending does not satisfy at all, and we are left with the impression of a bloated, watered-down, minor Mad Max entry. That said, even a weak Mad Max movie is better than most other action flicks, and Mel Gibson is always interesting to watch, especially here in one of his signature roles.

"Pale Rider" opens up with a beautiful shot of pointy mountains looming behind a lush fir forest which again form the background to dusty plains. Aross this beautiful landscape we see a pack of riders, whipping their horses into a frenzy as they cut through the scenery. Then we cut to an idyllic looking encampment where we see gold prospectors and their families going about their business, a goat here, a dog playfully licking a man's face there... For some time we keep cutting between these two images and we just know that something bad is going to happen. Tension is building slowly until the riders are unleashed upon their victims and make quite the mess. They even shoot a cow and a dog. The dog, we learn, belongs to Megan Wheeler, played by a very young Sydney Penny (Bernadette, 1988) in a wonderful performance. It is her loss and the subsequent burial of the dog which triggers the entrance of the Preacher, through some suggested divine intervention. Clint Eastwood (Heartbreak Ridge, 1986) arrives as an ominous silhouette at first, on the heels of rumbling thunder and shots of rugged mountains, and ending up framed in the doorway of the Wheelers' as Megan finishes her bible reading with the quote: "And I looked, and behold a pale horse. And his name that sat on him was Death." As we learn later, the assault was part of a tactic by the shrewd villain, Coy LaHood, played by Richard Dysart (The Thing, 1982), to drive the prospectors off the land so he can get his hands on the gold which is hidden away in their creek, and Preacher is a man of God coming to lift their spirits and lend a hand. Literary, his introduction to Hull Barret, played by Michael Moriarty (The Stuff, 1985) is in the form of a brawl with LaHood's henchmen where he dispatches divine justice through the conduit of a bat. Eastwood lends heavily on Sergio Leone's archetype: the man with no name, which he himself played to perfection in the 60s, but adds even more mystique to his character through all the religious implications and the semblance of a revenge motif from some mysterious past. Few, if any, can play the tough loner with the icy stare as well as Eastwood, and this character is no exception. Anyone crossing his path with ill intentions are met with silent intimidation of the kind that makes them quickly holster their guns and run away. The movie is not all brawn and myth-making though, the central family trio of prospectors, also including Sarah Wheeler, played by Carrie Snodgress (Murphy's Law, 1986), is the beating heart of the movie. All the performances are top notch. Every word spoken is done so with the utmost conviction and true to character. How Moriarty can churn out such a subtle and dramatically solid performance considering the rest of his 80s catalog (Q, The Stuff, Troll, It's Alive III...) is astonishing. There is some early hints that the young daughter is taking a romantic interest in Preacher, and when words about this is exchanged between the two, it seems certain that few screenplays can match the elegance at which it is handled.

For anyone fond of westerns, this is a sure bet for a good time. Some might complain that the overall framework of the plot is formulaic, and if you don't like westerns this will probably not turn you around, but the quality in execution of writing, directing and acting are all top notch. This is a visual movie where the action, the framing of the shots and the gorgeous landscapes dominate the feel and atmosphere of the movie. It is also a movie with excellent use of music and sound, which always help in creating more tension or fleshing out the scenery. The movie is not especially realistic as there are a few logical flaws here and there, but most can be shrugged off as stylistic choices. Sure, it seems strange that one character would reach his destination faster on foot than another character on a horse cart with a head start, or awfully dumb when the main villain stands out in the middle of the street without cover while his men is combing the streets after a hidden and armed Preacher, but his defiance of a sudden death by lead just makes him look even more bad ass, and a worthy opponent for our mythical hero. The 80s were not a happy place for aficionados of the western, but this little gem almost makes up for it.

OK, so it's no Lord of the Rings, but is it good? I dare say yes. There are several strong performances, especially from Georgie Henley and William Moseley as the children Lucy and Peter and the magnificent Tilda Swinton as the White Witch. The effects are mostly of good quality, but there are some imperfections and logical flaws. When the movie reached its climax I begun thinking "Oh no, It's a lord of the rings rip-off, only in a lighter version..." But then, to my surprise, the final battle was a breath-taking, well-directed and well-played epic encounter which will rate among the top ten screen battles of all times for years to come! (of course below such battle scenes as we remember from Lord of the Rings: Two Towers and Saving Private Ryan but still...) Narnia is great fun and will probably be even more fun for children. The religious symbols are very strong however, and this makes me dislike some parts of the original story (which I consider to be inferior to this film) Especially the parts concerning "heavy magic" and "sacrifice" are hard to swallow for non-Christians, but still... it's a good movie!

This documentary was a pleasant surprise. I saw the original short movie "The Perfect Human" before viewing this, which is about re-making "The Perfect Human" under different and more difficult circumstances (the five obstacles), and I recommend others to do the same. To truly enjoy this movie you should have some interest for art movies and movie-making in general. It is amusing to see the frustrations of the movie-maker in question, Jørgen Leth, as he is ordered to cripple his original "masterpiece". The movie shows how creativity and imagination is stimulated under the right circumstances. I felt inspired after viewing this movie and actually made my own version of the short movie together with some friends (still not cut, but it will probably be awful). All in all, interesting and fun but sometimes it gets me thinking that some of the chunks between the short movies should have been cut out.

This is an interesting little movie. It explores the concept of "the perfect human" through close studies of a "perfect" male and a "perfect" female. The movie asks a lot of questions but does not try to answer them. I don't feel like I fully understood the picture and it felt a bit too artistic for its own good. I chose to view it as an attempt to ridicule our conceptions of what it means to be "perfect". Some scenes were outright funny, while others were just confusing (especially in the shaving sequence). This movie is essential viewing if one plans to see Lars Von Triers "The Five Obstacles" which is a very good documentary where the director, Jørgen Leth gets to re-make his short movie 5 times but under different, more difficult circumstances. As entertainment I rate it slightly above average. As art? I don't know.