This third chunk of the adventures of an Australian desert warrior (still Mel Gibson), a few years after a nuclear apocalypse, is a well-crafted flight of the imagination that scarcely puts a foot wrong. It concentrates on character rather than machinery and creates believable people, situations and settings. Bartertown, the centre of its action, is a swarming, repulsive temple of thieves that is just the kind of place that might have sprung up in this situation. Lording over this cesspit of humanity is Tina Turner as Aunty Entity, into whose voracious clutches Max falls, finding himself forced to fight Bartertown's master blaster in a giant netted arena. The dialogue, although sparse, always has something constructive or funny to say and the action is devastatingly well staged and performed, especially the arena battle and the final pursuit sequence. The ending is both unexpected and touching: a final bonus to a fantasy adventure which ranks with the best.

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