Thunderdome: Still Underrated or Just...Weird?

Okay, guys, oliviacinema here. Been revisiting the Mad Max films and just wrapped up "Beyond Thunderdome." Whew. Definitely the... most unique of the original trilogy, right? Look, Tina Turner is amazing as Aunty Entity, no question. And the whole Bartertown setup is kinda fascinating and disturbing all at once. Pig dung powered society? Yikes. But, and this is a big but, does anyone else feel like the whole 'Lost Boys' section kinda derails the movie? I mean, it's visually interesting with the crashed plane and all, but it feels so tonally different from the gritty, survivalist stuff in the first two films and even the Bartertown scenes. Like, Mad Max suddenly becomes a reluctant savior for a group of feral kids who think he's their messiah. It just feels...off. Specifically, I'm thinking about the sequence when they're telling the story about Captain Walker. It feels oddly whimsical considering the stakes. Did anyone else find that jarring? Or am I just being a grumpy old movie purist? I'm not saying it's bad, per se, just...unexpected. Maybe too unexpected. So, overall, I'm torn. Great visuals, great performance from Tina Turner, but the tonal shift makes it hard for me to fully love it. What are your thoughts? Is it an underrated gem, a flawed but fascinating oddity, or just plain weird? Let's discuss!