Superficial action movie that lacks depth

Rating: 4/10 (29 May 2015)

I'm not completely sure what I was expecting from Fury Road, but it was more than this. This is the latest example of Hollywood rehashing a successful and good movie franchise solely for profit. It's mindless, repetitive action sequences melded between horrible acting and overused clichés.
One of the allures of this series is seeing the outlandish road vehicles that are used, and in this the movie mostly delivers. You have the high-powered Warrior Rig driven by Furiosa. There's battle vehicles equipped with spikes, rigs with counter-balanced poles for launching warriors into other vehicles, and there's even a vehicle equipped with large bass drums and a stack of speakers that would make KISS jealous with a psychotic guitarist wailing away for our musical enjoyment. And of course, each vehicle comes equipped with more explosive arsenal than a battle ship. And it's put to good use.
However, once you get past the eye candy, you realize there's nothing else to it. The story is weak. The characters are weaker. And the acting is the worst. The movie never drew me in. Not even close. Whenever the movie 'tried' to add depth and be dramatic, it was painful and embarrassing to watch. The scene where Furiosa reacts to finding out her birth home is gone by taking off her prosthetic arm and dropping down to her knees may be the worst movie scene I've ever watched. And it says something when the most interesting character is Nux, a relentless slave/warrior who actually has a mind of his own and decides to help Max and Furiosa in their quest. Of course, one of Immortan Joe's wives falls for him, representing one of the many poorly executed clichés this movie is riddled with.
I can watch a superficial action movie and enjoy it for what it is, to a point. This one, however, is just generally so poorly executed that it leaves a lot to be desired. I didn't hate it, but I have absolutely no desire to see it again.