I hadn't seen 2 and Beyond Thunderdome before seeing Fury Road and I'm pretty glad. If I had, I'd have put way too much time trying to figure out when this movie took place in relation to the other three and how it'd be possible for society to have degenerated so far in just one lifetime instead of simply enjoying the amazing cinematography, editing, and sound mixing/editing. I could see some cause for concern amongst people who enjoyed the series before this movie, but the movie is still so great that it doesn't matter how this movie fits into the other ones.
I'm really worried that I enjoyed this one so much that The Force Awakens won't be able to come close to the hype.