Fury (2014) Directed by David Ayer. Starring: Brad Pitt, Shia LaBeouf, Logan Lerman. IMDB says: “April, 1945. As the Allies make their final push in the European Theatre, a battle-hardened army sergeant named Wardaddy commands a Sherman tank and her five-man crew on a deadly mission behind enemy lines. Out-numbered, out-gunned, and with a rookie soldier thrust into their platoon, Wardaddy and his men face overwhelming odds in their heroic attempts to strike at the heart of Nazi Germany.”
Fury is the new war epic starring Brad Pitt as well as Shia Labeouf. The film chronicles the journey of a tank crew as they continue their assault into Germany in the closing months of World War II. This film is written and directed by David Ayer who wrote the screenplays for U-571 and Training Day, and has directed such films as Street Kings and End of Watch. This is the first film I have seen which credits him as director.
For me, the biggest strength of this film lies in the cinematography. The film is beautifully shot with several striking landscape scenes and particularly well-choreographed action sequences. The attention to detail was equally as impressive as the shooting. Fun fact for any WWII history buffs, they actually used the last operational Tiger Tank (Tiger 131) in this film, rather than a prop; the first film to ever do that. The scenes are shot and staged in such a way that the environment becomes immersive; as a viewer you can get a real sense of what WWII Germany might have looked like from the perspective of an invading enemy. The other really big strength of this film lies in its acting. I really enjoyed Brad Pitt’s portrayal of “Wardaddy” the grizzled sergeant in command of the tank. While I am not a fan of Shia Labeouf’s other work, and I don’t particularly like the character, he is more than serviceable as Boyd “Bible” Swan, the man who operates the primary gun on the tank. The interactions between all of the primary actors seem genuine and you can feel some raw emotion emanating from the screen.
I was not blown away by the storyline here. The previews set this up as largely an action film with a few comedic elements. I found that majority of the plot time went to developing the characters and their relationships within the confines of the tank. I immediately drew parallels to Saving Private Ryan where a tight-knit group of survivors must work together, with one new guy, to complete a mission in unfriendly territory. It’s the same basic outline. Even the roles of the characters are similar, the savvy leader, highly-respected by his peers; the ultra-religious man that sees war as his duty; the overly tough, downright mean, combat vet; and the struggling new guy who needs to learn what it means to face down the enemy. All of the major elements can be cut and pasted from any number of existing films. That being said, it wasn’t hateful. While I felt like the movie plodded along at points, it was punctuated with some striking action sequences.
To me, this isn’t a film you absolutely need to see in theaters. It has some strong elements, particularly the visuals and the acting/directing but it leaves something to be desired in the originality department. It’s definitely worth the watch but at 2 hours 15 minutes, you could easily become bored and some of the slower parts of the film. All that being said, it’s not a bad film and it gets bonus points from me because there aren’t enough tank movies.
OVERALL SCORE: 68%