Fury (2014) Review!!

Synopsis – April, 1945. As the Allies make their final push in the European Theater, 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.

My Take – Their must be about 100 movies already about WW2, so what makes this David Ayer (End of Watch) directed film different? Well its pits a tank filled with five American soldiers at the tail end of World War II as they struggle to fight off a small army of Nazi soldiers that are closing in on them. And probably I think this the 1st time they didn’t glorify a war in a film (at least from what I have seen), but instead shows how brutal, callous, hateful, merciless & ugly it is & how it brings out the worst in men.

The primary flaw with the movie is its lack of originality in characters. You have your typical veterans (The leader, the vulgar one, the religious one, and the drunk) and a new fish-out-of-water thrown in with them, but they are all developed adequately in this case. Likewise, the plot is not so simplistic and cliched as the trailer would imply, but it’s still somewhat predictable. If you can get past the slightly formulaic plot and characters, it’s generally very well acted and has some great talent driving it. Brad Pitt is fantastic, as always a delight a watch. Michael Pena surprisingly got a full fetched role & he did absolutely good. Shia LaBeouf seems to have gone through a unrecognizable transformation, even with a limited screen time his portrayal was very likeable. This film is actually a talent showcase for Logan Lerman, technically he is the lead as the film is seen through his eyes, & man does he perform! Coming way out of his teenage fantasy film, this is one young actor to watch out for!

Ayer has an extremely keen eye for chemistry on screen and he directs each of these actors to deliver performances that are well beyond anything that could be scripted. These men truly feel as if they are brothers in arms and you buy into every second of it.The film on a technical level is terrific. Ayer’s film is grim, bloody and unrelenting and fully captures the absolutely horrific nature of war. I have to say David Ayer redeemed himself (after the terrible Sabotage film) and he did it with glorious retribution. The gorgeous battle sequences, The camera work, the excellent sound makes this film an unflinching look at the last weeks of WWII in Europe through the eyes of an armored crew. #Fury is is visually stunning film, an ode to brotherhood & an insight into an ugly war through some terrific performances.