War is Hell

Rating: 8/10 (19 October 2014)

This film is highly recommended.
Fury is a violent indictment of war and its many casualties. But perhaps, the subtitle should more accurately read: Fury: The Story of a Tank and the Boys who Loved It, since it plays up the band of brothers angle rather vigorously. Or, Fury: The Power and the Gory, since the bloodletting is extremely up close and personal. Either way, the film is a powerful and disturbing drama that evolves into a standard but riveting World War II tale of courage literally under fire.
Anyone who has experienced a war film has seen this misfit group before. The stereotypes run deep here as does the clichés they continually lobbed at each other, like word grenades that blow up in their faces: "Ideals are peaceful. History is violent." There's the innocent newbie, Norman (Logan Lerman), the Bible-spouting religious zealot, Boyd "Bible" Swan (Shia LaBeouf), the brutish bully, Grady (Jon Bernthal), the Latino, Gordo (Michael Pena) and their foolhardy and hardened leader, Wardaddy (Brad Pitt). All of these stock characters are assembled in the confines of a claustrophobic tin can nicknamed Fury. Their mission: stand their ground against the Nazis.
For over two hours, the onslaught of Fury is endless, with little character development or back-story to add the slightest bit of enlightenment or empathy. The characters remain under-written facsimiles of the real thing. That said, the ensemble of actors do an exceptional job in trying to flesh out their sketchy characters, especially Shia La Beouf who brings some remarkably subtle acting to his character. However, Pitt's screen persona works against him at the start, seeming too similar to his crazed blood-thirsty character from Inglorious Basterds, a factor that throws the film off kilter at times. But as the film progresses, the actor displays more acting skills, adding a more human side to his tough-as-nails macho man and making his gonzo character more distinctive and believable.
Writer/director David Ayer is quite talented, but he is far more interested in war action and its resulting carnage than the human story of its men. The film may accurately depict the brutality of war and the unquestionable bravery of the soldiers placed in these hellish situations, but the movie-going experience is equally as hellish as the war it depicts. While watching Fury, one can easily get battle fatigue from the warfare overkill. With its gruesome images of bloody flesh, exploding heads, and severed human limbs, Fury is not for the faint- hearted or those with a low tolerance for violence. In fact, Fury is violence personified to the max.
Ayer has made a grim testament to these men. His visuals are impressive and have an overly realistic edginess, aided greatly by the cinematography by Roman Vasyanov and concise editing by Jay Cassidy and Dody Dorn. Many scenes are beautifully composed and the action sequences are taut and intense. Yet the overall effect appears too manipulative and predictable, even if it is emotionally engaging. The extremely well staged battle scenes resonate the necessary visceral impact that other classic war films like Saving Private Ryan, The Bridge Over the River Kwai, and Platoon have delivered in the past.
All in all, Fury is an ugly film, but that statement is meant to be more positive than negative. It unflinchingly shows off the atrocities of war faced by these characters in grisly details. It just doesn't show off its characters with enough details. Still, Fury remains a strong addition to its war genre faction. GRADE: B+
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