It's Called War

Rating: 7/10 (2 February 2015)

Even though Fury is not based off of any source material, it had it's moment of reality mixed in with many far-fetched moments. It's a highly entertaining World War II drama that although can be exaggerated, turned out to be a very solid film. The cover presents a quote that it's the best war film since Saving Private Ryan and Platoon. That's a lot to live up to, especially in an age where we feel like we have seen all types of war films. Fury takes a different approach to the genre. It follows a crew of men who strictly work in tanks. Not only do you get a feel for the comradery that exists between soldiers, but you get a sense of the extreme conditions and hardships these men went through on a day to day basis.
The acting is really solid across the board. Brad Pitt is great as usual, but the real praise goes to Logan Lerman and Shia LaBeouf. These young actors surprisingly hold their own next to Pitt, Pena, and Bernthal. I was really impressed with David Ayer's script, especially the scenes involving the whole crew in the tank. There are moments of weakness though. Including some inconsistencies with Pitt's character, Wardaddy. At times he is completely against killing women and children, the next he is yelling at Lerman for sparing the lives of Nazi children. Or even the fact that it doesn't make much sense why Lerman was put into this situation in the first place. It was just mentioned as a 'mistake'. There is also a lack of female characters, besides one elongated dinner scene. It makes me wonder about Ayer's writing for Suicide Squad. Especially as DC's most famous female super-villain, Harley Quinn, is in his hands.
The production design looks great. The filmmakers really give you a feel of what Germany looked and felt like in the 1940's. With that being said, for some reason the bullets special effects really bothered me. They looked green and red at times, reminding me of a Star Wars film. It's a small complaint that is likely nitpicking, but if it's noticeable it's worth mentioning. Steven Price's score is noticeably his style, which worked both for and against him. His score went from being awkwardly unfit for WWII, to being emotionally powerful. But this all leads to the terrific finale. If you didn't care for the first 3/4 of the film, they make a point for you to care about the ending. Once again, a few far-fetched moments don't go unnoticed, but it's still an enjoyable film.
+Lerman & LeBeouf
+Production design
+Ayer's script
+Finale
-Character inconsistencies
-Special effects iffy
7.1/10