Fury: My Good, Bad, and Ugly

Rating: 7/10 (20 May 2019)

The Good:
War films often look at the machines of combat as cold and impersonal tools. Infantry soldiers mount and dismount trucks and carry themselves from mission to mission on foot. The reality of modern combat, though, is more mobile, more mechanized. But, even though machines can be cold and impersonal, and can remove soldiers from the visceral and traumatic nature of war real intimacy and feeling isn't removed from combat. The film spends a good deal of time inside the tank trying to depict the close bonds that form between a group of men in close quarters put in life and death situations routinely, and it does it well. Although the personalities sometimes clash and we can see the real animosity that exists between them, truer moments shine through when they're asked to fight for each other and against perhaps the greatest evil the world has ever known.
The Bad:
The worst part of this film is probably the largely uneven or lackluster performances. Brad Pitt is Brad Pitt, which is regrettable because as the film''s biggest star one would hope for more of a star performance. Jon Bernthal is Jon Bernthal, which is unsurprising. Logan Lerman is Logan Lerman, which is predictable. Michael Cena could have shined, but was given only an awkward monologue that doesn't really connect well to the rest of the film. Shia LaBeouf similarly isn't given much of a showcase in the film, but he does well in the moments that are written for him. He should have had more.
The Ugly:
A deeper scan of a list of World War II films would likely generate at least a short list of films that better did what this film tried to do, but the first film that comes to mind for me is Saving Private Ryan (Steven Spielberg, 1998). Although Ryan doesn't deal directly with tank combat, it certainly showcases how soldiers in combat can establish deep relationships without regard for the character of brevity that their lives have assumed. All that being said, the performances are also immeasurably better across the board.