Solid, realistic war film, if unspectacular

Rating: 7/10 (2 January 2018)

'Fury' is set right at the end of World War II, with the American's slowly forcing the Nazis back towards Berlin. This is different to lots of WWII films, since it's not D-Day, or the Western front, or Pearl Harbour - it's just five guys in a tank, driving across Germany, fighting Nazis when they appear. And that's the film's strong point - it's very realistic. There's death, mud, weary soldiers, fleeing civilians and prisoners everywhere.
Sure, it wasn't filmed in Germany (England instead), but the costumes and sets look believable. There's really only three battle scenes, with the reality of war (lots of waiting around) being illustrated to full effect. And while probably accurate, the drawn out interludes of no action make the film longer than necessary - I think this would have made an excellent 1 hour 45 min film, rather than 2 hours 15 min.
Don (Pitt) is not actually the main character - it's really about new recruit Noman (Lerman) and how he fits in with this tight Sherman tank crew, and more importantly, how he deals with the horrors of war and killing other humans. The tracer fire looks great on the screen, but there's not enough action or incentive to care for the characters and their mission to make this a classic war film. See 'Patton' if you haven't!