Bleak and Gutsy Exploitation

Rating: 8/10 (4 June 2015)

So I bought Fury on DVD to catch up on my David Ayer leading up to Suicide Squad. I'm in two minds about him so far. The jury may still be out because of his box office gambling habits. In essence I'd describe him as a visually effective renaissance director with a habit of cutting corners! Luckily with Fury that mostly works in its favour, but comparing it to Saving Private Ryan because it's bleak and wintery was a bad sales pitch. If anything, Fury is the younger brother of Enemy at the Gates and its daddy Iron Cross, despite it not being based around Russia. It has that undeniable element of exploitation to it that I feel makes up for everything Inglorious Basterds wasn't.
Fury's strength is in the overwhelming theme of seeking an end or seeking salvation where there is none to be found and it paints a picture of the parts of WWII that have been so rarely depicted. The Yanks are animals in this movie and they are aware of just how desperate the situation is getting to be.
Enter Logan Lerman's army typist Norman Ellison who is jettisoned to the war effort during the occupation of Nazi Germany and is he in over his head or what?! You really need to see the non-stop gore to get the drift...
The crew of Fury, the titular sherman tank, are way beyond the douchiest people you could ever know, because the war has destroyed their souls and they know in their hearts that the chances of making it home are impossible, so when the film focuses on the importance of Ellison learning how to keep his crew alive in the slimmest odds.
Sent on a slew of what can only be described as suicide missions, Fury leads the battallion's only remaining tanks into battle only for them to start falling one by one and leading to an inevitable battle to the death against Tiger tanks and a full SS regiment.
Visually Fury mostly hits the spot but then some action scenes seemed a little more than rushed and not in the name of an overall sharp editing style. It just cuts corners here and there like I expect and where some scenes build great suspense felt it had greater potential.
In regards to character, the ensemble cast nails it... mostly! Half the time I couldn't penetrate the impossible accents they were putting on. Michael Pena and Jon Bernthal were especially difficult but still I got the basics.
The action and violence are also pure exploitation but heaped on top of the rising tension as we realise the theme of the movie - one that is ultimately the fear of death and having to face up to the consequences of one's actions - the resulting product is a horror movie based in the Second World War and that suits me down to the ground.
Or, you know; it's Jaws but with tanks instead of boats and SS Waffen instead of sharks!