Violent Tendencies

Rating: 7/10 (27 October 2014)

Fury strives to depict the true nature of war. There isn't much of a plot to discuss, neither any historical events worthy to mention within its World War II setting. It simply just pictures the job works: violence is scary, war changes people, and their journey could be a lot dreary than exciting. Director David Ayer is perfect when it comes to this strategy; this bleak, unfeeling atmosphere alone makes it quite compelling for its themes. But it also moves a little backwards when it starts featuring the main action. Though the precision stays faithful, the loudness and spectacle rob the focus of its more ugly view at war. In the end, Fury still deserves credit for both elements, even if they don't seem to fit appropriately for the central message.
As said, it is not about the plot. We're basically just watching what soldiers experience in the field or inside the tank. There is no historical background needed to explore other than the fact that this is WWII. Another story here is about a recruit, whose only skill in the job is typewriting, forced to kill no matter how old or desperate the enemy is. His point of view is meant to portray a soldier's growth into the battlefield; we first encounter him known for his incompetence towards violence, and then slowly subsides his sensitivity and starting to gain the same attitude of his crew. Not only towards humanity it tries to examine, even the war itself may not be easy nor adventurous after all. Traveling through places, although getting attacked in unexpected minute and discovering bodies around the road, can be boring, which suddenly makes the crew bond every once in a while. Not everyone at the enemy side are bad, neither everyone in their side are nice. The film succeeds at breaking the misinterpretation of the context of war, giving awareness to what people actually struggle in this conflict.
Once we get to the action, the tank battles are impressively constructed with consistency at showing each of the soldier's duty beneath their tank. There is suspense, violence driven in every set piece. The only setback in these sequences is how it tries to build some bombast at the explosions. No matter what, it's always going to be loud and there will always be lights flashing (especially when they have tracers,) but during the fighting, it suddenly becomes one sided, no longer feels for their enemy, unlike the complexity at the smaller scenes. The characters also don't get the development they deserve, they do have some intriguing backstory, but still remains being in one note. Thankfully, the cast helps adding some depth in them.
Fury is solid enough, but the anti-war element can be a little unsatisfying. It portrays the horrors of war by heart and soul, and yet finds glory at the actual battles. The action could have suited better if the movie's only intention is to be accurate in a military work, but it come into question when it also have this strong sober perspective to human violence. The climax as well feels it like it belongs to a movie built for blockbuster filmmaking. But the thing is, none of them are actually bad; it effectively pictures what kind of hell war is and the action is terrifically directed. It's just that both aspects tell a different opinion. In spite of that, it's still one of the most absorbing films you'll see in a while, with excellent production and filmmaking. These are the qualities that endures the value of Fury overall, also witnessing real military routine, firearm, dirt and battles already makes it quite interesting.