blood and mud

Rating: 8/10 (5 March 2015)

It's April 1945. The Americans are making the final push into Germany. Don Collier (Brad Pitt) commands his Sherman tank with his war-weary crew Boyd Swan (Shia LaBeouf), Trini Garcia (Michael Peña) and Grady Travis (Jon Bernthal). Norman Ellison (Logan Lerman) is a green recruit destine for clerical work when he's push onto Collier to replace his dead assistant driver.
What David Ayer gives is an ugly portrait of war. There is no prettying up these characters or these situations. They are worn down to their animal cores. Some may be displeased at an American soldier killing a prisoner. The most disturbing is the approval of all the soldiers around them. This is not heroic at times putting survival above all else. Yet at other time, it is heroism at its highest. The blood and mud is easy. The acting is the hard part. The four hard worn veterans have the dark animalistic feel. Logan Lerman gets to grow his character. They all get that dirty feel of war. The story is a bit predictable with the third act playing out without much surprise. Nevertheless, it is a compelling watch all the way to the end.