Fury: On the horrors of war

Rating: 7/10 (1 November 2014)

I initially had high hopes for 'Fury', with it having such star-studded names like Brad Pitt, Shia LaBeouf and Jon Bernthal of 'The Walking Dead' fame. The movie itself did live up to my expectations.
Firstly, I would have to say that it captured the horrors of war spectacularly. Right in the first scene, we see Brad Pitt's character, Collier, repeatedly stabbing a Nazi soldier. After that, we see when Norman (Logan Lerman) cleans up the tank, the remains of the previous gunner in the crew. Not only does the movie capture the physical nature of the war with its gruesome depictions, we also see how man's morality and conscience are affected by the war.
A line that particular struck me was when Collier, asking Norman to shoot a Nazi Soldier in cold blood, states that the Nazi's job is to kill them and their job is to kill the Nazis. From here we see how one's conscience can be hardened through war experience. Norman represents the naivety which people who have not experienced war or killing display.
Norman himself would begin to develop a hardened conscience and grayish line of morality. Ultimately, viewers are made to understand, that war is war and regardless of one's own inner sense of justice or morality, they must do their jobs, just like how their enemies would do theirs. Another powerful scene was towards the end when we see Norman, hiding from the German troops, being discovered by a Nazi Soldier who is also a young man like himself. He lets him go, probably empathizing with him. From here, we see that despite war and its horrors, there is good to be found in it, and not all soldiers from Germany's SS are bloodcurdling killers. In fact, several scenes in the movie depict Germans who were hanged for refusing to participate in the war.
Nevertheless, with all its good points, i find that Fury could have done better with the character development. I find that the pace of the development of Fury to be somewhat lacking and too fast. At the start, we see Norman refusing to kill a German soldier, to the point of breaking down and wanting to quit. Yet, after that he obeys Collier's orders dutifully and even states that he enjoys killing Nazis. A crucial turning point would have been the death of the girl which Norman had taken a liking to. I do feel this scene was especially powerful in showing how there is nothing you should not expect in war and how cruel it can be. This scene should, i feel, be placed before Norman starts killing German soldiers as it would then have more of an impact in showing the poison of revenge.Although, applause have to be given for the camaraderie shown between the crew of Fury. We are treated to bits of smack talk between the crew, and there is even quarrels between them now and then. Yet, in the end, they are blood brothers to the end, with each of them sticking together throughout.
Overall, Fury is a movie which satisfactorily fulfills the crucial points a war movie should have, and yet i do find that it could have done slightly better in some parts.