Review of Fury (2014) by Victor T — 02 Aug 2016

The deadliest conflict in history has become a staple setting for entertainment, so ever since it conclusion in 1945 countless films have been released about it or just set within it. So how can a WWII film be memorable now? Well David Ayer thought that an answer would be focusing on USA tankers instead of USA soldiers. Was this the correct answer?

We follow a group of four tankers: The USA right man stereotype Don Collider, the religious Boyd Swan, the 'tough guy' Grady Travis and Trini Garcia a surprising inclusion of a Hispanic in WWII. In the final days of the confrontation they are assigned a new member, the cliché rookie/scaredy-cat and the point of view character Norman Ellison. We follow the tank 'Fury' and its crew on their movement in hostile Nazi territory.

With "Suicide Squad" on the horizon (and the arrival of its negative reviews), I wanted to watch and prepare for what David Ayer is capable of in the director´s chair (I already know his abilities when it comes to writing) and this 2014 war drama proves that he is a competent man for the job. "Fury" counts with great performances with the highlights being Brad Pitt and Shia LaBeouf (I can't believe I just said Shia is a standout performer), the cinematography is solid as it provides some beautiful shots and it gets a ýou are there´ feel (here it works unlike "End of Watch"), the actions sequences are fantastic, a generic score that works in certain segments despite its blandness, and it surprisingly doesn't overstays its welcome. But regardless of those good elements this WWII film continues the 2000s trend of wanting to be "Saving Private Ryan". The characters are extremely cliché without any personality whatsoever (the only character that was slightly interesting was LaBeouf´s character), Jon Bernthal and Michael Peña get the short end of the stick as they are the least memorable cliché characters to watch in this film (they are just there), the story is extremely predictable and it doesn't add something new to the table, and Ayer´s obsession with people who serve his country (now leaving the Police Department for the military) presents a problem with the themes as he obviously tries to hammer the point of 'War is hell' and attempts to show sympathy in both sides but he keeps glorifying heroism and preaching USA patriotism.

"Fury" is a film that has its moments every once in a while but overall it is bland and mediocre. Its action sequences are spectacular and the idea of focusing on a handful of tankers is ingenious but the execution lefts a lot to be desired. Another mediocre World War 2 film but it is easily the best directorial job from David Ayer to date.