Review of Fury (2014) by Adlai N — 31 May 2015

"Somebody once wrote: 'Hell is the impossibility of reason.' That's what this place feels like. Hell. I hate it already and it's only been a week." As said by Private Chris Taylor in the Vietnam War classic, Platoon. Taylor was a lost soul who was stuck in the hell that is war, struggling to remain his sanity at a young age. That same mold of character is unjustly thrust in the unforgiving terrors of war in Fury. Much like the viewers, he is immediately awash in the warfare landscape with much veracity, unwilling to hold back or relinquish its cold grip. Fury lives up to its title in more ways than one with a grisly portrayal of war and the ugly effect it has on man.

Set mere weeks before the end of World War II in 1945 and the defeat of the Nazi army, battle hardened sergeant Don "Wardaddy" Collier (Brad Pitt) commands a five man crew of a Sherman tank nicknamed Fury that has just returned from battle minus a driver. For a replacement, he gets the inexperienced typist Norman Ellison (Logan Lerman) who has just enlisted and unknown for the grueling ordeal he will go through. The rest of the crew is made up of Boyd "Bible" Swan (Shia LaBeouf), Trini "Gordo" Garcia (Michael Peña) and Grady "Coon-Ass" Travis (Jon Bernthal). The veteran crew, who has been together four years, takes an instant dislike to Norman and his gross inexperience. This is especially true of Wardaddy, who pushes him to his limits, breaking his morality in dire times of battle. But overtime, he gains the respect of the crew when times are at their worst and they face insurmountable odds. The inhabitants of Fury risk all as they trudge into the heart of Nazi Germany.

War movies can be somewhat overdone since there have been so many. It gets hard to present one in a way that feels fresh and new. Movies based on World War II especially, as they've ran the gamut of how far one can go. The bar was set impossibly high when Saving Private Ryan was released 16 years ago, becoming an instant classic and maybe the finest war film ever made. Not many have made claim to challenge it; other that Inglorious Basterds, there wasn't much else. But Fury easily makes its own mark on the cinematic war landscape with an unapologetic, gory epic. It often feels unlike any other war film while still having the same elements that make up the greatest ones. But it doesn't reach the heights of past classics, hitting a mark just below what others have achieved. That's not a slight since being in the same league as these great films is an accomplishment in itself.

For any army to succeed, it needs a group that is willing to do whatever it takes. The same can be said for movies as it directly applies here. The cast assembled here was downright fantastic in every way with each actor portraying a vastly different character, enough to set them apart but also showing how integral they are to the overall success of the crew. They all pulled their weight, adding various nuances to the insanity that is war. Pitt was as forceful and commanding as ever, showing his veteran status not only as an actor but to the weathered and tired Wardaddy. He played a somewhat similar role in Inglorious Basterds but it's basically different in every other way. Where Aldo Raine was a more eccentric character, Wardaddy has a no nonsense take no prisoners attitude while revealing a gruffer exterior. Raine seemed to like the ugliness of war, scalping Nazis and carving swastikas in their skulls, while Wardaddy has a somewhat contemptible way of looking at it. It's by far his strongest performances since Inglorious Basterds, showing an icy cool demeanor whether he is commanding his men with authority or showcasing anger and passion while forcedly trying to get Norman to give in to the brutality of war.

Lerman is the inexperienced man much like most of the audience who have never seen combat and shows the most emotion out of the five man crew when knowing that he cannot leave the Sherman tank until the war is over or he is dead. For all intents and purposes he would gladly pick the latter since he can't really tell when the war will finally be over. He was the moral center of the film as well as the driving point for the entire movie. He doesn't want to kill, mainly because he doesn't know how. He's never held a gun or seen anyone shot and would rather not kill anyone, even though the rest of the crew is at risk for his ambivalence to the nature of war. Lerman was incredibly convincing and powerful as the young would be soldier, often stealing some scenes, giving the grimy Fury the emotional weight it needs to survive. He played a somewhat similar character in The Perks Of Being A Wallflower, where a young lonely kid is thrust into the unchartered waters of high school but eventually finds solace with likeminded seniors.

That performance was just as powerful as his role in Fury, while showcasing a part of life that some may not experience outright. Overtime he doesn't know what's more terrifying, seeing death all around him or the fact that he likes killing Nazis. It's that juxtaposition where the innocence one once had can be easily lost in an instant, replaced by something that one may not like. LaBeouf was by far the most surprising out of the entire cast since many of his recent roles have been pretty low key, except for the sexual epic Nymphomaniac. His biggest successes has been a result of the Transformers films, while not critically appealing they brought in billions of dollars. A step away from CGI induced insanity to a more reserved, dramatic showing is a smart play, especially for a guy like LaBeouf who has come under fire for his increasingly unpredictable behavior. His performance is a far cry from "Bayhem" where here subtleties are utilized exceptionally well and he is allowed to show how great of an actor he can be.

As the prayer giving soldier, he hopes to save his fellow soldiers, showcasing that with a powerful scene giving a dying soldier he doesn't know his last rites. Things like that make a character that much richer and effective overall. He has really grown as a performer and should be noticed for it despite his past troubles that have plagued his career. This is the perfect spot for redemption. Peña didn't stick out as much of the others but held his own very well, making the crew very much well rounded. He was more laid back than the others but all the same in the end. Bernthal was just plain ridiculous and insane as the uncouth, caveman hillbilly. He would simply take over with his barbarian mentality and magnetism where you want to hate him but overall can't since his bravery is unmatched like the rest of his crew. You can't help but revel in his unpredictability and wait to see what he does next. Coon-Ass is perhaps the hardest on Norman but eventually shows a warm admittance of respect towards him to cut beneath his crude and often impenetrable nature. Bernthal plays a great likeable jerk and has had much experience with it from his starring role on The Walking Dead. Every war movie needs a braggart; Bernthal fits that role better than anybody while also making you feel sympathy for him.

The chemistry between the crew is unmatched and shows how hard they all worked to make it as authentic as possible. All the arguments, fights, insults, dirty and inside jokes were incredibly authentic in their delivery. You can actually imagine that they've been in war and traversing Europe in a beaten down tank for four years. The believability of brotherhood is a focal point of any war movie and it surpasses much of the past war films in that retrospect. The camaraderie that is earned, not given is best used in a small cast like this. You can really see everything laid out when the cast is small and everyone has ample time to reveal themselves to one another.

David Ayer has really outdone himself directing a great war film. He has often infused reality to go along with his gritty, realistic portrayals of criminal life in Los Angeles. It's something he knows all too well and presents a vision that takes no prisoners while visually arresting you with garish imagery. He brings out the unimaginable true to life horrors with panache unlike any other war film while displaying a frantic kinetic action style where the bullets whiz by with extra gusto. Ayer perfectly encapsulates the honor among men and the ugliness that we all try to avoid at all costs but eventually finds its way to the murky surface. Having written about the urban warfare landscape in Los Angeles for years, it was easy to transport to another battlefield overseas and nearly 70 years old. His script was incredibly human and down to earth much like his work on End Of Watch while revealing the ugliness of man and its corruptible nature much like Training Day.

A setting in a claustrophobic vehicle during World War II reminded me of Das Boot, another war classic where German soldiers attempt to keep their insanity in the cold depths of the sea and duty to a government they don't necessarily agree with while taking out English ships. That also had a character where a young inexperienced kid is forced to go into war and sees the nightmare that he was unexpectedly thrown into. It also has some shades of Saving Private Ryan in there too, among Platoon as I stated before. The set-up has been done before but the best ones know how to make it different than the others while revealing another side of war every time, so it can be forgiven for those transgressions.

But it doesn't reach the lofty aspirations of these classics as much as it should. While I really liked Fury in many ways, it lacked the sentimentality that drove the other films to greatness. In Platoon, Taylor was torn between two vastly different Sergeants where his allegiances are put to the test. You were heartbroken when Barnes took out Elias. In Saving Private Ryan, Captain Miller was played perfectly by everyman Tom Hanks who along with his team could not care less about Ryan. But despite not knowing Ryan, they risk all to save a kid and send him home after his brothers were all killed in the war. The parting words Miller gave to Ryan was tear inducing and powerful. It didn't hit all the chords but it hit enough to have a great impact.

The action sequences were loud, visceral and pulse pounding. It's really something that has to be seen in theatres to really get the full scope of the brutal insanity that war can bring. Every gunshot felt like it was coming right at you and you can't help but marvel at the sight of it. These were some of the best battle scenes I've seen in a long while and were exceptionally thrilling. There really haven't been any greater World War II battle sequences since Saving Private Ryan, and that had the greatest action sequence of all time in the opening storm on Normandy.

The use of tanks sets it apart from other war movies while making the excitement more unpredictable and terrifying. The Tank duel Fury had with a German Tiger tank was absolutely amazing, putting some of the cartoonish CGI porn heavy action sequences in Transformers: Age Of Extinction to shame. Seeing a standoff in tanks was unlike anything I've seen recently, surprising considering that so much realistic action scenes have been done before. Oddly enough there haven't been that many popular tank movies set in World War II, but Fury easily lays claim as one of the best. The action is random, surprising and callous, coming out of nowhere to shake you out of your seat when you are least expecting it.

The ending may be the best part as it shows how war affects us all and how deep down we are all the same people. It was emotionally powerful and resonant that leaves an impactful spot on your psyche. It came full circle where the finality of lives lost was put to scale in great fashion. I liked how they briefly showed Norman reading Ernest Hemingway's For Whom The Bell Tolls. The main character also has his conscience tested as he fights during the Spanish Civil War. Loved how the soldiers and tanks have nicknames to further express themselves during the drudges of war. This was also used greatly in Inglorious Basterds.

The tense and powerful dinner scene was perhaps the finest sequence in the entire film. It had everything in it from humanity, beauty, ugliness, artistry, anger and real human contact that eluded most of these men during their years together in war. You waited for something to blow up and for someone to punch another. You could not tell where it was going and felt as uncomfortable as can possible be. You felt embarrassed for some of these men and disgusted by the others. The monologue was also expertly told and a real masterwork of writing that adds so much to the overall story and characters. It rings true to the situations they are in but it also robs men of normalcy in dark times of war and death.

They don't want to lose or share the first good pure thing they've seen in a while but they also must realize that the perfect position doesn't wait for anybody, especially in war. Wardaddy telling Norman not to get close to anybody would be effective if he wasn't growing and learning with a eclectic bunch of men were being close is important for survival. There were some surprising revelations about World War II that I didn't know of and really shocked me in its presentation. The more I watched, the more that it felt like a different war film. It stands apart in so many ways that it's easy to see it as a modern day classic.

Just when you think you've seen it all from war films, along comes Fury to punch you directly in the face with its unapologetic style. It could have easily followed the model of past war classics and become your otherwise standard war film. But it went the other way to present an entirely new vision from the perspective of five men inside the steely, smelly dungeon of Fury. Some of the conventions here have been done before, but the cast and emotional depths that they go into allows it to rise above it all in a vastly different war film. Fury not only lives up to its title, it transcends it to an entirely new level of unforgiving savagery. Four battle torn Sherman tanks out of five.