Review of Fury (2014) by Patrick L — 01 Apr 2015

"David Ayer's brutal WWII flick captures the horror of what these brave men went through in their fight against Nazis and it is well-acted".

Movie Review: Fury.

Date Viewed: October 17 2014.

Written and Directed By David Ayer (End of Watch, Street Kings and Sabotage).

Starring: Brad Pitt, Shia LaBeouf, Logan Lerman, Jon Bernthal, Michael Pena, Jason Isaacs, Xavier Samuel, Scott Eastwood, Brad William Henke, Eugenia Kuzmina, Branko Tomovic and Kevin Vance.

After making gritty police thrillers like "Training Day" and "End of Watch", Writer and Director David Ayer is now putting himself on the front lines in "Fury" a brutal and bloody WWII flick. It stars Brad Pitt as Wardaddy, a battle-hardened army sergeant who commands an Sherman tank named Fury and it's five-man crew. "Fury" is a tough film to watch and it is not a landmark war movie like "Saving Private Ryan" but it gives us a raw look at the horrors of what these noble men went through and it has good performances.

As Allies of the United States make their final push into Nazi Germany, Army sergeant Don "Wardaddy" Collier (Pitt) attempts to strike into Nazi territory with his M4A3E8 Sherman tank and her five-man crew. Wardaddy's crew members are Boyd "Bible" Swan (Shia LaBeouf), Grady "Coon-Ass" Travis (Jon Bernthal), Trini "Gordo" Garcia (Michael Pena) and recently enlisted Army typist Norman Ellison (Logan Lerman). Ellison has never been inside a tank before, let alone the experiences of seeing the brutality of war.

Brad Pitt (who I guess has the John Wayne role) does kill a lot of Nazis again but his character is well-developed. Wardaddy has killed Nazis in North Africa and in other parts of Europe. His crew despise the new recruit but the bond between him and Ellison grows after they capture a small town in Germany.

When the tank hits a landmine, Wardaddy and his crew get stuck. Soon, they see a battalion of three hundred German soldiers and despite being outnumbered and outgunned, Wardaddy and his men decide to stay in their tank and fight off the Germans.

In the veins of "Saving Private Ryan" and "Platoon", "Fury" captures the depravity of these soldiers and we get amazing battle sequences. David Ayer gave us a raw depiction of tough cops on the mean streets of Los Angeles in "End of Watch" and now in "Fury", he gives us a raw depiction of gung-ho WWII soldiers on the front lines in Nazi Germany. The performances by Pitt, Michael Pena, Jon Bernthal and Shia LaBeouf are right on the nose and Logan Lerman gives a fine performance as the inexperienced young recruit.

It maybe the most violent war movie since "We Were Soldiers" but "Fury" is a strong platoon picture.