Fury (B+ or 3/4 stars)
After a stirring opening scene, 'Fury' (based on a true story & written/directed by David Ayer, End of Watch) introduces us to the crew of an embattled Sherman tank as it makes its way through the German countryside, taking over towns, & protecting convoys in the waning days of WWII (April 1945). Led by their tough-as-nails sergeant, Don "Wardaddy" Collier (Brad Pitt), the crew includes the spiritual Boyd "Bible" Swan (Shia LaBeouf), disputatious Grady "Coon-Ass" Travis (Jon Bernthal), & Mexican-American Trini "Gordo" Garcia (Michael Pena). The 5th seat in said tank, tragically vacated, is filled by fresh young recruit, Norman Ellison (Logan Lerman, of The Perks of Being a Wallflower, The Lightning Thief), a clerk typist woefully unprepared for any kind of battle situation.
At first, the crew resents him because his age, his inexperience, his ideals, his lack of bloodlust of the Germans ... could get them all killed. So Don (Pitt) has but one day to transform young Norman from a green, clean-cut, innocent into an unforgiving warrior. During its more quiet moments, the film offers snippets of the sometimes fractious interaction btwn. these tank-mates. They work together, maybe even respect one another in the heat of battle, but friends ... the ain't. There are also 5 or 6 combat battles (including one in which three Sherman tanks square off against a more advanced German one). Having said that, as great as the tank battlefield sequences are, Fury's best moments occur during a 20 minute interlude in a bombed-out village they enter.
In it, Don & Norman find 2 German women hiding in an apartment. Although Don is a 'good guy', the film has already shown how much he hates ALL Germans & how war has changed him. So there's uncertainty about how this encounter will resolve and, an uneasy tension fills the air of that apartment. Would Don and/or Norman do something to these women? This 20 min. segment represents a suspenseful, hold-your-breath pinnacle for 'Fury' and, we get to know a little more about these characters (especially once the other crew members show up to the apartment). Then, it's back to the tank they go. As the day progresses, these men feel that victory is near, but they are put to the test when their tank hits a land mine, and they wind up stranded in enemy territory. Chaos ensues.
Phew. 'Fury' is one hell of a movie. It's violent, it's blunt, & it doesn't sugarcoat anything. I warn now: men don't die cleanly, heads & legs are blown off, gruesome body parts are shown, & hundreds of dead bodies are shown. Director David Ayer + his cinematographer Roman Vasyanov create some gritty, yet still painterly compositions (muted greens, blood reds, & mud browns. In fact, the MUD is probably the most striking visual element in the movie -- it's everywhere). The editing of the tank battles is dynamic (I gripped my armrest & peeked through my fingers several times). I also enjoyed Steven Price's mournful musical score; reminding me of some Danny Elfman choral works. And the production values are superb; the intricacies inside the cramped tank, the villages-blown-to-smitherines, etc..
Brad Pitt is great as hardheaded Don, the war weary, uncompromising leader who prides himself on keeping his men alive, and is hellbent on killing Germans (in particular, he has great disdain for the SS). Shia LaBeouf impressed me as Boyd, the gunner whose sensitivity stands out from the rest of the brutes inside the tank. His delivery of a spiritual-tinged monologue near the end of the film was quite moving and, he's got that teary-eyed thousand mile stare that can cut right through you. Michael Pena & Jon Bernthal have their moments, too. But it is Logan Lerman who impressed me most as the awkward, inexperienced, terrified soldier who runs the gamut of emotions and must grown up fast during the course of this one very long, arduous day.
At 134 minutes in length, 'Fury' could have been tightened (losing a good 10-15 minutes). There's also an ephemeral, transient quality to 'Fury' (there are no particularly memorable stretches of dialogue/speeches). Nevertheless, this movie provides a relentless picture of how war traumatizes the psyches & souls of these brave soldiers. Director David Ayer captures the grotesque side of war (kill or be killed, disgusting conditions), shows the inherent heroicism of our soldiers, yet also shows how the actual experience of war can harden someone very, very quickly; transforming even the most docile of people into monsters. I must say that while I expected some technical prowess, and while I expected good performances, Fury's artistic flare & strong thematic content took me by surprise.
At first, the crew resents him because his age, his inexperience, his ideals, his lack of bloodlust of the Germans ... could get them all killed. So Don (Pitt) has but one day to transform young Norman from a green, clean-cut, innocent into an unforgiving warrior. During its more quiet moments, the film offers snippets of the sometimes fractious interaction btwn. these tank-mates. They work together, maybe even respect one another in the heat of battle, but friends ... the ain't. There are also 5 or 6 combat battles (including one in which three Sherman tanks square off against a more advanced German one). Having said that, as great as the tank battlefield sequences are, Fury's best moments occur during a 20 minute interlude in a bombed-out village they enter.
In it, Don & Norman find 2 German women hiding in an apartment. Although Don is a 'good guy', the film has already shown how much he hates ALL Germans & how war has changed him. So there's uncertainty about how this encounter will resolve and, an uneasy tension fills the air of that apartment. Would Don and/or Norman do something to these women? This 20 min. segment represents a suspenseful, hold-your-breath pinnacle for 'Fury' and, we get to know a little more about these characters (especially once the other crew members show up to the apartment). Then, it's back to the tank they go. As the day progresses, these men feel that victory is near, but they are put to the test when their tank hits a land mine, and they wind up stranded in enemy territory. Chaos ensues.
Phew. 'Fury' is one hell of a movie. It's violent, it's blunt, & it doesn't sugarcoat anything. I warn now: men don't die cleanly, heads & legs are blown off, gruesome body parts are shown, & hundreds of dead bodies are shown. Director David Ayer + his cinematographer Roman Vasyanov create some gritty, yet still painterly compositions (muted greens, blood reds, & mud browns. In fact, the MUD is probably the most striking visual element in the movie -- it's everywhere). The editing of the tank battles is dynamic (I gripped my armrest & peeked through my fingers several times). I also enjoyed Steven Price's mournful musical score; reminding me of some Danny Elfman choral works. And the production values are superb; the intricacies inside the cramped tank, the villages-blown-to-smitherines, etc..
Brad Pitt is great as hardheaded Don, the war weary, uncompromising leader who prides himself on keeping his men alive, and is hellbent on killing Germans (in particular, he has great disdain for the SS). Shia LaBeouf impressed me as Boyd, the gunner whose sensitivity stands out from the rest of the brutes inside the tank. His delivery of a spiritual-tinged monologue near the end of the film was quite moving and, he's got that teary-eyed thousand mile stare that can cut right through you. Michael Pena & Jon Bernthal have their moments, too. But it is Logan Lerman who impressed me most as the awkward, inexperienced, terrified soldier who runs the gamut of emotions and must grown up fast during the course of this one very long, arduous day.
At 134 minutes in length, 'Fury' could have been tightened (losing a good 10-15 minutes). There's also an ephemeral, transient quality to 'Fury' (there are no particularly memorable stretches of dialogue/speeches). Nevertheless, this movie provides a relentless picture of how war traumatizes the psyches & souls of these brave soldiers. Director David Ayer captures the grotesque side of war (kill or be killed, disgusting conditions), shows the inherent heroicism of our soldiers, yet also shows how the actual experience of war can harden someone very, very quickly; transforming even the most docile of people into monsters. I must say that while I expected some technical prowess, and while I expected good performances, Fury's artistic flare & strong thematic content took me by surprise.