“Fury” is one of the bloodiest, saddest, and most authentic-looking war movies in recent years. Director David Ayer (“End of Watch”) holds nothing back in depicting the gritty ugliness of WWII through a five man tank platoon assisting the Allies in finishing-off the Nazis in 1945 Germany.
Brad Pitt, who won his first Academy Award in 2014 as a producer of Best Picture winner “12 Years a Slave”, stars as Captain Don “Wardaddy” Collier. He leads a crew of skilled soldiers: Boyd (Shia LaBeouf), Trini (Michael Pena), and Grady (Jon Bernthal from “The Wolf of Wall Street”). Their fifth member has just been killed in battle as the story begins. He’s replaced by a new recruit named Norman (“Percy Jackson”‘s Logan Lerman), who was trained for a desk job, not to kill Germans. But that’s exactly what he’s now forced to do under the direction of a leader he initially despises, but will learn to follow as he and his “band of brothers” try to play a major role in helping end the war as soon as possible.
Ayer, who also wrote the script, takes time in building the tension and suspense, first allowing us to get to know these characters. Pitt’s Collier is a complex man. He leads the others with confidence and wastes no time turning a frightened Norman into a soldier who will shoot Nazis on sight. However, there are moments when the captain is shown away from the action, reflecting on everything that’s taking place, possibly questioning his methods and the madness of it all. We see, simply through his facial expressions, that none of this is easy for him.
“Fury” is two hours and 15 minutes, which gives each scene the space to develop. But it feels shorter, and only drags briefly during the extended scene involving the soldiers and two German women they encounter in a town they’ve just secured that, while long, shows a brief glimpse of humanity during this period of evil and chaos before reality returns. It’s a difficult scene to watch, with some heartbreaking moments, and features Lerman’s best work. He and Pitt are the centerpieces of the film, and they share some moving exchanges. The script includes some religious themes and symbolism, which adds to its strong emotional strength. Eventually we get a typical Hollywood showdown ending, pitting the five Americans against a group of three hundred German soldiers. Fortunately, Ayer is able to pull-off a conclusion that’s anything but phony.
For intense violence, including many disturbing images and strong language, “Fury” is easily one of the hardest R-rated action films of 2014. It’s also a far departure from Sony’s other 2014 WWII drama, “The Monuments Men”. That film’s tone was way too light for the subject matter. “Fury” is right on target: mature, straightforward and meaningful.
On The Official LCJ Report Card, “Fury” gets a B. For once, I suggest you leave the theater when the closing credits begin because they feature a series of grim, bizarre images of the war, in blood-red, with music out of a horror movie. They convey a tone which would have been much more appropriate for the beginning of the movie than the end.