Movie Review: Fury

David Ayer (End of Watch) shows us the Fury of an American tank crew in WWII Germany.

I am a sucker for a good World War II film, and this one delivered.  It's set at the tail end of the war on the front lines in Germany, 1945.  A tank crew has lost their assistant driver/gunner and the army sends in a typist named Norman (Logan Lerman, The Perks of Being a Wallflower) to replace him.  He has never even seen the inside of a tank before. We watch as he learns to adapt and fit in with the rest of the tight-knit crew as they go help capture more small German towns.

The missions themselves are not the main focus of this film.  This is a film about the effects of war, and the tolls it takes on a man.  The rest of the crew that Norman joins consists of the commander Don 'Wardaddy' Collier (Brad Pitt, Fight Club), gunner Boyd 'Bible' Swan (Shia LeBeouf, Lawless), loader Grady 'Coon-Ass' Travis (Jon Bernthal, Grudge Match), and driver Trini 'Gordo' Garcia (Michael Peña, Everything Must Go).  These men had been serving together for three years.  They are like family, and 'Fury' (the tank) had essentially become their home.  Not only were they a close-knit group, but the war had turned them into cold, killing machines.  Norman came in green and idealistic because he had spent the war behind a desk.  He had never killed a man, and was reluctant to do so for fear of losing his humanity.  Humanity is the big theme of the film.  Don and company had become a bit detached after three years of war together.  They didn't know anything other than killing Nazis.  Slowly throughout the film, Norman breaks through to them a little.  There is a great scene in the middle of the film where they are all having dinner with a couple of German women.  Each of the characters really gets a minute to shine in this scene.  The tank itself worked as an obvious metaphor, but luckily it never felt heavy-handed.  The four original crew members put on a defensive shield all around them, but any time they are seen within the confines of the tank you see a glimpse of who they truly are inside.  Norman has to break through the shell of the tank to get inside and be accepted as part of the crew.  David Ayer did a great job of making this a 2-way street though.  Norman also has to learn that not everything is sunshine and rainbows.  The war will never be won unless people die.  He finds out the hard way that if he doesn't harden up a little and learn to kill Nazis, that others could die due to his hesitation.  As Don puts it to him, "Ideals are peaceful.  History is violent."

This film is mostly focused on being a character piece.  That being said, it never forgets that it is also a WWII film about killing Nazis.  When fighting breaks out, it doesn't shy away from showing the violence of some of the deaths.  You will see blood and body parts flying.  There is a great looking 3 on 1 tank battle in the middle of the field.  Finally it all culminates in a stand-off against a few hundred German SS troops.  This final battle is tense and gets you totally invested.  On top of the good looking battle scenes, the whole movie itself was shot just beautifully.  The cinematography was great.  Everything was dirty and bleak.  Just with the look of the film itself you could feel the toll that the war had taken on everything.

One thing I don't usually mention about any given movie is the score.  Most of the time I don't really notice the score.  I mean that in a good way.  A good score should just blend in nicely with what you are seeing.  Usually if you are noticing the music, it's kind of a bad thing and it takes you out of the movie.  This film, however, was one of the exceptions.  I was enthralled by the music.  Like the film itself, it was dark, gritty, and somber.  I noticed it without it taking anything away from the film.  In fact, it only added to the experience.  Steven Price is going to be a composer to look out for.  He also composed the score for Gravity.  That was my favorite film of 2013, and in much the same way, I noticed the music in a good way.

One final thing can not go unspoken, and that is the cast.  Being a heavily character driven story, this film would not have worked without the proper cast.  All five of the main actors hit it out of the ball park.  Logan put in a solid performance having to hold his own against Brad Pitt.  I've always been a fan of Pitt, and this is one more role that solidifies my fandom.  Shia may be a little crazy in real life, but he does have some acting ability.  This may be his best performance to date.  If he keeps this up, I may even forgive him for the Transformers movies.  I have not seen much from Jon Bernthal other than "The Walking Dead".  Like the others though, he put in his all and did a fine job.  Finally, there is Michael Peña.  I think he is criminally underrated, and horribly underused in films.  This film did nothing to sway that opinion.  As always he was a joy to watch.  On top of the great acting from each, they also had real good chemistry with each other.  You really felt their bond, and when that final battle comes, you care what happens to these guys.

Overall, I can't say enough good about this movie.  It was the whole package for me.  If you like WWII films and can handle a little graphic violence, then do yourself a favor and get out and see this film.

Rating: ********** (10 out of 10) [Go see this now!]

Memorable quote:

Wardaddy: Do you think Hitler would f*** one of us for a chocolate bar?