Fury

Strikingly far from mainstream war movie, Fury is unapologetically messy and brutal. The crude nature affects more than the visual, with the cast uttering unrefined profanity along with some military jargon. While the cinematography is splendid, it's nothing near the glossy or cinematic flair of other war movies, such as Saving Private Ryan, this is am unfiltered portrayal of war. It goes out of its way to display the gritty, sometimes intentionally overlooked aspect of war, the entire dirty ugliness of it.

Brad Pitt as Wardaddy provides a solid leader persona. He's as consistent as he could be, and with the experience of war movie under his other belt, albeit a rather different one, it comes as no surprise that he performs amazingly. It's not a macho leader character as Wardaddy occasionally has doubt, mostly heavily suppressed. Shia LaBeouf as Bible is good, displaying better on-screen flair than most of his recent ones. Michael Peña as Gordo and Jon Bernthal as Coon-Ass (classy name) round up the crew.

Peña works well, delivering a couple of good scene when least expected. Bernthal from Walking Dead has a certain niche, as an ally who sometimes looks like about to snap. Perhaps the highlight of Fury is Logan Lerman as Norman, the newly recruited crew. He's suddenly thrust into battle at its bloodiest. He gradually trades his innocence with experience of the horrid war out of necessity. Screenplay and dialogues are great, using direct, occasionally rude approach. The characters sound and act like soldiers, and it's not the usual presentable ones for cinema screen.

What gives it more depth is how it's rooted on military. From inside of the tank or down time between skirmishes, every bit seems realistic. The strategy is sound, thus giving more weight to action sequences. This one is not for the fainthearted however, as limbs will fly or get chopped off clean. The movies doesn't dwell on particular gore for shock purpose, it simply brushes fatal graphic and burning bodies as if they are normal occurrences. Soundtracks are effective as well. While most tunes are subtle or orchestra for tense scenes, a few hymns, as if chanted by the soldiers themselves, are eerily moving.

If there' are some minor complains of the movie, it's that the plot progresses in predictable way and the action in darker scenes are murky. Fury is a straightforward ride into the center of war. It's a less flamboyant, certainly not romanticized, but a damn fine one.

Reviewer after reviewer criticizes this movie for its phony depictions of the war, clichés and unrealistic battle scenes. There is only one significant fact that is crucial to know when it comes to the accuracy of the depiction; Shermans were going to be your coffin in a face-off with a Tiger. If you want serious historical detail then consider watching a WWII documentary. I think the overall depictions were secondary and only serve as the backdrop for the director's real message which was the painful slow process of the relationship that was built between these guys in a tragic situation. I think Ayers did a masterful job at this. You think Brad Pitt is a second rate actor? Watch his facial expressions during the scenes in the room with Logan Lerman and the 2 women; Watch his nervous breakdowns. Watch him in the "Why are you such an asshole?" scene. Watch him as he jokes with his guys about Hitler and chocolate bars. Even with Wardaddy's personal weaknesses, by the middle of the movie you understand why these guys liked, admired and respected him, and I'll bet you do also. His timing and delivery, in my opinion, are better than Tom Hanks on this best day. Watch LaBoeuf's nervous leg, and a list of other endearing nuanced details; He plays a very convincing religious proselytizer. During the tank battle if you didn't feel like your life was threatened then you were probably on xanex. I'm not sure that there is another film that conveys this kind of claustrophobic camaraderie from a tank crew's viewpoint. If there is, I've never seen it.

When one watches this movie you need to keep in mind that not all war movies are the same and the focus of the movie depends on who made the movie, how it was made and who is watching it? Make sense...of course not but in a nutshell keep an open mind. Is it about war? Yes some of it is. It is about bonding and camaraderie? Yes of course, it highlights strained relationships in very stressful and violent situations. I enjoyed the movie and being ex military in the 3rd Armour Division you do tend to pick things out BUT I could do that in just about any military movie I have seen especially from WWII to date. Without being too specific I spotted armor and infantry tactical strategies which confused me a bit but other than that I did enjoy this movie. War is ugly and this movie does not miss that point.

This film let itself down in the end but was the first U.S war film Iv'e ever seen depicting the reality, that American soldiers were mostly mopping up Hitler Youth fanatics. Also showing that U.S troops were capable of atrocities, just like any other combatant (from other nations). The best part of the movie was seeing a real legendary Tiger Tank in Action. The one that is used in this movie (the only working one in the World), is Tiger 131 (housed at Bovington Tank Museum). Obviously in real warfare it would have smashed those American tanks to a zillion pieces. The ratio of Tiger to Sherman K.O's is 14 to 1. One Tiger knocked out 50 T-34's on the Eastern Front. The ending is the most fantastical war scene I ever seen. All of a sudden 'Fury' turns into Star Wars but way less believable. How do 100's of Waffen SS soldiers fail to beat a a severely crippled tank. It's highly unlikely that they would have been there at the end of the war (singing along a road). The SS committed beastly war crimes (true) but they were also crack combat troopers. My 10 year old boy stated the pure obvious.! "Why the hell did they not fire the boxes of 'Panzerfausts' they had at hand!" I'm sure everyone apart from the Director, was thinking the very same absurdity. Still there is more to like than dislike, so settling on a 7 rating.

Where to even begin.... I don't make out to be a historian, but I take a keen interest in this time period, it's a fascinating, horrendous era, this .... doesn't give any historical fact or detail, it's basically a shoot 'em up movie which happens to be set during The Second World War.

It surprises me that they didn't have someone beating Hitler up, uppercutting Goebbels in a bunker action sequence.

The Second World War, Hollywood style, some white amazing looking action sequences throughout, it's incredibly atmospheric, you can almost smell the gunpowder and feel the tension.

I hate myself for saying it, but I love this film, it's Brad Pitt and Shia laBeouf both absolutely nailing it.

If you watch any reviews, or read many of the written reviews, you'd come away thinking this film wasn't worth your time, my advice would be to try it, but know what you're getting.

It's absurd, but it's so enjoyable.

8/10.