Title: Fury
Starring: Brad Pitt, Logan Lerman,
Director: David Ayer
Running time: 135 minutes
Screenplay: David Ayer
It’s April 1945, the end of the second World War is near. The Germans are retreating through Europe and the Allies are ready to make the final push to end the war.
A battle-hardened Army sergeant named Don ‘Wardaddy’ Collier played by Brad Pitt commands a five man crew in a Sherman tank. In one of the final missions of the war, Collier has to lead his squad into battle against seemingly insurmountable odds.
In terms of the story and plotting it does seem that the writers were slightly prone to flights of fancy, stretching the truth somewhat, but we know this is generally to be considered a work of fiction - based around real events, so I guess unless you are especially interested in the history of the war then you will be able to enjoy this as ‘entertainment’ rather than being a truly historical account. A good example would be the segment of the film that depicts the allied characters defending a crossroads to stop the Germans from advancing - the number of bullets exchanged between the two groups of solider is crazy! With this sort of film unless you are knowledgeable about this period in history that you may never quite know how much of this is taken from true stories and how much is purely fictional.
Fury is well made and really well acted. Clearly these guys have been though boot camp, lived, ate, slept and crawled through the mud together. They were clearly all very committed to this film and it shows as they play their parts with conviction. The direction is strong and the sound effects and costumes are all very solid.
Another film from this era that is still fairly recent is The Monuments Men. I actually found The Monuments Men a more enjoyable film in terms of entertainment and the humour but perhaps Fury is more honest about the horrors and gore of war. It certainly is bloody and gory at times. It feels realistic and true to life, an example being when the young Private is ordered to shoot an SS German solider prisoner of war. He originally doesn't want to kill anyone, but he slowly comes to realisation that it is a 'them or us' situation. This must have been the case for many soldiers that really fought in the war. It’s a sad fact.
Brad Pitt is dependable as ever and leads the film as his character ‘War Daddy’ leads his troops - with conviction and skill. Each of the supporting players including Shia LaBeouf, Logan Lerman, Michael Peņa and Jon Bernthal all perform excellently rounding out a fantastic and committed cast.
