āIdeals are peaceful, history is violent.ā So sayeth Staff Sgt. Don Collier, commander of the tank unit named Fury, as they slog their way through the last days of the war in Europe, headed for Berlin. German resistance is furious as they fight to save their homeland, and the resultant battle scenes are as realistic as any I have seen, including those from Saving Private Ryan.
There are hundreds of movies about World War II, only a handful stand out as both memorable and meaningful, Fury should be added to that list. It is not only a convincing look at war but, in the process wraps, itsā arms around the combatants and civilians who are all victims one way or another.
Brad Pitt stars as Sgt. Collier, a man whose wits, bravery, and military acumen have kept he and his tank crew of four alive through three years of raging combat. Watching this movie, I felt like I was in the tank fighting the war and was constantly on the edge of my seat. The climactic battle scene is one for the ages, and while this is fiction, the actions and results have to be true to life, Iām sure anyone who was there will tell you so.
Writer and Director David Ayer kept the action going almost throughout, but realized the audience needed a respite along the way, if only to catch our breath and slow the heartbeat down. The capture of a small town provided that interlude and there was some relief from combat, but we are then subject to the dreadful side effects felt by the civilians.
There is little insight into the personalities of these five men, only what the war has turned them into, which at times is not a pretty sight. Whether they live and fight to survive or simply kill the enemy is hard to discern. Regardless, if you go to see this movie, you will be in the tank with them as the battles rage, and all that matters is their coherence as a fighting unit, their dependence on one another a life and death matter moment to moment.
Fury
Entertainment Rating: ★★★
Rating: R, profanity throughout, gruesome battle scenes, death and destruction.
Possible Oscar Nominations: Original Script, David Ayers, Sound Editing, Music, Cinematography, Special Effects.
Be warned that there are graphic displays of war-time action and plenty of profane epitaphs, flying around the inside of the tank, which are not surprisingly interspersed with Biblical quotations and testimonies of their personal salvation, perhaps the glue that kept their sanity in check.
If you donāt know, you should, that over 60 million people died in World War 2, over 2.5% of the worldās population at the time. The senselessness and waste are clearly portrayed in films like this, and the closing scene as the camera pulls away visibly drives this point home.
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