Fury (FILM REVIEW)
Fury
Film
Review by Kam Williams
Brad Pitt Stars as Confident Tank Commander in WWII Battle Flick
It is April of 1945, and the Allies
are making major inroads across the European theater. However, Adolf Hitler has
responded to the attrition in the ranks of his army by exhorting women and
children to take up arms in a desperate fight to the death.
This is the state of affairs awaiting
Don “Wardaddy” Collier (Brad Pitt) when he reaches Germany
after engagements in Africa, Belgium
and the Netherlands.
Sergeant Collier is the commander of a Sherman
tank that is part of a battle-hardened armored division being dispatched deep
into enemy territory to help deliver the coup de grace to the Nazis.
We meet Wardaddy during a brief
pause in the action taken to refuel, to restock ammo and to replace his
recently-deceased “best damn gunner in the 9th battalion.” Now, he
must make do with Norman Ellison (Logan Lerman), a private with no fighting
experience just plucked out of the typing pool.
The other members of Collier’s motley crew include tank driver
Trini Garcia (Michael Pena), Bible-thumping Boyd Swan (Shia
LaBeouf) and a good ol’ boy who goes by Coon-Ass (Jon Benthal). Their next
mission is to rescue some stranded GIs urgently in need of assistance.
But prior to shipping
out, Collier wants to make sure his greenhorn is ready for the front. So, he forces
him to shoot a captured SS officer in the head to show he has no qualms about
killing.
That is the premise established at
the outset of Fury, a fairly gruesome adventure written and directed by U.S. Navy
veteran David Ayer (Training Day). Fair warning: this is a film you don’t so much watch as endure.
Picture the sheer intensity of Saving Private Ryan coupled with the visual
capture of The Thin Red Line, the harrowing claustrophobia of Das Boot, and the
utter insanity of Apocalypse Now.
Brad Pitt exudes an
endearing combination of confidence and charm as a calm leader who proves
himself quite capable of generating a genuine camaraderie among his men despite
the cramped quarters and constant close brushes of death. Moreover, he exhibits
an uncanny ingenuity when forced by circumstances to survive by his wits as their
resources dwindle.
The meat grinder that
was World War II
convincingly portrayed from the point-of-view of a band of brothers who were
like sitting ducks stuck in a sardine
can.
Excellent
(4 stars)
Rated R
for sexuality, graphic violence, grisly images and pervasive profanity
In English and German with subtitles
Running time: 134
minutes
Distributor: Columbia Pictures
To see a trailer for Fury,
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