Thursday, October 23, 2014

Review of FURY: History is Violent

October 23, 2014




It was April 1945, World War II was in its final chapters. We follow a jaded, war-weary sergeant code-named Wardaddy (Brad Pitt) leading his five-man team on board his Sherman tank named Fury on various attack or rescue missions within German borders. His gunner Bible (Shia LaBeouf) is a deeply religious man. His munitions loader Coon-Ass (Jon Bernthal) is a belligerent redneck type. His driver Gordo (Michael Pena) is a smart-talking Mexican American. 

New on his team as assistant driver is young Norman (Logan Lerman), a military greenhorn whose only previous duty was typing letters behind a desk. This assignment thrusts innocent Norman headlong into the thick of the brutality of war and forces him toughen up faster than he ever had before. When Fury breaks down in the middle of the German countryside, with 300-man strong Nazi troops marching their way, Wardaddy and his crew have to make the biggest decision of their lives -- to hide or to fight.

Brad Pitt gives another Oscar-bait performance as Wardaddy. Despite his modern-looking ever perfectly coifed hair style, he manages to deliver a believable portrayal of a physically and emotionally-scarred military man. He had seemingly little humanity left in him, yet in the most dire of situations, his heart would still rise to the surface. 

As the war-shocked Norman, Logan Lerman goes way beyond what he was made to do in his Percy Jackson films. He held his own among the more experienced company. Pitt and Lerman share a quiet moment in the middle of the film with two German women which were effective acting moments for the two men, though the whole sequence was inherently disturbing.

After his real life meltdowns that hound the tabloids, it is good to see Shia LaBeouf give what must be his career-best performance right here. His emotionally-labile character gives LaBeouf a chance to shine, and he does just that with devastating restraint. 

The technical aspects of this film were flawless. The cinematography, film editing, make-up, visual effects and sound editing were excellent in establishing the horrors and brutality of war. Those two big scenes with the tanks (first one picking up soldiers trapped in the battlefield and a second one battling a German super-tank) were so well-executed and were the real highlights of the whole film. I thought the laser-light effects for the bullets being shot (not usually seen in previous World War II films) were effective in adding excitement to the battle scenes. The production design is especially worth mentioning because of its meticulousness and accuracy, especially when it came to weaponry and vehicles.

It is difficult to make anything very original anymore about World War II, so most of what we see are variations of what we have previously seen before. The theme of a young private brutally exposed to the deadly reality of war has definitely had other incarnations before. We hardly know anything about any of the crew members before they were soldiers. The Germans seem to be missing their targets a lot, while the Americans were perfect shots. The final scene involving a German soldier in the film also seemed unlikely to happen in real life.

However, despite these few quibbles, the film remains to be a very good war film. It may not really be in the level of "Saving Private Ryan" or "Schindler's List", but most audiences, especially war film aficionados, will surely like this one as well. 7/10.


21 comments:

  1. Lovely movie review, been lloking forward to watch this with my hubby.

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  2. Let me compliment your first. I really love how you construct your movie reviews for it makes me image what the scenes were. Through your description, this sounds like a good watch though I'm not really a fan of war movies. Your description about the tanks makes me want to see it for myself.

    And before I forget, I so agree with you regarding Brad Pitt's hair! In most of his movies, his hair looks very good even on fight scenes! Haha!

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  3. I don't watch violent movies becasue they give me nightmares. Also as a war survivor, they bring back bad memories... You did an excellent job on your review and I enjoyed reading it. :-)

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  4. I need to watch this film! Brad Pitt is awesome in war films, so have no doubt it will be good! Thanks for the reminder to give it a go! :) Simone x

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  5. Nice to see Shia back. This looks like a nice period film that shows Brad Pitt's range as an actor.

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  6. Every movie with Brad Pitt participating is worth watching, at least in my opinion because all the projects he takes part in are meaningful. Now after reading your review, I am really looking forward to watching the movie as well!

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  7. I've been looking for a good movie to watch, and this one looks very interesting. Like what Vanessa said, every movie with Brad Pitt is worth watching. :)

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  8. I've read quite a number of backstory about this film, including how Shia removed his teeth for this film. I didn't catch Logan's name in the articles, but now that you've mentioned him, I think I'm going to catch it to see his transformation!

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  9. My mum would definitely enjoy this film. Thankyou for sharing! X

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  10. It looks like something that I would watch - I'm big on war films. Aside from that, it would be nice to see Brad Pitt at war, lol.

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  11. I am very tempted to watch this~ Thanks for sharing this review.

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  12. Thanks for this review. I guess it's a must watch movie for me and my family :) Thanks for sharing.

    www.janiceeeetan.blogspot.com

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  13. Thank you for sharing your review. I love the movies and action but I was on the fence about this one. However after reading your review I am convinced it is worth seeing. It was honest and to the point. Great review!

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  14. ooo I'm actually going to see this tomorrow! i shouldn't have read this XD

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  15. Luckily, I'm aiming to download this movie the other night. Love to watch this war movie. Awesome review nd my idol Brad Pitt.

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  16. Interesting movie review. I gotta check this movie later and watch it with my cousins :)

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  17. Interestng! Although I'm not a fan of war movis but hey, it's Brad Pitt! I will check the trailer out and I might as well watch it if it will pique my interest. Hihihih!

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  18. I think this is good movie. I want to watch too. Hehe..
    I gotta check this movie in cinema.. Nice review n thanks for sharing.

    Www.tomntins.blogspot.kr

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  19. I like war movies! And I especially like war movies which have Brad Pitt acting in them! Definitely going to watch this, nice review!

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  20. not really a fan of war movies.. but might check it out.

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  21. Fury is unquestionably one of the best war movies in the past decade. David Ayer has done a wonderful job displaying the harsh reality of WWII. The movie is action packed- there are seldom moments of relaxation. The use of real tanks has given Fury a sense of realness like non other. Fury shows the hell like nature of WWII and enables you to appreciate what the soldiers experienced. Fury could have been trimmed down by 15- 20 minutes- some scenes seemed to drag on. Defiantly a film worth watching!

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