Fury (Rated C)
Cast: Brad Pitt, Shia LaBeouf, Logan Lerman
Genre: War
Dwight's Rating: 3

There have been hundreds (literally hundreds!) of movies made about the Second World War. Hollywood and countries all over the globe have been cranking them out since the war began in 1939 - long before the U.S. formally got involved - and in almost every single year since the war ended.
One online movie database estimates there were as many as 86 of these made in the first decade of this current century alone! So it's hard to imagine that on this eve of the 70th anniversary of the end of the conflict, that there hasn't been an angle of the story that hasn't been covered.
"Fury" is at least the second World War II for 2014 -- the lackluster "The Monuments Men" from February being the other. Where the latter was based on a true (and largely unknown) story about actual events during the war, "Fury" appears to be a largely fictionalized tale, and proves that even after seven decades and countless accounts, we can still be shocked by aspects of this calamitous event in human history.
It's April 1945, and the Allies are making their final push in Nazi Germany. Battle-hardened Army Sergeant Don "Wardaddy" Collier (Brad Pitt) commands a Sherman tank nick-named "Fury" and its crew. The group has been fighting together for years, and has bonded as a family, even in the face of overwhelming odds.
The film starts off less-than-promisingly, with a very generic war-movie style, replete with stereotypical American macho-man army nonsense. Slowly, though, we begin to see another side of these soldiers, and learn that despite all the horrible things they've seen and done, they are still humans with emotional needs and feelings.
All the while, the many (almost constant) battle scenes are more intense and shocking than one could even begin to imagine. Too many WWII movies have romanticized this war. "Fury" seems hell-bent on shattering those notions.
I can remember being deeply moved by "Saving Private Ryan", with its epic and massive scale, and the share magnitude of the whole production. "Fury" takes a much more intimate approach, with significantly smaller battles, thrusting us into the action in an almost 3D-like way. Modern technology allows us to experience this old war in strange new ways. Everything seems so close...so loud...so dark...so frenzied...so real!
Also noteworthy are the strong performances. Brad Pitt is good and believable as the stoic Wardaddy. And although Shia LaBeouf is dangerously close to the edge of the over-the-top-cliff as an almost-always teary-eyed, scripture-quoting, battle-worn soldier nicknamed "Bible", it is interesting to see him in such an adult role.
But perhaps the most compelling performance comes from young Logan Lerman as a reluctant recent enlistee. We see the true brutality of this war -- all war -- through his eyes. And through his eyes we see the true emotional and psychological toll this is taking on these soldiers.
"Fury" is very graphic, often uncomfortably so -- limbs are frequently blown off, bodies rolled over by tanks, and much worse.
But it is never uninteresting. In fact, in many scenes, and especially in its final half hour, it can incite edge-of-your-seat, heart-racing nervousness.
And especially following this film's impressive box-office performance, expect this world changing war to continue to be at the source of movie plotlines for the foreseeable future.

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