Film Review: World War II Drama ‘Fury’ Fires on All Cylinders

Submitted by PatrickMcD on October 17, 2014 - 6:05pm

CHICAGO – “Fury” just might be Brad Pitt’s “Saving Private Ryan.” At its heart it’s a crowd pleaser, but it never shies away from the sheer brutality of war. While it doesn’t have anything quite so devastating as “Saving Private Ryan’s” D-day sequence, it depicts the everyday horrors of killing the enemy and the men who must force themselves to make their peace with the casualties that pile up in the muck. “Fury” is equally successful in its battle sequences and in its smaller moments among its crew inside the tank. Most surprisingly of all it coaxes a decent, dare I say good, performance out of none other than Shia LaBeouf – wonders never cease.

Rating: 4.5/5.0

Pitt stars as Sergeant Don “Wardaddy” Collier, and leads his band of soldiers in an old warhorse tank named “Fury” as it plows through Germany in the waning days of World War II. Writer/director David Ayer gets good performances all around including LaBeouf as an evangelical bible thumping good ol’ boy gunner, Chicago’s own Michael Pena as a Mexican tank driver, Jon Bernthal of “The Walking Dead” as a foul mouthed redneck tank mechanic, and former “Percy Jackson” star Logan Lerman as the new recruit thrust into the front lines. Each and every actor finds kernels of humanity in the parts they are given to play.

A World War II film in 2014 isn’t exactly original, but Ayers knows exactly what kind of movie he’s making, and he has a real ear for dialogue so he knows how to create real conversations. By keeping the focus small-largely on the one American tank and the men inside of it - he gets to have his cake and eat it too. He’s created a Hollywood blockbuster that also feels personal and moving, instead of a product by a committee.

“Fury” opens everywhere October 17th. Featuring Brad Pitt, Shia LaBeouf, Logan Lerman, David Ayer, Michael Pena, Jon Bernthal, Jim Parrack, Brad Henke and Kevin Vance. Written and directed by David Ayer. Rated “R”