HOLLYWOOD—War is never an easy thing to capture on film, but when done it can strike emotions in the audience that are impossible to describe with words. “Fury” the latest movie to delve into a difficult genre of cinema manages to capture intensity on the battle field with solid performances from its cast.
The movie stars Oscar-winner Brad Pitt as US Army Staff Sergeant Don ‘Wardaddy’ Collier, a tough as nails man who leads his team to victory time and time again. Pitt breathes a certain aura of bravura with this character that is mesmerizing to watch on the screen.
He is brutal when it comes to teaching the harsh realities of life; he is calm under pressure, but also vulnerable at times. Its not an easy task to pull off such a wide range of emotions without becoming a caricature as some would say.
The film centers around Collier, and his crew of four who find themselves behind enemy lines during World War II in 1945 and centers around a large army tank nicknamed ‘Fury’ for its ability to conquer through almost anything.
We have five character personalities that at times clash, but also mesh quite well together. Next to Collier, we have Norman Ellison (Logan Lerman), who is a newbie to the war arena; fear is literally riddled across his face when he comes face-to-face with Collier and his team.
More troubling is the reality that he begins to discover about the casualties of war. War is never pretty, people die, even the innocent. The relationship between Collier and Ellison is that of father and son, he teaches this newbie a few lessons about life and venturing into manhood that before their encounter would have never transpired.
Also apart of the journey is Boyd Swan portrayed by Shia LaBeaouf. Swan can be best described as the war hero whose references to the bible and all things holy motivate him to do the things he does. It’s a departure for LaBeaouf who is known for more comedic roles compared to this one. US Army Corporal Trini Garcia (Michael Pena) and Grady Travis (Jon Bernthal) are apart of the crew as well, portraying characters that will do almost anything for their commander in chief.
The flick is written and directed by David Ayer who was responsible for the scripts for “U-571,” “Training Day” and “End of Watch.” Does Dyer do a stellar job of capturing the brutal violence of war on camera? Absolutely.
We’ve seen many war flicks do similar techniques, but “Fury” is not a film that stands as an original piece of cinema. The audience views our characters as heroes, but the actors in the roles are not able to really propel the narrative to a place that hasn’t already been seen in cinema. “Fury” is a solid movie, but nothing exceptional where it can be ranked as the best war film of its time.