Released: October 17th, 2014
Rated: R
Studio: Columbia Pictures
Starring: Brad Pitt, Shia LaBeouf, Logan Lerman,
Michael Peña, Jon Bernthal
Directed by: David Ayer
Written by: David Ayer
Personal Bias Alert: likes war movies, likes Brad Pitt and Logan Lerman
8.5 of 10
“In war, there are no unwounded soldiers.” ~José
Narosky
That’s
one of many lessons that Logan Lerman’s Norman must learn quickly when he’s shoved
into a cramped tank with four seasoned veterans. Norman’s greener than green, trained to be a
typist instead of a fighter, but through some error that Fury never bothers to explain he ends up in that tank. What follows is a well-trod war story, that
of the seasoned vets breaking in the young recruit, but the twist of telling it
in the confines of a tank during the waning parts of World War II breathes
enough life into this astoundingly executed piece to make it one of the year’s
best films.
Brad
Pitt plays Don, the tough but subtly intelligent commander of the titular
tank. He smells the weakness Norman has
brought to his crew and takes a rough but effective path in training the young
man. As their relationship complicates,
the two come to silently recognize something in each other, and the audience is
treated to a prolonged scene in which their gentler sides get to show. It’s marvelous, one of my favorite scenes of
the year, and highlights just how great Pitt and Lerman are in these
roles. I knew Pitt had it in him, and I
pray that he finally gets the awards recognition he’s long deserved, but Lerman
may overshadow him. He’s such a surprise
here, getting to play a much different role than we’ve ever seen him in. That said, neither man is better than the
other; both turned in A-game performances.
The
rest of the crew is rounded out by Shia LaBeouf as the religious cannon man, an
underused Michael Peña as the driver, and Jon Bernthal as the uncouth
loader. These roles are noticeably
underwritten, especially Peña’s, but the caliber of acting each guy brings
makes this detriment less bothersome.
LaBeouf in particular, with his hollowed out eyes and terrible mustache,
manages to do a lot with a sparse, varied role.
In some scenes he must spout thematically resonant bible verses, while
in others he’s expected to provide some much-needed comic relief. He somehow manages to pulls off both sides of
this character and still convey a weariness that seems to be dragging him down
with each step.
The
performances set a high bar, which is equaled by some gorgeous cinematography
by director David Ayer and DP Roman Vasyanov.
They embed the horrors of war into the mud of the German countryside, fog
and mist constantly hanging in the background, making it seem like a battle is
always just around the corner. The
battle sequences we do get are expertly handled, alternating between the action
inside the tank and what’s happening outside it to keep the sequences clear and
tense. Yes, there’s some beauty to it
all, but the brutality always looms, as it does over everything in this film.
The
story is slightly below par, feeling a bit too familiar to be truly great. Many elements cut very close to the legendary
Saving Private Ryan, which few films
compare favorably to. Add in that the
ending happens a bit too neatly to seem real, and the plot becomes a noticeable
drawback. Still, Ayer made a great
choice by making his story about a tank crew.
At least the action sequences seemed fresh and not just more ground
troop maneuvering that we’ve seen a million times.
Walking
out of the theater, I was still in a reverie, carrying the film’s moodiness
with me out into the night air. It’s an
affecting film that seeps into you, and I found that Fury grew into a greater film the more I reflected on it.
Other Notes:
Ø Brad
Pitt standing on that tank is a hero’s shot if I ever saw one.
Ø There’s
no way those eggs survived in Don’s pack.
Ø People
in my theater were cheering when the Nazi’s were being killed. I’ve never understood wanting to cheer during
a war film.
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