Blu-ray Review – Fury (2014)

Straight from the off, it’s clear that Fury isn’t messing about. We see a lone German soldier on horseback trotting through a smouldering wasteland only for Brad Pitt’s Wardaddy to leap off a tank and tackle the soldier to the ground, viciously stabbing him repeatedly in the face. It’s an arresting start and it only gets grimmer from there.

April, 1945. The Americans find themselves outgunned and outarmoured thanks to the superior German tanks. The film focuses on the crew of the allied tank Fury, led by Wardaddy. We catch up with rookie soldier Norman (Logan Lerman) as he is whisked from his desk clerk job to the muddy front and expected to survive longer than five minutes. Reflecting on the film, the one word that comes to mind is “bleak”, not only in colour palette, but in unrelenting tone. This ain’t the sort of film that extols the glory of war or has any time for flag waving patriotism. This is down ‘n dirty grim goriness. The film has some lighter moments, but they mostly serve to bring you up a notch on the happiness scale to only then kick you down by about 7. Like David Ayer’s previous work, End of Watch, Fury has a thick, palpable atmosphere that hangs heavy over everything. It’s the reason why a relatively quiet scene at breakfast can beFury just as intense as some of the all-out combat. I got to the point where I just didn’t trust any kind of joviality and it kept me on the edge of my seat. I loved (nearly) every depressing second of it.

The cast are unbelievably solid. Pitt gives a predictably great performance, Shia LaBeouf reminds everyone that he actually can act and Logan Lerman is fantastic. It’s definitely the strength of both the script and the cast that pull you into the film. The action is character driven and because of this we feel the stakes. It’s great that this sort of thing hasn’t been abandoned by all of the modern filmmakers just yet. This is one beautifully ugly film. The cinematography is great and there are some masterful moments. I was really impressed with how well the geography of everything was conveyed, from getting the basic layout of the cramped tank interior to the massive open battlefields. It may not be something you consciously think of, but good shot geography can immerse you in the film that much more and Fury is a fantastic example of both how to do it and (unfortunately) how not to do it.

Fury is almost an instant classic. Trouble is, for the last act, the wheels literally come off and the film seems to throw out any subtlety. It’s baffling as the film is so well-constructed up until this point and it’s like it loses confidence in what it was doing. Everything gets a bit Hollywood action-y and most of the good stuff (including the clear geography of where people are etc) goes out the window. I realised that this is probably the reason why I haven’t heard as much about Fury between its cinema release and now. The ending does hurt the film and it leaves a bit of a sour taste, making all the good work the film previously that little bit harder to when it comes time to reflect on it all. I may have made it sound that way, but the ending isn’t the worst thing ever. It’s just a jarring shift of tone that really struck me as out of place.

Let’s not let that criticism spoil the party though. Fury is a fantastic film. It delivers intense gory grimmitude in spades and features some fantastic performances. Some goodwill is lost with a disappointingly conventional ending, but it’s earned more than enough by that point to deserve a huge recommendation and the film I recommend to anyone who a) likes films or b) strikes me as a little too happy.

[rating=4]
Ben Browne

Genre: Action, War, Drama Distributor: Sony Pictures Release Date: 23rd February 2015(UK) Rating: 15Director: David Ayer Cast: Brad Pitt, Shia LaBeouf, Logan Lerman , Michael Peña, Jon Bernthal, Jason Isaacs Buy:Fury [DVD]Fury Goody Bag (inc Film) –ends 8th March 2015