Review: "Fury" Isn't As Impressive As Its Cast
Wesley Emblidge ‘17 / Emertainment Monthly Assistant Editor
Ayer throws the audience to the front lines of World War II in 1945, and follows the five-man tank crew led by Wardaddy. Their assistant driver has been killed and their replacement is the former typist Norman (Logan Lerman), who joined the army just eight weeks prior. The rest of the crew (Shia LaBeouf, Jon Bernthal, and Michael Peña) are around, but the only real throughline in this episodic war movie is Wardaddy getting Norman to adjust to life on the battlefield. This includes both a horrifying scene where Wardaddy forces Norman to kill a German soldier for the first time, but also a horrifyingly misogynistic section where he gets Norman laid. That latter part of the film is actually so bad, it makes you pray for the loud tank warfare that covers mostly the rest of the film.
On the other hand, Fury is a big step up for Ayer. Go one step back in the director’s filmography and you’ll find this year’s Sabotage, an ugly and laughable DEA thriller with Arnold Schwarzenegger. Fury isn’t one of the worst films of the year, so it’s already a step up, but Ayer (and his End of Watch cinematographer Roman Vasyanov) shoot everything very clearly, mostly eschewing shaky-cam and going for a more traditional style. It doesn’t suggest Ayer as a reliable director, but rather one who is improving and could maybe direct a great film one day (given the right material, which his screenplay Fury doesn’t have).
Fury shouldn’t (but possibly could be) be an Oscar contender. It’s a sloppy, uninteresting, and uninventive war movie. At least Sabotage is memorable for how awful it was; nothing in Fury is likely to stick with you a few hours after you see it.
Overall Grade: C
Watch The Trailer:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-OGvZoIrXpg
Fury had me on the edge of my seat from beginning to end. Even the brief interlude was significant as war is unrealistic in the Stallone, John Wayne metaphor. Brad Pitt exhibited a straight up cool style and contrary to the above noted writer the realism of the battle scenes and interactions of the crew touch upon the reality of war not the comic book or psuedo patriotic nonsense. When the bullets start to fly you will not hear music in the background. I have watched Fury at least 5 times and pay attention each time I do. Kenneth Johnson You Tube. “computeaiszxy@gmail.com.