I don’t
know why I do it to myself. No, I honestly do not. One has to admit that I have
been a very, very good girl as far as keeping up to date with the releases of
2015. I guess it’s my journalistic duty. You’ve stuck by me. You’re growing in
numbers. You deserve up to date film news. That’s sorta why I watched Fury –
for you. And it would make a very good paragraph ending if I continued that
with “so you didn’t have to” – but that would be only part of the truth. Yes,
let’s get this bit out of the way, Fury is “yet another WW2 movie” – as opposed
to being in possession of some kind of original insight or approach to it. Don’t
get me wrong, between a talented cast, atmospheric cinematography and truly
dramatic moments based by and large on the real life experiences of tank
drivers during the Second World War it gives you quite a gripping and emotional
ride. But from time to time, in fact all too often, Fury strays into the realm
of the testosterone-laden Bollywood style overdramatic .
April 1945.
The American army is advancing into German territory. Although the Americans
are technically “winning the war”, they are very far from being “out of the woods yet … The German Tiger tanks
are superior to the American tanks and any soldiers or civilians resisting are
resisting with that fanatical strength given by utter desperation… The war has
been going on for far too long. The men are tired. The mental strain is
unbearable and it takes someone with the experience and strength of character
of Wardaddy (Brad Pitt) to truly be in command of a Sherman tank and the battle
hardened crew who is sick of war and quickly approaching the end of their rope.
In this inflammable situation a death of a crew member is nothing short of
devastating. Especially if he is replaced with a complete rookie, Norman
Ellison (Logan Lerman), who trained as a typist and clerk but has now found
himself as the Bow Gunner in a Sherman Tank. Norman has only one option – to
adapt to his new position, and fast. Because every time Norman stumbles, he
could potentially cost multiple lives including his own, and Wardaddy seemingly
has neither the time nor the mental strength to teach him the ropes…
Now, as I
said in the intro, in a word, the film is exactly what you think it’s going to
be. It is pretty much full of stock characters – though I was impressed with
the presence of a token Latino as opposed to a token black soldier – and David
Ayers (name behind many hard-hitting male-oriented films such as The Fast and
the Furious 1 , Training Day S.W.A.T. etc.
in the capacity of writer and director) does pretty much what he does
best. We easily recognize most of the crew, Wardaddy, the tough and legendary
leader, Grady, the one who is “unhinged”, Gordo our token Latino (abely
executed may I add, by Michael Pena). Shia LaBeouf’s Bible – making him so
religious is a combo of an interesting choice and, I suspect, Ayer jumping at
the chance of using this for dramatic effect – is the one character we haven’t
seen that often before but still, not an entire novelty. Norman is the
wide-eyed rookie who is fresh to the front much like us, we empathize with him,
and all together we learn about the horrors of war. Norman gets transformed
into hardened crew member in a matter of
days (as opposed to the rest of the crew for whom one would assume it took
years) but right up to the end we never doubt he’s the true “good guy” –
because he’s the one we’re empathizing with and that would never do. The actors
do a very good job of executing the characters (original or not) and the direction
is up to par if again, unremarkable.
I do get
that it is a wonderful dramatic point to have a character fighting against impossible
odds. To have a soul striving to achieve something no matter what the obstacles
are and how hard it seems is basically the stuff drama is made of. I believe,
as the film reaches its climax, is that we are so invested in Wardaddy as the
heroic, legendary leader that we think that he might, just might , oh I don’t
know – defeat an entire SS Batallion with four men, one broken down Sherman
tank and a very limited amount of ammunition. Yes I am talking about the “final
battle”. Now, if it were a Butch Kassidy and the Sundance Kid type ending, well
and good, they go emotionally and heroically out into “death by Nazi”. But on
top of all the male-centered clichés, the fact that our little tank (Fury) and
its crew actually wipes out what looks like over half the battalion just… It…
It’s not even a “raaah” moment. Maybe it is for a guy, but definitely not for
me. Look, I’m no expert, but assuming that in real life all the men hadn’t run
for their lives and all stayed with the tank, after the initial surprise surely
the battalion would have used vehicles or heavy artillery to overcome the tank.
Only not here, apparently.
I mean
sure, if you just want to go, have a forgettable few hours ogling at Brad Pitt
and then carry on with your life, sure, go watch Fury. Fans of war films will
find much to amuse them as will WW2 enthusiasts. But if you’re on a quest for
something a bit more deep and meaningful, something thought provoking and
original, these definitely are not the droids you are looking for…
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