Fury Review

There are several films about World War II that will stand the test of time. Movies such as Patton, Tora Tora Tora, Saving Private Ryan, and The Longest Day. Today, I add the movie Fury to that list because what makes this film unique is how it shows the younger generation like myself a very important aspect. We know about the troops that sacrificed everything to stop the Nazi regime, the General who was all blood and guts, and the battles that were raged on. This film however was about the tanks used and how American tanks were inferior compared to the Germans.

Fury stars Brad Pitt as Tank commander Don Collier who leads a strong cast in the form of Shia LaBeouf, Logan Lerman, Michael Pena, and Jon Bernthal. Together these men for the crew for the tank known as “Fury” and made a name for themselves during the invasion of Normandy. Near the end of Hitler's reign, a tragedy befalls the group which leaves an opening in the crew, filled by Norman (Logan Lerman). Norman is an inexperienced solider that's never been on the battlefield so on top of staying alive, Collier must now train the fresh fish in the art of tank warfare. This provides a unique look at people who enter the war and slowly lose their sense of humanity.

Young Norman finds out real quick that the only way to survive the war is to throw away everything that made him what he was. There is an intense moment when Collier forces Norman to do something that forever changes him and what the crew considers to be “for the greater good.” While hoping to gain Don Collier's acceptance, Norman is also struggling to earn the respect of the other crew and through that, the audience connects with the crew and the brotherhood that unites them. Shia LeBeouf was especially impressive with his character “Bible,” a religious character that provides the spiritual support for the group. It was a fresh breath of air to see him in a role where he wasn't screaming most of the film and overall I felt he gave the best performance next to Brad Pitt.

The main tank battle is where the crew of Fury and two other tanks square off against an enemy German tank. It sounds unfair for the German tank right? Not really because the American tanks virtually get pounded and Fury would've joined them if it wasn't for the quick thinking of Collier. Even though they survive the battle, another horror comes towards the crew. A storm consisting of 300 plus Nazis are marching towards Fury's direction in order to stop American soldiers from getting closer to Berlin. 

Instead of getting out of the way, the crew decide to make a terrifying choice and fight in order to give the Americans more time and a better advantage over the Nazis. You'll have to see the movie to find out for yourselves and it was well worth the price of admission even if it wasn't matinee. I will warn the people who read this that this film does have scenes of gore and extreme violence so if your done seeing blood and guts then don't bother. Otherwise this film is a solid ten, another great film about WWII that makes the audience appreciate just how much was lost during a very dark period in human history. Not just American, European or Russian, human history.