Fury

[slickstu]

"Ideals are peaceful - history is violent."

It's the cold hard truth of the matter, verbalised by hardened veteran, Don "Wardaddy" Collier (Brad Pitt), in an effort to annul the peacenik ideals of Private Norman Ellison (Logan Lerman), a typist clerk ordered to serve behind enemy lines in Nazi Germany. And it is the thesis for the film as we follow the titular American war tank and it's occupants: damaged, battle weary individuals jammed in the middle of history in the making; protecting the world against the Nazi threat at great personal cost to themselves.

The first half of the film lacks a driving plot. Like Full Metal Jacket before it, it operates as a window on war, illustrating interpersonal relationships amidst the tragic yet inevitable moral corruption which occurs within the armed forces as a consequence of what their job requires them to do. And it is a hypnotic, nail-biting experience.

The film does not resile one iota from graphic violence and the horrors of war and we, the audience, get a front seat view through the eye's of the pacifistic Private Norman. It's plain to see that the fear of death is in everyone, even the tough guys, and everyone has their own facade of denial, a mask which only slips when they think no-one is looking. It's a most effective portrayal of battle of a kind seen in the opening moments of Saving Private Ryan.

While the first half of the film is supremely tense stuff, the tension is significantly diminished in the latter half of the film with the sudden and inexplicable introduction of a love interest for Private Norman - an emotive device seemingly introduced to explicitly (and superfluously) demonstrate the loss of war. But this element of the film is so brief and ham-fisted that it is devoid of any emotional punch. The pair literally meet, copulate and fall in love (in that order) in the space of around 5 minutes - Romeo and Juliet have nothing on these guys! The fact that this all happens within the theatre of a war zone makes the encounter even more incredulous. And worse than that, it slows the pace of the film to a crawl.

The film then concludes with an "American hero", "against impossible odds" showdown which, while mildly exhilarating (and highly improbable) in an action movie kind of way, further cheapens the sombre thesis set up in the film's first half.

Brad Pitt is solid as always but the surprising performance here comes from Shia LaBeouf who proves he can be excellent in a gritty role. He's so good, in fact, that without his usual nervous, twitchy shtick and clean baby face he's quite difficult to recognise. Logan Lerman is also effective as our frightened proxy within the film: the office clerk thrown into the meat grinder and forced to kill.

Fury is very much a film in two parts. The first half is a fabulously tense depiction of the horrors of war. The second half is standard American war film fare. The second half is not terrible, it's just ordinary. It's as if the film hits it's mid way point and suddenly feels the need to add a "story" when the truth is the simple depiction horrifying warfare has a story all it's own. For the first half alone, though, Fury is worthwhile viewing.

8 out of 10

[JasonC]

so wait for the director's cut then?

[admin]

Looking forward to seeing this.

[ol' boy]

Yeah, about the only movie that has my interested in recent times.

[Mr 672A]

Yeah, about the only movie that has my interested in recent times.

Found it on the M8 yesterday, I watched it for 20 minutes with appalling PQ and has wet my apatite to buy it on bluray when it comes out. See didn't the movies studio's say that streaming was going to kill the industry. Well if it wasn't for my 20 minute peek on the M8 I would not be bothered in buying it on blyray when it comes out.
.

[admin]

Found it on the M8 yesterday, I watched it for 20 minutes with appalling PQ and has wet my apatite to buy it on bluray when it comes out. See didn't the movies studio's say that streaming was going to kill the industry. Well if it wasn't for my 20 minute peek on the M8 I would not be bothered in buying it on blyray when it comes out.
.

Same here mate.

Had a peep yesterday on the M8, saw the quality was a shocking cam job and decided there and then not to watch it as it is potentially a movie that will be worth watching.....in good quality.

On a side issue, thanks for stepping up and supporting the site as a Premium Member. Obviously Oceanboy's polite demeanour while guiding you with the VU Duo tipped things in our favour

[ol' boy]

Its taken me 2 days to move a TV 600mm and cable up through 5 noggens and crawl in a 400mm floor space today.... there has been nothing polite coming out my mouth for the last 5 ours!
And if anyone wants to play ball... you can come and play with me :-)
I'm ready to smash holes in things :-)

Fury..... ill give ya Fury!

[Keith]

Watched it last night. Slickstu summed it up perfectly. Very graphic. I recommend it.

[admin]

Watched it last night. Slickstu summed it up perfectly. Very graphic. I recommend it.

I thought it was shit to be quite honest. I really wanted it to be good, but it never got there.

The second half was hilarious, I broke in to laughter. As half the German Army decends on Pitt and his gun crew in their broken tank, they somehow manage to defeat them. Pitt seems to have got shot at least 6 times, but still managed to talk exactly the same as at any other time in the film. Despite the allies over running Germany, it seems we only had about 3 tanks and if you wanted someone to save the entire world you called in pit and his crew. It is the most amazing tank I have ever seen......it must have got hit at least 5000 times but hardly got a dent on it. Despite its size, it seems to carry enough ammunition to fight the entire war on its own. I dont know where they store it There seems to be no military protocol, you just go off and fight wherever you want to.

I am not a fan of Brad Pitt. He is a pretty crap actor in my opinion.

I would give it a 5 out of 10.

[Keith]

I thought it was shit to be quite honest. I really wanted it to be good, but it never got there.

The second half was hilarious, I broke in to laughter. As half the German Army decends on Pitt and his gun crew in their broken tank, they somehow manage to defeat them. Pitt seems to have got shot at least 6 times, but still managed to talk exactly the same as at any other time in the film. Despite the allies over running Germany, it seems we only had about 3 tanks and if you wanted someone to save the entire world you called in pit and his crew. It is the most amazing tank I have ever seen......it must have got hit at least 5000 times but hardly got a dent on it. Despite its size, it seems to carry enough ammunition to fight the entire war on its own. I dont know where they store it There seems to be no military protocol, you just go off and fight wherever you want to.

I am not a fan of Brad Pitt. He is a pretty crap actor in my opinion.

I would give it a 5 out of 10.

It was only a movie and you're not suppose to realise they shoot more ammo than what they can carry. They did run out eventually though as one of them had to leave the tank to recover a machine gun.

[admin]

They did run out eventually though as one of them had to leave the tank to recover a machine gun.

Stop, stop, your making me laugh from remembering how Pitt and his crew didnt just take on the German Army with a broken tank They also got out of the tank and took them on Rocket launchers, grenades, machine guns, nothing hit them, they were unstoppable.

Yeah, I know its just a movie but for what they spent they could have made a good movie. Look at Saving Private Ryan. But most directors these days think its better to throw in unrealistic theatrics.

[Philquad]

i dunno where you get your source from
i watched the dvd screener a week ago
but yes i was over cooked again as pitt movies are
but alas, theres a few goodies coming soon

[JasonC]

I thought the same as admin - I was very underwhelmed especially at the unbelievable second half of 5 vs 500 plus the twist at the end which I won't mention also seemed unbelievable............I have to eat my words to some extent on the believability - because then I read a story about an American lieutenant named Audie Murphy (yes that guy) who held off 6 tanks and killed over 200 German infantry ON HIS OWN with the 50 cal machine gun on his M10 tank destroyer

"Behind Murphy and to his right, an M10 Hellcat tank destroyer was hit and began to burn. Its crew withdrew to the woods. Murphy continued to direct artillery fire, bringing exploding shells raining down on advancing German troops. As enemy tanks began to flank him, Murphy climbed atop the burning tank destroyer.

The vehicle was in danger of blowing up at any moment. Murphy scrambled to the open gun position on top. He turned the tank destroyer’s Browning M2 .50-caliber machine gun against German troops at point blank range.

Murphy was alone. He was exposed to German fire from three sides. His own bursts of machine gun fire killed dozens of Germans and caused the attack to falter. The German tanks, suddenly bereft of infantry support, began to fall back.

For an hour the Germans tried every available weapon to eliminate Murphy. He held his position and wiped out a squad that was trying to creep up unnoticed on his right flank. Germans reached as close as 10 yards, only to be mowed down by his fire. He received a leg wound, but ignored it and continued the single-handed fight until his ammunition was exhausted. He then made his way to his company, refused medical attention, and organized the company in a counterattack that forced the Germans to withdraw. Some accounts credit Murphy with killing no fewer than 241 enemy soldiers."

[admin]

I thought the same as admin - I was very underwhelmed especially at the unbelievable second half of 5 vs 500 plus the twist at the end which I won't mention also seemed unbelievable............I have to eat my words to some extent on the believability - because then I read a story about an American lieutenant named Audie Murphy (yes that guy) who held off 6 tanks and killed over 200 German infantry ON HIS OWN with the 50 cal machine gun on his M10 tank destroyer

"Behind Murphy and to his right, an M10 Hellcat tank destroyer was hit and began to burn. Its crew withdrew to the woods. Murphy continued to direct artillery fire, bringing exploding shells raining down on advancing German troops. As enemy tanks began to flank him, Murphy climbed atop the burning tank destroyer.

The vehicle was in danger of blowing up at any moment. Murphy scrambled to the open gun position on top. He turned the tank destroyer’s Browning M2 .50-caliber machine gun against German troops at point blank range.

Murphy was alone. He was exposed to German fire from three sides. His own bursts of machine gun fire killed dozens of Germans and caused the attack to falter. The German tanks, suddenly bereft of infantry support, began to fall back.

For an hour the Germans tried every available weapon to eliminate Murphy. He held his position and wiped out a squad that was trying to creep up unnoticed on his right flank. Germans reached as close as 10 yards, only to be mowed down by his fire. He received a leg wound, but ignored it and continued the single-handed fight until his ammunition was exhausted. He then made his way to his company, refused medical attention, and organized the company in a counterattack that forced the Germans to withdraw. Some accounts credit Murphy with killing no fewer than 241 enemy soldiers."

Yes, they dont make them like Audie Murphy anymore. I did a fair bit of reading about him a few years ago when I was reading about Hollywood stars war records. You would be surprised as to how many saw service.

However, :

Murphy continued to direct artillery fire, bringing exploding shells raining down on advancing German troops.

This would account for a lot of them, his wikipedia page states he killed a squad with the 50 cal. A squad being 12 men.

The Germans scored a direct hit on an M10 tank destroyer, setting it alight, forcing the crew to abandon it.[66] Murphy ordered his men to retreat to positions in the woods, remaining alone at his post shooting his M1 carbine and directing artillery fire via his field telephone while the Germans aimed fire directly at his position.[67] Murphy mounted the abandoned, burning tank destroyer and began firing its .50 caliber machine gun at the advancing Germans, killing a squad crawling through a ditch towards him.[68] For an hour, Murphy stood on the tank destroyer returning German fire from foot soldiers and advancing tanks, killing or wounding 50 Germans. He sustained a leg wound during his stand, and stopped only after he ran out of ammunition.[66] Murphy rejoined his men, disregarding his own wound, and led them back to repel the Germans. He insisted on remaining with his men while his wounds were treated.[66] For his actions that day he was awarded the Medal of Honor.[69] The 3rd Infantry Division was awarded the Presidential Unit Citation for its actions at the Colmar Pocket, giving Murphy a Bronze Oak Leaf Cluster for the emblem. [70]

Of course you would have to do a bit of research to find the truth, but I doubt he would have killed 200 plus with a machine gun. Reagrdless, his war record is incredable and worth a read :

[JasonC]

I doubt he would have killed 200+ probably somewhere between 12 & 200 is probably correct (maybe 13 could be 199 who knows)
definitely the directing the artillery fire would have been the main reason why the enemy tanks backed off and the troops took cover
if Fury had used this as a plot device rather than the one they used, it might have seemed a tad more believable

[loanrangiel]

Anyone else sick of the Pitt characters where he plays the hero and the only person with experience, skills and class.

[admin]

Anyone else sick of the Pitt characters where he plays the hero and the only person with experience, skills and class.

I reckon he is a shit actor, period.

I have the same opinion of his wife.

[loanrangiel]

She should be in the walking dead, skeleton woman.

[Al Bundy]

Can't remember who said it, but there was a comedian who said he'd like to lick her lips and stick her to a window.

Edit: If I remember rightly it was Robin Williams, can't remember where though.