Film No. 77 (2014) Fury 3rd November

Film No. 77 (2014) November 3rd. 4:10 PM MILLENIUM Fremantle.

Fury

War is Hell. It's an over used cliche, I know, but after watching Fury I found myself subconsciously turning the phrase over in my mind until well after the final credits disappeared. The mud, the blood and the corpses mount as we roll along with Fury, the Sherman tank which gives this film its gritty traction. 

"Wardaddy" Collier (Brad Pitt)commands Fury. It is nine months after the D Day landings. His men and their tank are battle hardened and tired. We meet them immediately after a field battle which has left one of the crew dead. In stunned silence they drive with the body of their comrade, covered and seated in his normal position, to their next control point. There is a real dignity in the way their comrade is lifted and taken from their fortress; Fury.

Enter Norman Ellison (Logan Lerman) a "wet behind the ears" solder. The replacement for their fallen buddy. Norman is frightened and poses a threat to the safety of his new "brothers". Collier needs to exert his authority immediately by forcing a hard lesson upon Norman. There is chemistry in the Pitt and Lerman connection. The glue which holds Fury together is seen in the charisma Wardaddy and Norman bring to the action. A long scene set in the dining area of a German house brings the two characters together in a unique, tense then tender series of events.

Written and directed by David Ayer, Fury represents his most accomplished film so far. End of Watch showed flashes of what Fury accomplishes. To write and direct a war film which gives an audience a sense of what war might have been like is a big shift from Ayer's usual US city street dramas. Fury is slightly predictable and a little cliched in it's conclusion. So was Saving Private Ryan but for me Fury is a better film.  10GUMS.