8.5/10

When 2014 ends in a couple months, Fury will be the film that impacts me the most. Fury is produced and stars Brad Pitt as a soldier during World War 2 who leads a tank team (Shia Lebouf, Logan Lerman, Jon Bernthal, Michael Pena) against a more advanced and growing German army. Fury is not only one of the greatest war movies i have ever seen, but it is among the year’s best for many reasons. Ahead of this list is beautiful production sites and heart pounding sound editing that never holds off for one second to leave the audience on the edge of their seats. I was really surprised with the brutality of this film, even for a war film. I don’t want to spoil too much, but there were several scenes that had me clutching my face in horror. Another thing i loved about Fury was that it took a premise popular in 90’s war movies of building great characters and let their actions tell the drama that unfolds around them. As i mentioned before, the film has a great cast, but it’s a little surprising just how deep it goes. We all know Pitt can act, and he is perfect in this role. He serves as that middle line between human and war machine who sees the line blurring with each passing battle. What really surprised me about this cast was the young talent. Logan Lerman was my favorite thing about “The Perks of Being a Wallflower”, and he is probably my favorite thing about Fury as well. His character is pushed into a position that he has no business being in, and his fear is amplified when he is put in battle for the first time. He starts off as a character who wants nothing to do with killing the Germans, but by film’s end he has clearly been changed by war. One scene in particular shows Lerman and Pitt sharing an apartment with two German women. What i loved about this scene is that they are trying to act as normal as their pasts before they left for war. Their fantasies soon get squashed as they realize that their lives can never be the same. What’s great about this scene is that the audience actually enjoy this 20 minute scene because we are seeing the backstories of two of it’s main characters. When the next scene takes them back to the war field, you actually wish you could’ve gotten more of the normalcy, and the fact that a film can relate that and make you almost feel like the characters, it’s quite impressive. The only thing i had a slight problem with was the CGI effects of the cannon shots from the tank. It’s not a major problem, but i am someone who appreciates more practical effects, as i feel they show more creativity. The explosion reactions are almost laughable as they almost look like a “Star Wars” lightsaber shadowing. I don’t think it’s something that the audience will notice, but i see it all the time as i am not a fan of CGI work. That kind of stuff doesn’t get to me as much though, because there is so much more to enjoy about the movie itself. Consider that this is a war film that does most of it’s human deposition INSIDE the tank and not on the battlefield. That premise could get tired and dry awful quickly, but these five men feel like a family who love and hate each other at the same time. One thing is for sure, they have spent way too much time together. In a fall that has already started off lackluster, Fury restores our hopes for a sleeper classic just around the corner. It’s gritty, emotionally charged drama that never runs out of ammo. Definitely recommended.