Fury (2014)

Directed by: David Ayer, writer of Training Day, End of Watch, and The Fast and The Furious

Starring: Brad Pitt, Logan Lerman, Jon Bernthal, Micheal Peña

“Ideals are peaceful, history is violent.”

This line forms the grim background of Brad Pitt’s 2014 foray into a serious World War II film, dramatized by the ideals of the Allies brought into violent being by the titular tank. It’s also the throughline of the main plot involving Pitt mentoring young rookie Norman - an ideal can have all the good intentions in the world, but historically and tragically, many ideals have been implemented with violence, which puts us all in trouble. 

It’s a message that endures over time, since while we‘ve gained many means to avoid violence in the present day, the truth is we’re closer to it on than we’d like to be. The massive unrest across sections of the country right now is a good example, since it’s bringing out countless moments where people and institutions choose between non-violence and violence in moments of crisis.

Brad Pitt’s “Wardaddy” mentors unprepared rookie Norman (Logan Lerman)

Brad Pitt brings a classic Bradformance in this, his "manly but vulnerable" look on full display. The rest of the cast is all-star, too, filling the runtime with their dialogue and antics. The film really feels like a slice-of-life film interspersed with death-dealing murder bombs, not unlike actual wartime experiences. I poked around online for reception, and apparently U.S. tank crewmen have sung this film’s praises as a version of their own experiences. It also takes a stab at portraying war trauma, since the premise is that the crew is getting more and more haggard the longer they go on, and it hits that sweet spot that some films do where the heroes aren’t agonizing over whether the war is justified, but they DO agonize over having to go out and risk their lives again. One of the more erudite quotes I’ve heard about war is that once it’s over, the guys on the ground actually fighting it don’t feel like dancing, they just wanna get the heck out of there; and it’s nice to see a war film that actually feels that human, instead of being either apologetic, outlandish, or straight-up propaganda.

Overall, this film gets 3.5 out of 5. I’m not gonna lie, it isn’t perfect; the script feels like it’s lacking some parts, and you WILL feel that when certain moments come, but I feel like it's what it was TRYING to be, and that wasn’t terrible. So 3.5 out of 5. It’s also quite violent, as to be expected, and there’s a lot of swearing. There’s no sex scenes, although there’s a scene where they make you worry for a second, but it’s just them faking you out, so stay strong.

If you’re trying to break your kid in with a violent picture of what World War II was, I'd save this for the 16+ crowd in its entirety, but shorter scenes are worth sharing in an educational context.

Since I just mentioned it, here are some of the WWII movies I’d recommend:

- Saving Private Ryan
- Das Boot
- Downfall (German with English subtitles)
- Fury
- Patton

And if you’re trying to understand just how messed-up and wrong the Holocaust was, I’d recommend:

- Schindler’s List
- Life is Beautiful
- And basically any documentary about it; this is worth going straight to the facts for, guys.