Fury isn’t the best war drama around, not even in the top 5, but it’s still well made and features a great cast, with Brad Pitt delivering a fine performance (one of his best in some time), that elevates the writing while Ayer’s direction keeps the pacing just right.
Fury
(2014)
Genre(s): War, Action
Sony | R – 134 min. – $30.99 | May 22, 2018
Date Published: 05/25/2018 | Author: The Movieman
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THE MOVIE — 4.0/5 |
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As a director, David Ayer is becoming somewhat of a name with his violence-riddled exploitation films from cop-dramas Harsh Times, Street Kings (neither of which I cared for) and End of Watch (which was pretty good) to Sabotage (had its moments but far too frenetic for my taste) and now his WWII opus, Fury, a film with high hopes that doesn’t quite reach its potential and yet still manages to impress at the end primarily for the acting than anything else.
Fury opens in April 1945; a Sherman tank commanded by Don ‘Wardaddy’ Collier (BRAD PITT) takes heavy fire from the German Nazis as the five-man crew fights behind enemy lines. Sustaining some damage, the tank returns to base for their next mission. The remaining crew includes Boyd ‘Bible’ Swan (SHIA LABEOF), Grady ‘Coon-Ass’ Travis (JON BERNTHAL) and Trini ‘Gordo’ Garcia (MICHAEL PENA) and recently assigned to replace a fallen comrade is Norman Ellison (LOGAN LERMAN), 8-months a soldier and originally trained as a clerk with no combat experience let alone ever having been inside a tank for that matter. The crew travel through war zone German taking out targets and being targeted by mightier German tanks. With other units sustaining casualties, Don and his crew take on German soldiers and along the way, Norman grows up fast. During their travels, their tank is damaged nearly beyond repair and a German platoon marching toward their location where upon they must hunker down and defend: it’s five against 200+.
As a war drama, Fury is well made under Ayer’s direction. The writing, however, isn’t the strongest (and he did benefit from Denzel Washington’s performance in Training Day) but with a talented cast headed by Brad Pitt, who is a bit older than what a person in his position would’ve been back then, provides the right weight; Shia LaBeouf, as a appalling person that he may be, does give a solid performance in a thinly written role; Jon Bernthal once again is fantastic; and Logan Lerman was perfectly cast as a green soldier. Jason Isaacs also has a woefully brief appearance as a commanding officer. |
SPECIAL FEATURES – 4.5/5 |
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This release comes with a thin, glossy slip cover. Inside is a redemption code for the Digital HD copy. I believe the features included on the 4K disc might’ve been a part of the Best Buy exclusive release. Disc 1 (4K Ultra HD): Heart of Fury (6:36; HD) looks at how the tank interiors were filmed. Clash of Armor (6:53) – This featurette is on the tanks again and the combat between the Shermans and Tigers. No Guts, No Glory: The Horrors of Combat (28:06; HD) is an extensive featurette on keeping the war scenes as real as possible. Tanks of Fury (46:02; HD) is a documentary that aired on the Smithsonian Channel and includes interviews with the cast and crew and experts on the tanks. 2 Theatrical Trailers (4:47; HD) Disc 2 (Blu-ray): Blood Brothers (11:08; HD) featurette looks at the cast and the unity they shared working on the film and included learning from WWII vets. Director’s Combat Journal (17:31; HD) provides behind-the-scenes footage with David Ayer looking at his directing style and process. Armored Warriors: The Real Men Inside the Sherman (12:11; HD) – We get interviews with WWII veterans who had experience inside the Sherman tank. Taming the Beasts (12:48; HD) provides insight into the cast learning how to drive the tank. Photo Gallery with pictures of the production including the cast and crew. |
VIDEO – 5.0/5 |
| Fury fires onto 4K presented with a 2.40 widescreen aspect ratio and given a 2160p high-definition transfer. The picture quality is fantastic, detail is properly defined and colors, although not incredibly bright given the WWII setting, does have flashes while black levels are stark and there were nice shades of the darker tones. Grain levels are thankfully present helping giving the film the gritty war feel. |
AUDIO – 4.75/5 |
| The original Blu-ray already came with a strong DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track, has been upgraded to an even stronger Dolby Atmos track where the rumbles and warfare come blaring out of every available channel while also providing crisp and clear dialogue levels via the center speaker though this comes to life with the surrounds from ambient noises to, in one scene in particular, when planes are flying overhead and the LFE channel turns on for that extra kick. |
OVERALL – 4.5/5 |
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Overall, Fury isn’t the best war drama around, not even in the top 5, but it’s still well made and features a great cast, with Brad Pitt delivering a fine performance (one of his best in some time), that elevates the writing while Ayer’s direction keeps the pacing just right. The 4K Ultra HD released by Sony has excellent video/audio transfers while the bonus material are fairly in-depth. |
Check out some more 1080p screen caps by going to page 2. Please note, these do contain spoilers.