Fury falls victim to a problem that I’m finding with a lot of movies lately.  The first 2/3 are compelling and fascinating with action scenes like I’ve never seen on film.  Characters and motives that are clear and interesting, dialogue that conveys frustration and stakes, imagery that jumps from the screen…and then an ending that is simply ludicrous.

We’ve seen all manner of World War Two films and different incarnations of soldiers and units but I love the idea of taking on a tank crew, which is a point of view sorely never seen or heard of.  The crew is quickly introduced as well as their cramped quarters and home.  As bonds of war go I quickly understood how strong a tank crew must be as they’re never more than literally feet away from each other and the film does a fantastic job of educating the viewer how important each of them are as they have very specific jobs.  I’ve seen tanks in movies before but never this up close and personal and it’s exhilarating.  The filming of the tank battles is superb and made even more so when you consider how limited they are in an action sense.  They’re big, bulky and slow and fire only one round at a time yet the actions scenes we’re shown are shot so technically and edited in a way that you’re gripping the sides of your chair in anticipation and tension and all of that credit goes to director David Ayer and his crew.

The tank’s crew is populated by an impressive cast and for the most part they all come with good performances.  Joe Bernthal and Michael Pena are excellent actors but here I found Bernthal reduced to a hulk of a man with an indistinguishable accent and Pena almost lost in the shuffle until his job on the tank is needed.  Logan Lerman is good as the rookie member of the crew and the movie’s emotional center.  His entrance signals a change for the long tenured team and a point of conflict as you see Brad Pitt’s character, Don “Wardaddy” Collier, attempt to both harden him to his new situation and take him under his wing.  Pitt is really good here, though part of me thought it was simply a continuation of his Inglourious Basterds character Aldo Raine.  Pitt brings more emotional weight to Wardaddy and you can tell that the decisions he makes have more consequences to his conscience.  The standout for me was Shia LaBeouf as Boyd “Bible” Swan.  Admittedly I’ve never been a big fan of LaBeouf’s but his performance in Fury is hopefully the start of a new pattern for him.  He’s a man who is obviously conflicted between his faith and his commitment to his team and it’s written on his face and his mannerisms.  There’s a dinner scene where the movie starts to go off the rails and has a lot of problems but LaBeouf is the best part of it as he tries to balance his love for the man who has gotten him to this point and kept him alive with his feelings of betrayal and abandonment, I hope this vulnerability and class continues from him.

Now to the ending, where I won’t give away any spoilers but a decision against all odds needs to be made and let’s just say that the decision itself along with the execution is just ridiculous.  Up to that point Fury is a thought provoking war film with excellently executed tank battles and then it devolves into a classic hollywood, elongated war scene where almost nothing makes sense.  As the smoke clears and we are witness to the obvious mapped out aftermath I couldn’t help but be disappointed at movie that could’ve been, but I’ll relish the first two acts and probably revisit them soon.

Recommend? There’s so much to like, check this one out.