A few more punch could've made "Fury" a classic

Regardless of the timeline, the message being brought forth by a good war film will always remain universal and relevant: that of the senseless brutality and destruction of war and that in war, all will be just losers in the end. And a truly good war film is the one that shuns any form of propagandistic heroism, but instead depicts the horrors as close to reality as possible. "Paths of Glory", "Full Metal Jacket", "Come and See", "Platoon", "Saving Private Ryan" - these are some such films that can be mentioned. On that point, "Fury", written and directed by David Ayer, is worthy of note. Otherwise, the film offers nothing new in terms of behavioral and social psychology in times of war. Yet, one can't fault the film for some of its daring choices. 

"Fury" is set in 1945, at the time of the Second World War, when the Allied Forces have well advanced into Germany to defeat Hitler's Nazi regime. Among the advancing troops is the platoon led by Don Collier aka "Wardaddy" (portrayed by Brad Pitt), whose troop has been recently joined by the young army clerk Norman Ellison aka "Machine" (portrayed by Logan Lerman), making the troop comprised of five soldiers. The title, on the other hand, refers to the monicker of the battletank which the five men are using. In its depiction of the chaos, destruction and death brought about by war, the film is without a doubt brutal and tense-filled, with its staging of the tank battle scenes truly vivid and staggering. It can even be considered claustrophobic at times, since more often than not, Ayer's screenplay situates the five soldiers' interaction within the confines of the tank, having all the worries, anxieties, doubts and fears attendant to their monumental task of bringing down a seemingly insurmountable enemy. But then, so do, for example, "Come and See" and "Full Metal Jacket", even more so. So much so that they already veer toward hopelessness. Despite "Fury"'s graphic nature, it's actually lacking any new insight into the psychology and sociology of war. Had it been otherwise, it could've been at par with the aforementioned war films - another classic-in-the-making. 

For instance, the father-and-son aspect of Don's and Norman's relationship or, for that matter, of the relationship between the rookie soldier (who has "never seen the inside of a tank") and the four veterans could've been mined further for more psycho-emotional resonance. Instead, it feels like the portrayal of their relationship is more "on the surface", being contented to just remain on the tip of the iceberg. Thankfully, despite the limited resources given to them, the five actors here are still able to provide commendable performances, with Pitt and Lerman being the most compelling of them all, these two actors admirably not resorting to dramatic overkill to become so. Just observe the breakfast scene together with their German hostesses, something that has the shadings of a mealtime scene in a Romanian New Wave film (which could be no wonder, since one of the hostesses is played by Anamaria Marinca of Cristian Mungiu's "4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days"). Curiously - and I'm not exactly sure if Ayer has seen the film - there's a tense scene in "Fury" that reminded me of a particularly nerve-wracking scene in Jang Joon-hwan's "Hwayi: A Monster Boy" (shown at the recent Korean Film Festival). The comparison is even bolstered by the fact that the relationship dynamics of the five soldiers in the former film can be somehow likened to that of the five criminal fathers and their adopted son in the latter film. It's only that the Korean film has more grit, power and insight. 

Despite such shortcomings, "Fury" is still a noteworthy work from the man who wrote the gritty and abrasive "Training Day", especially that it shies away from ultimately espousing the grand and uplifting heroics of those fighting in the war (whether on the offensive or defensive side) but instead brazenly depicts the tragedy that befalls each and everyone involved in one of mankind's worst inventions. The film may not completely have the strong punch that the title calls for, but at least it has the daring to do so. 

(A "father" and a "son" in David Ayer's war drama "Fury".)