Fury (2014)

Hey All,
Haven't been around since my mom was diagnosed in late Feb and recently passed from lung cancer.
I am also curious about "Fury". Anyone know the supposed "true story" its based on?
THanks!
Dee

 

Welcome back, Dee. My sincere condolences on the passing of your mother. As one who has lost a parent to cancer, I understand how difficult a time it has been.

I haven't heard much about the movie other than the previews and general talk. I have read some hometown news articles about 2nd AD vets who were flown out to meet with the film makers and cast in order to try and explain what it was like. In one interview, I thought it interesting that the veteran said he informed them as to which swear words were not used until after the War. So, we should at least have period-accurate foul language.

 

Brad Pitt is sporting a 2nd AD patch in this photo on IMDb. Other than that, I have seen nothing about which component of the 2nd AD they are supposed to represent.

 

Just caught the film this weekend. There were not many specifics discussed in the film besides the 2nd Armored division. The setting takes place in Germany roughly 4-5 months after the Allies crossed. The cast is OK. It follows a single tank platoon and Pitt ' s Sherman, Fury.

To be honest, I walked away a bit disappointed. The battle scenes, IMO, were excellent and possibly groundbreaking cinematography when it comes to armored battle scenes. The story line, if you can call it one, was very disjointed. They pinned much on the present state of the war and it's effects on each character, which makes sense, but I had a difficult time identifying character arches. I presume that's what the director intended. War is horrific and wreaks havoc on a soldier mentally and physically.

I hate to give too much away so I won't go into any more detail, but there are some far fetched moments that hurt the film for me.

 

I don't understand the need for contrived plot lines in war movies, to be honest. I have heard, and seen in trailers, that the tank battle scenes seem to be excellent and make tactical sense. But a band of troops sent on a special mission deep behind enemy lines is a cliche and doesn't reflect the experience of most soldiers in WWII or other wars, in general. It's an armored division for crying out loud! It was meant to penetrate enemy lines. If they want to shoot something like this and explore the ambiguities of war they could have done better by fictionalizing Task Force Baum in the same period.

That said, I am a part of the captive market that will see this film.

 

Last weekend I watched Fury in a movie theater. It has the best special effects of any World War II movie I have seen to date. The tank battles especially looked fantastic. The acting was also good, though the plot was weak. I felt that perhaps a stronger plot was not necessary as one takeaway I experienced was that war is incredibly violent and there is often not a clear purpose to the violence from an individual's or a small group's perspective.

Has anyone else seen it yet?

 

Thanks for the review KWH. I have not yet seen Fury, but I plan to watch it eventually. I expect that it will be similar to Saving Private Ryan in that it has great special effects with a thinner story. These days the Hollywood machine serves so many masters and must cater to every demographic, so it is difficult to have a great story come through the noise.

 

I agree with you, Kilroy, that Fury didn't need a very strong plot. Honestly, I saw the movie for a crazy, chaotic experience (which I got), and not a strong story. I got what I expected, and even more, since I didn't expect a whole lot from the actors, who were fantastic. There was even a nice touch of symbolism in a few of the scenes. 8.75/10.

 

In another forum, a very knowledgeable viewer commented that the infantry were wearing the correct 30th Division patches and a quick shot of another vehicle showed a 19th Corps tomahawk. Somebody did their homework here. In one of the trailers you can see Pitt wielding an STG44, which is also correct. GI's were picking up the new German rifle and using them.

I'm looking forward to seeing it.

 

I saw this on Saturday night. It wasn't a bad film by any means. I was expecting more action, but I didn't leave disappointed. I'm a stickler for historical accuracy and didn't see much to raise my ire. All-in-all its worth seeing.

 

So, I'm hearing it's fairly historically accurate which is good, and it was some solid scenes.

My question to those who have seen it is if you think will this be a WW2 classic for the ages (Downfall, The Great Escape), or a rather a solid offering (Saving Private Ryan, Valkyrie).

 

O.M.A, I suppose that I would compare Fury to Valkyrie by means of both memorability and overall quality. I'll probably remember Fury more than Valkyrie, since the former is much faster paced and action packed, but I believe that Valkyrie was a better made film (this is coming from a Tom Cruise fan, by the way.) I'm a little afraid of comparing Fury to SPR, since I haven't seen it in quite awhile and I don't know if I'll offend anyone by getting facts wrong or making ignorant opinions. I would not call it a classic, yet. Maybe in some 20 years we'll look back at the movie and decide, but right now, it's hard to judge.

 

Thanks Meaty. Sounds like a film worth watching anyways. I'll take the time to watch it.

 

ill give it a miss...there werent many spoon-fed pretty boy tank commanders around in those days...

 

Saw it Friday matinee. Good entertainment pic but not on par w/SPR, Great Escape or other older and newer classics. Was tad long at 2 hr 15 min approx., the apt sequence dragged but I understood what the point was. The climatic ending sequence didnt seem very "credible" to me on many levels.

But good entertainment.

 

Some good, measured reviews here. Thanks all.

 

O.M.A. Fury is Good a bit less "solid" than SPR. Definitely not a Great Escape instant classic. I would add, being a big Dmytryk and Brando fan "Young Lions", 1958 is a great classic for me.

The anti - tank position assault to rescue a pinned down half track company is pretty good. The final scene's credibility, as others have mentioned, is err stretched. Sound engineering and editing is excellent. The story explores a lot of the stresses and psychology of dealing with war and carnage - for that I believe the movie will grow in stature with time. Very solid acting by the entire crew. A note for you tankers below, comments from one of the brethren.


Found this on line from a Vets son:
My Dad is an American tanker (served during the cold war) and a huge WW2 buff. I grew up absorbing his fascination with Tanker culture and its evolution throughout its young life in Military History.
I remember sitting in the passenger seat of his car as we left the theater and I just turned to him and asked. "Dad, did they get it right?" He just let out a big sigh as a smile grew across and then faded from his face. "Yep, thats pretty much it."
That alone will forever make this movie special to me. Its grit and realism while telling a compelling narrative.

 

I see there is a Fury movie thread. Maybe a Mod/Admin could move the posts regarding the film over there...