Fury [4K UHD + Blu-ray]

I really really enjoyed this film, I actually watched it twice through in two days and enjoyed it just as much as the first time. What I like so much about this movie is that it does not glamorize war, nor does it paint the characters as overt heroes. What it does do as present war as what it really is, horrific. Without in the same time not going over the top. Its motif and approach is very subtle. I have read several reviews where this movie has been labeled similar to a Horror genre War story. And I am inclined to agree.This movie is absolutely intense from start to finish, and the acting by all the actors is top notch. Especially the 5 main characters, where all the actors in my opinion should get an Oscar nod for because they all did a wonderful job.As a synopsis of the story without giving away too much, we are given a small snap shot of 4 tankers we find at the tail end of the war pushing through Germany. There assistant driver and front gunner has just been killed and the replacement they get is a fresh recruit 8 weeks into the army that wasn't even trained as a tanker. We then follow the characters through a number of battles, where the focus of the story is very much on the Newbie, Norman.Near the end of the film after we have watched Norman be presented with the unnaturalness of the horrors of war, and be dubbed "Machine" as his war name.I very much feel that this an allusion to that man, by his nature, must force himself to not feel, to turn off his emotions and be a cold machine to kill and commit the atrocities which war requires of them. I feel this is summed up in one line said by Pitt’s characters to Norman. After pointing out an entire city on fire in the distance. He says "Many have died in this war and many more will have to die before it is over."The movie is very much a study of men doing what they can to hold on to their humanity by having to do something which by its extremity, killing scores of other men, who are trying to do the same in a matter of moments over and over again.The battle scenes are intense, and the ending battle fits the title of the movie so well, as we see through these men’s actions the absolute "fury" which they must embrace to force themselves to face their fears and continue to fight. As the Webster’s dictionary definition states of the meaning of the word fury, "unrestrained or violent anger, rage, passion, or the like."Overall, there is so much that could be said, and read into about this film, and I honestly feel that that was the point.This movie in my opinion is showing us for once a non cynical side of humanity, that rather than showing us that all men are monsters by nature, that we are violent, uncaring killing machines, which we certainly can be, but points out that by our natures, we have to force ourselves in many ways to be that way. That really brotherhood of man can and does happen, but points out that for us to kill one another, so brutally, forces us to have to in a way forsake our humanity, and then in some way still be able to keep it. I think this notion of war is certainly what humanity needs to keep in mind as we move into the future. That even though what these men did in the end of the film was "heroic" per say, what was still done was also horrific, as we watch Norman pulling away from the scene in the end of the film, he is told he is a hero as he is placed in a medic truck. And we can see on his face such a shock of mixed emotions... It really leaves the viewer speechless, at the depth of what can be taken from his situation and what he has done...This is certainly a movie I will watch again, and ponder over for years to come I am sure. If you are a person that is a thinker and can watch a movie for more than just screaming" MERica!!" then you will really like this film!

This is probably the best WWII movie since Saving Private Ryan. It's not better than Saving Private Ryan. But it's the best WWII movie since then.The extreme attention to detail make this an immersive experience. Every visual is realistic and time period appropriate. The sets, the buildings, the uniforms, the tanks, the guns, etc...it's all done perfectly. Even tiny details like Brad Pitt's rank insignia on his sleeves. His character has been fighting for 3 years. He's obviously been promoted through the ranks while in Europe. So his rank chevrons aren't professionally sewn on like they would have been in the United States. They are hand sewn on somewhat sloppily, like they would have been if someone got promoted in the middle of a field and was sewing them on himself in the turret of a tank between battles. That kind of attention to detail is incredible in this film.Another example you see like that are women wearing stockings with a seem of the back. It's not like they did close ups of the back of women's legs. But when you see a woman from behind briefly she's wearing seemed stockings. The costume designer took the time and energy to do details like that for things that are seem for a second at a time in the background. That kind of detail just makes the whole thing suck you into the film and make you feel like you're there.Then there is the acting. They made the characters so real. The seasoned and experienced tank crew has that thousand yard stare and fears nothing. The 18 year old kid who just showed up with a new clean uniform looks terrified. (None of this is a spoiler. This is the first 3 minutes of the film) That's the way it would have been. Slowly you watch the kid with high morals learn that morality takes a back seat to staying alive in battle really quick.The tank battles are nothing short of epic. They are so well done. They are well filmed. They are well choreographed. It's just amazing how stunning they looked and how realistic it all seemed. Even details like where the weak points of the German tanks were and such were accurate and well portrayed.Ultimately the visuals and tanks and costumes are just what the film looks like. They are what make it visually appealing. But the story is what really sells it. The story isn't about tanks or battles. The story is about people and how people fighting in WWII committed everything to the war. Their lives, their souls, everything. It's about what men become in battle. It's an amazing film.My only complaint is the scene in the German apartment. It just takes too long to make the point they are trying to make. It's about a 15 minute scene that could have been 5. The scene has it's place in the story. It's all part of the theme of Brad Pitt seeing himself in this young rookie tanker. I get the purpose of it. It just dragged on for too long.