Fury - another WWII movie

[TSimonetti]

Was it not chivalry when the assistant driver did not fire on the child with the pazerfaust?

Perhaps, but that doesn't save his underdeveloped character, or the film's hackneyed use of "clerk typist turned combat soldier"(which at least Saving Private Ryan managed to pull off with adequate success)

Another "chivalrous" act I suppose was when Pitt's character threatened violence on anyone in his crew who tried to sexually assault a young girl (after threatening to do the same thing himself earlier)

Among many other things, this movie could have probably benefited from some clever use of flashbacks and more character development. The entire disturbing and unnecessary scene with the two women could have been totally cut out to make room for such things.

If you like action and excellent special effects, and would like to see a bunch of Nazis getting hosed, this one fits the bill nicely. If you want a good story line, and real historical accuracy rather than an overly cryptic, modern pop mythology version of late WW2 on the Western Front, skip it.

Tony

[M1Tommy]

Perhaps, but that doesn't save his underdeveloped character, or the film's hackneyed use of "clerk typist turned combat soldier"(which at least Saving Private Ryan managed to pull off with adequate success)

Another "chivalrous" act I suppose was when Pitt's character threatened violence on anyone in his crew who tried to sexually assault a young girl (after threatening to do the same thing himself earlier)

Among many other things, this movie could have probably benefited from some clever use of flashbacks and more character development. The entire disturbing and unnecessary scene with the two women could have been totally cut out to make room for such things.

If you like action and excellent special effects, and would like to see a bunch of Nazis getting hosed, this one fits the bill nicely. If you want a good story line, and real historical accuracy rather than an overly cryptic, modern pop mythology version of late WW2 on the Western Front, skip it.

Tony

You're not the only one who was less than thrilled with the movie. Even my 18 year old son was not impressed.
Tommy

[Col. Colt]

Personally, I think you naysayers have a bit too much "Hollywood Reporter" in your veins...............

And you apparently missed the best, most inspirational parts of the movie - the two scenes of serious "Sacrifice to Duty" that were quite real - and happened in many places and all theatres of war - where you do what has to be done, even if your chances of personal survival are slim to none - for the good of the cause.

The first such scene was when they turned right into the Tiger's sights and then recognizing the threat (and knowing the only way to beat a Tiger was for one of them to work his way behind it) charged as a group - knowing the Tiger was unlikely to get all of them in time. Nobody chickened out or ran, despite the horrible odds. (Quoting something I heard from another site, where a German tank commander admitted that a Tiger could generally take on and defeat as many as five Shermans in battle - except there was always SIX Shermans!)

The second, quite obvious scene was after they lost a track at the Crossroad. Everybody piles out, and, quite reasonably, the crew decides they are done for and must walk away from the disabled tank. No way to win - 300 SS Troops to one damaged Sherman.

Only Wardaddy sees The Mission is more important than himself and his crew, initially. But he rallys them, reminds them what they came there to do - and they climb back in and fight. Just like the 300 Spartans - there is no chance of victory or escape, this is a sacrifice play to protect the larger American force - and they are the only ones left who can do it. "They saw their duty and they done it!". That was the real message of the movie - and a fitting tribute to those who did just that and didn't come home, as way too many WWII tankers did not. Entire crews killed in an instant - that was reality then. Or being trapped and surrounded - and fighting to the end.

If you missed getting that out of those two scenes - then I can see why you panned it so hard. Like "Saving Private Ryan" the current moviegoing generation can always use another good, hard look at what sacrifice for a noble cause looks like. Just in case that knowledge is needed again....... CC

[Roadkingtrax]

The final scene could of been all of 10 minutes, a couple Panzerfuasts.....tank is done. Movie was OK, not great.

No large group of men would have taken so many losses trying to frontal assault a tank after it started firing. Dumb to a fault was the finale. I'm with M1Tommy and TSimonetti, you could sit down in the middle of the movie...watch the scene with the Tiger...and walk out.

As a matter of fact, let me save you $10.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7WPoe-H-nrg

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JYylN7WGLCc

I've got more reservations about open troop movements by the Germans in April of 1945, without any harassment by allied aircraft....it just didn't happen. The SS soldier at the end? If I just saw 100+ of my guys get mowed down...I'd have no problems finishing the job.

[Col. Colt]

I'll surrender my Cynic card to you guys - if you read actual accounts and study it you find out that a lot of very strange stuff happens in war, stranger than anything in any movie. As Mark Twain put it (and he knew about fiction) "Of course truth is stranger than fiction - the truth doesn't have to make sense". I agree with the logic of your first line, Roadkingtrax. It could have ended that quick. But logic doesn't always happen on the battlefield. "No plan survives first contact in war", or words to that effect.

At any one moment we did not have air cover blanketing every square inch of Germany, even in 1945. The SS troops may have been the best the Germans had left, but some looked awful young - like most of the German Army at that point. Nice uniforms (maybe new replacements?) - how much training did the Germans have time for in 1945? Our best - and the enemies best - don't always get it right, then or now. And compassion is a human trait - just as much as hate and revenge.

The willingess to sacrifice - and the lousy odds an American Tanker lived with every day, THAT sacrifice looked like the message to me. In Saving Private Ryan the dogface got his due - "Earn It" said by the dying Captain.

Me, I'm glad the Tankers got their honors here. Not much attention or glamor in crewing a noisy, ugly tank until this movie. I'm only sorry it didn't get made ten years ago so a few more WWII tankers were still alive to see it.
Damn sure enough of them died in their Shermans to merit this movie, and a moment's glory and remembrance. Glad I got more out of it than some of you - it was worth the $10 to me. CC

[Allen]

I saw Fury. Though I feel there was a lot of room for improvement I feel that way about most all movies. I'm glad I saw it and like Col. Colt said I'm glad the movie was made. The movie is different, it is centered around the lives of the tankers who are long overdue for their recognition and sacrifices. I recommend it. You will find some interest in it and the box office needs this kind of ticket sales $ to encourage them to make more of the same.

[oldtirediron]

If you ever talked with any true combat veterans' you would find that truth is stranger than fiction-- One guy I met was in an armored convoy in the desert in North Africa, he said it was so hot hat he was wearing gloves any trying to stand away from the sides of his half track-- The armor was so hot that it was scorching his hands through the leather gloves he was wearing !! Anyway in typical forced march fashion his track was in the rear of the column so he was getting choked by dust and their track kept stalling !! So the rest of the column proceeded to the destination and they were to catch up !! So after they cleaned the oil bath air cleaner for the second or third time they continued to the destination-- Or so they thought--- They saw a vehicle up by a mud hut and pulled up to the front of it-- and got the surprise of their lives!! When they walked in the place was vacant and their was a big meal being cooked !! The vehicle was a small German tank half camouflaged next to the building and the Germans were evidently not paying attention as the food was cooking and their uniforms were all nicely strung around and cleaned--- So they figured out that the Germans were cleaning their uniforms and gear and thought that the vehicle was one of theirs- Actually the guys in the track had missed a turn in the dusk and were about a mile behind the German lines!! So I am sure this old guy's story was true because of the look on his face and what he said then "This was the first time I escaped death in combat!"

[Griff Murphey]

In the early 60's the studios would ring up the California National Guard and ask them for tanks and whatever was on the lot would be in the film. So the German tanks would be M-48s painted gray and regular M-48s would be the Americans. Need fighters? AT-6's! Good for any country's fighters of the Second World War! When I see a war movie I am not going in order to see Brad Pitt. IMHO it is hard for "modern" actors to come off as WW-2 era people anyway. I guess I am just unsophisticated but I am glad to see accurate hardware and effects, without saying, "Oh, yeah, that's an M-41 Walker Bulldog...." I agree the characters were a bit wooden but I still liked it.

[StockDoc]

I saw the movie the other day and liked it for what it was, entertainment. It was not realistic, 300 SS going down the road directly at a tank, when it could of been by passed. Scouts would of came back and said that a tank blocked the road and would of flanked the tank and put it out of action.

I took exception to the enemy being called Nazis instead of what they were GERMANs. Or maybe the battle was Nazis vs Democrats.

[Col. Colt]

They didn't have to bypass a knocked out tank - which is why the burning bodys, why the tank crew did not fire until almost surrounded, etc.

The SS were not regular german troops - they wore the Death's Head insignia and as I read the definition from Wikipedia I'll post here, I think the term used was accurate. We were not there - and we don't realize the much more clear view our fathers had of things of their time, or the emotions they felt regarding what they knew. My Dad was in the Pacific, and he told me that the hatred of the Japanese was extremely real at the time - most everybody had lost someone in their family tree (Our family lost an uncle, a Navy bomber pilot), or just resented being pulled out of a peaceful existance to fight in hellholes by these "little yellow b@#$%ds". Sugar coating history is never a good idea - reality is reality. And the Germans and the Japanese are now among our best allies, and there is no lack of respect either way today.

"Fury" was a pretty well reseached movie, and there are not many contextual errors. Full credit to Wikipedia for the definition below - this is not my work.

"The Waffen-SS (German pronunciation: [ˈvafən.ɛs.ɛs], Armed SS) was created as the armed wing of the Nazi Party's Schutzstaffel (SS, "Protective Squadron"),[2] and gradually developed into a multi-ethnic and multi-national military force of Nazi Germany.[3]

The Waffen-SS grew from three regiments to over 38 divisions during World War II, and served alongside the Heer (regular army) but was never formally part of it.[4] Adolf Hitler resisted integrating the Waffen-SS into the army, as it was to remain the armed wing of the Party and to become an elite police force once the war was won.[5] Prior to the war, it was under the control of the SS Führungshauptamt (SS operational command office) beneath Reichsführer-SS Heinrich Himmler. Upon mobilization its tactical control was given to the High Command of the Armed Forces (Oberkommando der Wehrmacht).[6]

Initially membership was only open to people of Germanic "Aryan" origin,[7] who were said to be the Herrenvolk (master race), according to Nazi racial ideology. "

This may be why "Wardaddy" (Brad Pit's character) had such a hostile reaction to the SS prisoner in the opening scene. He saw him as a "true believer" not just a German Soldier. CC

[StockDoc]

Yep they assumed the Tank was dead instead of bypassing it and they died. wasn't burning like a Sherman should.

No doubt the hatred, for the Jerry's or the Jap, at home as overseas, but they were called Germans, Krauts, Bosch, not Nazis. Just as the Japanese were called Japs, not Imperial Rule Assistance Association.

Death Heads unit were the ones at the Death Camp.

Good points though

[TSimonetti]

And you apparently missed the best, most inspirational parts of the movie - the two scenes of serious "Sacrifice to Duty" that were quite real - and happened in many places and all theatres of war - where you do what has to be done, even if your chances of personal survival are slim to none - for the good of the cause.

If you missed getting that out of those two scenes - then I can see why you panned it so hard. Like "Saving Private Ryan" the current moviegoing generation can always use another good, hard look at what sacrifice for a noble cause looks like. Just in case that knowledge is needed again....... CC

I didn't miss anything. Fury has several fatal flaws. All attempts to inspire were overshadowed by those flaws in my opinion.

I've rooted for Tom Hanks, and Audie Murphy, Gregory Peck, and Gary Cooper and countless other great actors in their war movies. I am well aware of how inspirational moments, noble causes, and scenes of selfless sacrifice can work to make a great movie with the right script and storyline. I am also aware of some unbelievable "against the odds" stories.

But all of that is pointless if your characters for the most part are utterly unlikeable and perhaps even arguably psychotic, and if your script is a holy mess.

[PhillipM]

If u out had put me in a tank in 1942, by 1945 I'd be a psychopath.


A friend of mine was in the 36th and during the occupation he had a German girlfriend. During this time the Allen were rounding up Nazis. She told him when things were going well they were ALL Nazis.


I remember going through ' The Epic of the 101st' with one of the vets. In it is a photo of an SSI officer practicing his pistol shooting by using Jew babies as a tossed aerial target. He called them Nazis, said they were bad people but not much on how they handled them.

Not many US forces actually engaged in combat with SS units, so they may have a different opinion of how to deal with the SS.

[Art]

I saw "Fury" in a theatre this weekend with my wife and our son. One of the first things you see after you buy your ticket in an AMC theatre is the "30.06" your concealed weapon is not welcome here sign. Makes me want to go to the movies......not.

I'd give the first part of the movie, before the road crossing battle a B+. The road battle a C. Total grade = C to C+.

I thought the production values were first rate. The acting overall was very good and I thought there was more character development than in most modern war movies. I actually, for the most part didn't find the characters to be unlikeable except that they were suffering from having been in combat for a very extended period of time, in Brad Pitt's character's case two years. From the people who were actually there who have talked to me any resemblance anybody had to a boy scout usually wore off very, very quickly.

The people who I knew who were actually in combat in Europe in WWII's account of action was very compatible with the first part of the movie. In fact one of my uncles who was a half track gunner in the third army told several stories very similar to those in the movie and recounted similar experiences, so I suspect that the producers and writers had access to accounts similar to his. He did say that the last really heavy fighting he engaged in was at the Rhine. While there was still hard fighting in pockets mostly by SS troops or kids who didn't know any better the Nazi army was withdrawing so quickly it wasn't even picking up its minefield markers. He did say his vehicle was destroyed by a Nazi fighter inside Germany so he wasn't saying it was all a piece of cake.

One of his and others I've talked to's pet peeves was movies in which a handful of Americans wipe out massive numbers of Germans of Japanese, As he said, had that been the case the war would have been over in a month. Makes for a better action movie though. The most unbelievable thing was the Sherman getting hit in the crew compartment by a Panzerfaust and only one crewman dying. The more real result was the fate lead tank in the column in the ambush.

One other aside, and this only relates to the Third Army. From what I was told looting was prohibited except for liquor which was permitted. Being drunk on duty, however was absolutely not permitted. Rape was severely punished but any woman who wanted to "barter" for food, cigarettes, soap, ect., well that was a different story as long as combat effectiveness wasn't affected, and that included coming down with a "social disease."

The most impressive combat sequences to me were the fight for the town and the engagement with the Tiger, very well done I thought.

It is "just a movie," but was pretty well done and it made me quite happy that I was not there!

[TAXICAT]

Nice reveiw art. I saw fury twice. Liked it both times. Second time was better than the first, i noticed alot of things i didn't notice the first time.the scene at the crossroads was a stretch.i think brad pitt got hit three times by the sniper and was still alive. To me it was just good entertainment.will watch it on cd when it becomes available.