Fury

A David Ayer film that isn't complete garbage? Say it isn't so...

Set in the waning days of World War II, a rag-tag group of Allied soldiers led by Staff Sergeant Collier (Brad Pitt) push through Germany with their trusty tank: 'Fury'. The well-worn crew include the usual war tropes; the religious one: "Bible" Swan, (Shia LaBeouf) the non-white one: "Gordo" Garcia, (Michael Pena) the angry one: "Coon-Ass" Travis (Jon Bernthal) and the new soldier assigned to the group: Norman (Logan Lerman).

The group are assigned with other tanks on various missions through Germany in an attempt to help the Allied forces make their way through hostile territory. Wedged in between scenes of graphic violence, we are treated to Norman having trouble acclimating to life in the war. He is treated as a grunt among the others in the group and, being in the war for a short period of time, has yet to experience the ugliness that war offers.

After starting rough, with forced dialogue and a struggle to get the film in motion, Fury eventually settles in with standard war tropes. Collier is hardened from his years in combat, yet struggles with the fact the violence he sees and participates in is tearing him apart. Norman is paired with "Gordo" on the front guns of 'Fury' and acts as Norman's, and the audience's, narrator in explaining what to do in the tank. "Coon-Ass" is there to antagonize Norman while "Bible" provides comfort via various religious passages.

All the steps for making a solid war movie are here, and the script follows them step-by-step. Beyond trying to make the film even grittier than past war movies, the film feels very safe and does not take many chances with the opportunities presented. With the script setup, you can pretty much telegraph each action/plot beat way before the film presents it to you. The moment that stands out most regarding the script needing to move on is after a dining scene with the 'Fury' crew and 2 female civilians. Once the scene with the females feels like it has been stretched as far as it can, all of a sudden the script moves the 'Fury' crew to their next mission.

The script continues to let down the audience even when we get to the climax of the film; seemingly ripped out of Saving Private Ryan's script. The 'Fury' crew are outgunned and outnumbered when trying to preserve a section of Germany. With these odds stacked against them, they refuse to let the Germans pass without a fight. As this battle rages on, you can pretty much guess in order how the casualties will flow. Not to ruin the film, but at least some of the 'Fury' crew do not make it out alive.

And speaking of the ending, the resolution of the film feels so false. David Ayer spends the entirety of the film showcasing the dark elements of the film. Anyone can and will die. Yet, the last scene completely falsifies what was set up before it. I understand what David Ayer was trying, but I feel that 'Fury' did not earn the ending it wanted.

Even with that, 'Fury' as a whole is a solid film, filled with enough action to satisfy most of the persons wanting to see the film. The directing is solid and the cast provides enough pull to make 'Fury' worth a viewing.

6.5/10

Gangster Squad

This generation now has its version of The Untouchables!

After being rescheduled due to the Aurora Shooting back in July, Director Ruben Fleischer's period gangster drama finally graces the silver screen. As are my feelings with the similarily-themed The Untouchables, this is a stylish, mixed-bag of a crime drama.

In the late 1940's, Jewish mobster Mickey Cohen (Sean Penn) runs the city of Los Angeles. Feeling that he is losing control of the City of Angels, Police Chief Bill Parker (Nick Nolte) assigns respected police officer John O'Mara (Josh Brolin) to an off-the-books police unit created for the purpose of taking down Mickey Cohen. John uses this chance to recruit the police officers that fill the title characters: playboy Jerry Wooters, (Ryan Gosling) old-hand Max Kennard, (Robert Patrick) his younger prodigy Navidad Ramirez, (Michael Pena) street-wise detective Coleman Harris (Anthony Mackie) and tech-savvy Conway Keeler (Giovanni Ribisi).

The Gangster Squad begin disrupting Mickey Cohen's operations while Mickey struggles to find out who is responsible. During this time, conflicts arise between John and his pregnant wife Connie (Mireille Enos) about the dangers of the job and Jerry and Mickey's girlfriend Grace Faraday (Emma Stone) who begin a dangerous affair.

There is nothing in this film that hasn't been seen before, yet that doesn't make Gangster Squad all bad. The Gangster Squad is made up of cliches and all the actors bring their A-Game to these cliches. The stand-out of the Gangster Squad is Robert Patrick who really embellishes the role given and has lot of fun with it. Ryan Gosling chooses an interesting accent which initially comes off as annoying, but throughout the course of the film, the annoyance died down. Josh Brolin's John is tough as nails and doesn't offer a lot except for his determination to bring Mickey and his empire down. I will say that, although there is narration by Josh Brolin, it was welcome that the narration was sparse as Josh Brolin's tone seemed muted and not something I would want to hear throughout the film.

Which brings me to what I consider the weak links of the story. Emma Stone's Grace easily falls for Jerry, but their affection for one another comes very quick and lacks any spark or chemistry. They seemed more like friends than a real hot couple that skirts the dangers of Mickey Cohen. And speaking of Mickey Cohen, Sean Penn seems to be in a completely different film than the rest of the actors. His accent comes off as if he is struggling with it, and his emotions are much darker and violent than scenes that involve the Gangster Squad. I really enjoy Sean Penn and am glad to have seen him tackle this role, but it really doesn't gel as it should.

The comparisons with The Untouchables are very blatant and in your face. Everything from the stylized setting to the cliched character who you can pretty much tell will die to the facts being very misconstrued, this reminded me so very much of the Brian DePalma/David Mamet classic: The Untouchables. This isn't a bad thing, as I truly enjoy The Untouchables and overall, I enjoyed Gangster Squad as well.

The snappy dialogue comes doesn't fire on all cylinders like a David Mamet script and director Ruben Fleischer occasionally adds touches to liven up the scenes; especially gunfights, which he sometimes chooses to slow down and use some CGI along with the slow motion to add enhancements to what should already be action-packed scenes.

I love film noir and films set during this period, so I might be a bit biased when rating this film. As enjoyment, this is a solid, if uneven affair. A great cast and some good locations really push this film as a recommendation.

6.1/10