Fury

David Ayer, 2014

Can I Stream it?

4/5

Fury as seen in the decaying white paint on the barrel of the tank's main gun, is the large armored home to the group of five soldiers who serve as the main characters of this Ayers film. The film zeroes in on the latter days of World War II. Much of the European countryside has been ravaged by the destruction. The soldiers themselves wear much of the devastation on their faces. None of them appear to bear as much of the burden of the memories as Don "Wardaddy" Collier (Brad Pitt). He has seen many men die next to his gun and in front of it. He has grown increasingly angry with the German enemy. When he breaks away for short moments the memories catch up to him inducing moments of panic. His innocence is no longer evident. He is not exactly an approachable man. For him, it's the routine of completing mission after mission. He senses it's drawing to an end, but he expects more loss. It's almost a guarantee at this point.

When young Norman (Logan Lerman) is thrown upon him as one of his replacement troops, he isn't welcoming to the idea because he immediately sees the inexperience (and the innocence) in him. Much of the film becomes about Norman's character, a wide-eyed noob more suited for a desk job stateside and not even remotely equipped to dealing with the brutality that the others have grown so accustomed to. His initiation involves a lot of the veterans of the group slapping him around, busting his chops. You get a sense that they are just trying to make a man out him, they probably went through the same type of thing when they were new.

Most of Ayers film work has consisted of stories largely focused on police fighting violent street crime. There are some common themes in his films. Ranking hierarchy, male comradery, putting your life on the line for your job. He is able to inject a lot of that into Fury. At this point there have been so many movies about World War II that it has you wondering if anyone can create a film with some originality and uniqueness. Ayer manages to do that here. Some of the battles, as violent and gruesome as they are, feel very fresh. But they are quite gory. There are some images that are bound to stick with you, much like Saving Private Ryan probably has. The energy between the five soldiers feels very organic, making some really great casting choices. A lot of war movies seem to always have this built in feeling of brotherly love between soldiers. There's something about the way they handle the group dynamic here that makes it feel more authentic. They are tense, quick to turn on each other and get physical. This would make sense because they have been stuck in each others company for so long, under little rest. Of course they don't want to lose each other, but it's a complicated feeling to say the least. A tough love dynamic at work. The movie manages to maintain tension, in and out of battle. When things quiet down for a moment, you never really feel at ease.

End of Watch

David Ayer, 2012


4/5

          Brian Taylor (Jake Gyllenhaal) and Mike Zavala (Michael Pena) are partners for the LAPD and have to cover the rough terrain of South Central Los Angeles. Young, confident and headstrong - they find that they can quickly get buried in a mess that becomes hard to dig themselves out of.
          The first feature that is evident in the film are the noticeable similarities to Training Day. The comparisons are appropriate not only because of the setting and subject matter, but also because Ayer produced Training Day back in 2001. Ayer must love his bullets, according to IMDB he wrote a script for a remake of The Wild Bunch. Similar to Training Day, you are a witness to the gang violence and unpredictable nature of the L.A. streets. But while the setting is similar, the methods used in making the film are much different. There is a found-footage feel to End of Watch that really augments the adrenaline-fueled situations. Through clever placement of handheld cameras, and a lot of it held by the actors themselves, you really feel like you're in the middle of the action. The film is not entirely found-footage from handhelds. Studio cameras supplement the erratic camera work with stunning urban landscapes at sunset. Gyllenhaal delivers the best performance seen from him in years, perhaps since Donnie Darko. Credit is due to all actors in the film, as everyone feels very authentic. Michael Pena is very effective as Gyllenhaal's partner. The witty in-car dialogue between the two never gets stale and only helps to develop the audiences' investment in their alliance. They are constantly pulling pranks on each other, and their fellow officers. One of the officers and constant recipient of their high jinks, Van Hauser (David Harbour), serves as the elder, jaded cop who has become and numb to the criminal elements and in-house betrayal over time. His Xanax-fueled demeanor serves as a good contrast to the young partners, who still have a fire in their belly when hitting the litter-covered streets on a daily basis. The comradery between the officers feels genuine, as does the affection for their loved ones. The scene with Brian and Janet (Anna Kendrick) singing along to Cam'Ron's "Hey Ma" in the car really hit the mark in displaying the intimate moments between a young couple falling in love.
          There are so many impressive elements to the film from perfect casting, keen writing, clever editing, to adept use of sound. I had a feeling within the last few moments of the film that the ending was going to disappoint, and then it took another surprising turn and in the end became very satisfying. History has been kind to Training Day and I believe it will be even kinder to End of Watch.