Sabotage / Fury

I've linked these reviews together for a purpose, that being to highlight what an odd choice David Ayer was to direct Fury, a film supposedly showing the bleakness of war and it's human side at the same time. Ayer doesn't do subtlety, so why, especially when you consider his back catalogue, was he chosen for Hollywood's latest stab at humanising the horror's of war? Let's start with Sabotage though, Ayer's previous film to Fury and Arnold Schwarzenegger's next film in his (not really cheered by anyone) return to mainstream films. It tells the story of an elite (aren't they all?) drugs task force led by Arnie who, following some pilfering of a cartels moolah, find themselves being bumped off one by one by unknown forces. It's basically Agatha Christie's And Then There Were None with added swearing, violence and gore. What's frustrating is that there's a good film in here somewhere, but Ayer doesn't have the subtlety or patience to explore it further, though Ayer himself claims that the studio cut the film to make it resemble an action film as opposed to a mystery thriller. Whatever the truth, no-one comes out shining from this, but one prize the film does win though is an entry into the worst line of the year category. Brace yourselves: "Some of us are getting paid, the rest of us are just getting dead". Try and say that with a straight face at your next audition. To be fair, this isn't actually a really terrible film and if you like Arnie and this kind of thing you should get by. Leaving Sabotage behind, let's move on to Fury and return to my original question. Is the man behind Harsh Times, Street Kings, End Of Watch and, yes, Sabotage, really the person you'd hand the reigns to for a mature consideration of some of the world's darkest years? I think the end result speaks for itself. A quick summation is that we follow a US tank crew (lead by Brad Pitt) as it rumbles into the heart of Nazi Germany during the latter months of the war. Much has already been written about Ayer and Pitt's research into tank warfare and the conflict in general, but they appear to have jettisoned it all in favour of producing a movie that more often than not resembles a video game and appears to be designed for the Marvel crowd. What veterans of the conflict would make of this fantasy rubbish I dread to think. Before you go off on one with the old "..but it's a film" defence (I myself use that all the time), the main reason for my annoyance is that Ayer and Pitt have promoted the film as being the complete opposite of what they've actually constructed. The claim is that Fury isn't really concerned with action or any event in particular, but more a portrayal of the people involved in the conflict, concentrating particularly on Pitt's tank crew. If that's the case, why then is there virtually no examination of the characters or, and this is something Ayer and Pitt really pushed in interviews, life inside the tank itself? If that is the kind of film you do want to see, then check out Samuel Maoz's vastly superior Lebanon instead. What you have here is the "war is hell" mantra shoved down your throat by one of the most unsubtle directors working today. Faces are blown off, heads disintegrate, children are found hanged and people cut open fresh horse carcases for meat. Shame that such carnage isn't equalised out by a script that addresses the lives of the protagonists, as there is little characterisation regarding the Allies and the Germans are just embarrassing "Hun" standard stereotypes. Laziness permeates throughout, from the majority of the tanks crew (Shia LaBeouf, Michael Pena, Jon Bernthal) mumbling their lines so much it resembles a Bane convention at times to a scene at the end that flicks from daylight to night time in about five seconds of screen time with no logical explanation. This is light years away from Saving Private Ryan (arguably it's most comparable challenger for the balance of horror, action and appraisal of character) and, judging by the reports of how much the cast loved being directed by hard task master Ayer, comes across as no more than jobs for the boys. Sabotage Rating: 5/10. Fury Rating: 4/10.