Brad Pitt's "Fury" manages to avoid furor from critics
Brad Pitt is treading familiar territory with his new action film, "Fury."
The 50-year-old Hollywood actor is back in World War II garb for his latest release, in a role similar to the one he played in Quentin Tarantino's "Inglorious Basterds."
Set in April 1945, along the trenches of war-torn Europe, "Fury" centers on a group of American soldiers -- led by Don "Wardaddy" Collier (Pitt) -- as they make their way behind enemy lines.
Shia LaBeouf, Logan Lerman, Michael Pena and Jon Bernthal also star.
The film comes from writer-director David Ayer, known for 2012's "End of Watch" and 2014's "Sabotage."
Critics are being somewhat diplomatic in their reviews of "Fury," praising the film's action sequences, even if they seem a bit overly familiar by this point:
A.O. Scott, The New York Times: "Within this gore-spattered, superficially nihilistic carapace is an old-fashioned platoon picture, a sensitive and superbly acted tale of male bonding under duress."
Peter Travers, Rolling Stone: "'Fury' means to grab us hard from the first scene and never let go. Mission accomplished."
Mick LaSalle, San Francisco Chronicle: "In its last half hour, 'Fury' takes on some of the contours of a conventional war film and becomes less about the damage that war inflicts on the soul. But the battle sequences are effective --- not a flood of quick cuts, but always clear."
Michael O'Sullivan, Washington Post: "Although filmed with a visceral -- and often shockingly grisly -- beauty, as well as pulse-quickening drama, the movie is only passably interesting as a war movie, especially when measured against classics such as 'Paths of Glory.' Still, it's engaging and watchable, even as it marches toward a seemingly suicidal climax."
Claudia Puig, USA Today: "Flesh-and-blood soldiers play second fiddle to the authentic-looking artillery in 'Fury,' rendering the film tough and harrowing, but less emotionally compelling than it could have been."
Rex Reed, New York Observer: "Another conventional saga about a small, isolated and battered group of GIs fighting the Nazis, the familiar, action-packed 'Fury' does little to suggest an independent vision, but in his own sure way, writer-director David Ayer does raise questions of morality in war among men who are supposed to be on the same side."
Ty Burr, Boston Globe: "The battle violence is similarly harrowing, and its effect on the men in the Sherman tank with 'FURY' painted crudely on its barrel is unsettling and uncertain."
Michael Phillips, Chicago Tribune: "'Fury' is a mixture of sharp realism and squishy cliches that combat movies don't really need anymore."
Peter Debruge, Variety: "Not only did the standoff depicted in 'Fury' never happen, but it will likely be long gone from moviegoers' memories six months from now, after Sony's marketing blows over and people go back to watching 'Inglourious Basterds.'"
Todd McCarthy, The Hollywood Reporter: "Fury is a good, solid World War II movie, nothing more and nothing less."
"Fury" is now playing in theaters.
