The new World War II film in theaters, “Fury,” may be the best movie of 2014.
Its gorgeous cinematography, engaging characters, gripping story, rock-solid performances and gut-wrenching depiction of war are expertly delivered. The movie is riveting from start to finish, and it lingers – not just because it’s beautiful and terrifying at the same time, for it is, but also because it’s intelligent and heart-felt as well. I even have high praise for the messages, themes and biblical pictures presented in this powerful tale.
But, alas, I know many of my readers aren’t going to see it.
For “Fury” is R-rated, with good reason. A deluge of foul language and some of the most gruesome war footage ever seen on the silver screen are going to turn many Christians away.
It grieves me. Not, necessarily, that some audience members may refuse to patronize such content – a decision I can respect – but because the movie probes so deeply into the intersection of faith and gritty reality, so much conversation could happen between the Word and the world, but likely won’t. For “Fury” is a film with more to say about God than many “Christian” films coming out this year, and it’s a shame if the church is in any way absent from the discussion.
The story begins after the five-man crew of “Fury,” a Sherman tank in the U.S. Army on the fields of Germany in April 1945, has just lost one of its own in battle. A young replacement named Norman is sent to take the dead soldier’s place, but he’s too green and too idealistic to fit in with the war-scarred crew. His understanding of a “decent” world is completely incongruent with the realities of the battlefield.
“This ain’t pretty. This is what we do,” the tank’s leader, Sergeant Collier, explains. “Ideals are peaceful; history is violent.”
The rest of the film traces Norman’s effort to reconcile what is right with everything that seems so very wrong before his eyes – the atrocities of the Nazis, the gore of war, the brutality of battle. Slowly, he begins to see that what’s “civil” isn’t always equal to what’s morally right, and killing isn’t the same thing as murder. Sometimes, he learns, not killing is wrong, and the only right thing to do is pull the trigger.
In Norman’s eyes, as well as the audience’s, we together learn to see how each of the tank crew tries to survive – at a heart level – in a world where survival often depends on your ability to kill. We learn how some men give in to the carnage and become like animals, how others maintain a stoic integrity, and how yet others are tough as nails in battle, but break and weep when the fighting’s done.
Most intriguing among the crew are Sergeant Collier and the cannon man, Boyd “Bible” Swan.
“Bible,” for his part, sees the war against the Nazis as a just war “executing the will of God” and attributes his continued survival to God’s grace alone. He prays with dying comrades and sings hymns while restocking the tank. And while the other men spend their off-hours carousing with the local ladies, “Bible” spends his time reading the Word of God and evangelizing his fellow soldiers.
“Are you saved?” Bible asks Norman when he first meets him.
“I’m a praying man; I go to church,” Norman replies.
“But are you saved?” Bible asks.
“I’m baptized,” Norman insists.
“That’s not what he asked you,” Bible’s crewmates chime in. “Are you saved?”
Oh, sure, Bible’s crewmates give him grief about his beliefs, mock his theology a bit, but they never mock the sincerity of his faith. Throughout the rest of the film, Bible’s faith is a significant and powerful theme, one that wages war against the ugliness – and, as Scripture says, “The light shines in the darkness, but the darkness has not overcome it.”
Even more significant to the story, however, is Sergeant Collier. Norman begins to see there’s more to Collier than meets the eye. Even Collier’s own crewmates, when the bitter end is nearly upon them and “Fury” stands alone against an overwhelming Nazi force, discover the source of the hardened warrior’s strength and unflinching principle. I can say no more, for risk of spoilers, but Collier is a magnificent movie hero and an inspiring picture of a Christian man fully engaged with the very un-Christian world around him.
Perhaps the film’s most touching scene comes at the end, when Collier pulls from a darkened recess of the tank a bottle of fine wine and takes what may be his last drink. The bottle is passed around in a solemn, bonding occasion of both human brotherhood and something that transcends human experience. The beautiful scene could ring no more clearly as a metaphor for the passing of the cup at Communion.
With images as sobering as anything in “Saving Private Ryan,” and yet with a story I’d argue is even better, “Fury” is an entertaining, beautiful and powerful film that discerning audiences (who can stomach its content) can truly appreciate.
Content advisory:
- “Fury,” rated R, contains over 170 profanities and obscenities, a full 100 of which begin with “f.” While many of the utterances are understandable under the circumstances, there are also several scenes where the cussing becomes a distraction and detraction from the story.
- The film is also graphically, gruesomely violent. It’s a war film, and audiences are spared no image of the horrors of war. Blood, gore and body parts, as well as artistically haunting images of death are present throughout.
- The movie handles sexuality tastefully, but does include two scenes of implied (but not shown) sex, some brief kissing, a shirtless guy, some lewd comments, and some partially nude, illustrated, “pin up” girls on the inside of the tank. Prior to one implied sex scene, one of the guys puts a hand beneath a woman’s skirt to give her a “boost” up and into the tank.
- The film has several lines of dialogue, images and references to Christianity. Characters quote Scripture, pray, sing hymns and discuss theology. Crucifixes and other religious displays are common. The film’s overall tone – despite one scene where Christian theology becomes the butt of some soldiers’ joking – is very respectful and even affirming of Christianity. There is no overt occult content.