It can withstand enormous punishment, and is able to annihilate countless foes. On the battlefield, there are few tactical advantages that are as big a game changer as a tank. Unfortunately for World War buffs, while there have been numerous films on the biggest war the world has ever seen, few have captured the exhilarating battles between these rolling metal beasts.

Until now.

Set during the Second World War, this film by Director David Ayer (Training Day) is about an M4 Sherman tank nicknamed Fury. A medium-class tank, the M4 Sherman proved to be an incredible boon to the allies with its range, firepower, mobility and armour, all of which were impressive for its size. It dominated the German tanks during the Second World War until the allies hit Germany late in the war, where they encountered the Tiger I, a heavy tank which could shrug off projectile fire while pulverising the armour of the Sherman tanks. The Tiger I was such a monstrous killing machine, that several Tiger commanders notched over a hundred vehicle-kills each.

Without giving too much away, one of the most memorable scenes in Fury is when a pack of Sherman tanks take on a single Tiger tank in a battle where both tanks utilise the advantages of their engineering. Other battle scenes in the film are equally engaging, and are powered by superb special effects and cinematography.

The horrors of WWII revisited!

Of course, there are humans in this story as well, and these are Sgt. Don “Wardaddy” Collier (Brad Pitt), Boyd “Bible” Swan (Shia LaBeouf), Trini “Gordo” Garcia (Michael Peña), and Grady “Coon-Ass” Travis (Jon Bernthal), who are the ragged crew of Fury. The performances here are particularly good, especially from Shia LaBeouf who shakes off the Transformers franchise like a bad headache.

When Fury isn’t engaging us with the action it is shocking us with the horrors of war. Like most experienced combatants, the soldiers driving Fury are suffering from PTSD, and are dealing with it in their own ways. Some are concentrating on notching kills, while others are looking for carnal encounters with the German women they encounter in Hitler’s backyard. Others still, like shell-shocked newcomer Norman “Machine” Ellison (Logan Lerman), are interested in simple romance.

I’ve watched as many films and TV shows on the Second World War as the crew of Fury has killed Nazis, but I’ve found very few to capture the true barbaric nature of war as Fury does. The secret is in David Ayer’s decision to remove the sugar coating, and view the participants of this theater as vulnerable human beings who know that they could die a horrible death at any minute.

Yet, Fury doesn’t roll as smoothly as it should, and the film seems to awkwardly shuffle between harrowing realism and exploitive escapism regularly. These tonal shifts leave a jarring effect, as if the film is trying to have it both ways. In spite of these flaws, Fury is worth the admission fee, if for nothing else, for the glorious tank battles.

**MPAA Rating:* R for strong sequences of war violence, some grisly images and language*

Published in Dawn, Sunday Magazine, November 23rd, 2014