David Ayer brings his most recent film to life in “Fury”, a movie that realistically shows how bleak the final days of WWII really were for everybody in Germany, whether they are civilians or soldiers on either side.

This movies dark tone is set from the very beginning and the feeling of kill or be killed is apparent from the first scene. Ayer, who is best known for writing and directing the LAPD drama “End of Watch” and writing “Training Day” makes sure the details are very specific and works to make this movie as authentic as possible.

“Fury” is about a tank crew of five fighting through the depths of Germany that only know one thing and that is killing Nazis. The name “Fury” comes from the name of the tank that is painted on the barrel. Brad Pitt is the leader of the crew and plays Sgt. Don “Wardaddy” Collier, a commanding leader that made a promise to keep his crew and his self alive at any cost.

He is joined by a diverse group of men, starting with Shia LaBeouf who plays gunner Boyd “Bible” Swan, a born again soldier who fights off the Nazis but prays for the souls of the men he has killed. Michael Peña is reunited with Ayer, whom starred in Ayer’s “End of Watch”. Peña plays the tank driver Trini “Gordo” Garcia. Jon Bernthal plays the tank loader, Grady “Coon-Ass” Travis, a wild character with a mean personality.

These men have been on a crusade together and they are then joined by a rookie in to the army and war. Logan Lerman plays the rookie soldier, Norman Ellison, that has been thrown into the tank crew after the assistant driver(who is never met) has been killed.

At first there is tension between the tank crew and the rookie due to the fact that he has not been through what all the others have been through. This causes problems down the line when the rookie freezes up in his first firefight and fails to shoot at Germans. After this Pitts character, Wardaddy, has to show the rookie how to kill a German the hard way by forcing him to kill a soldier. He teaches him the reality of war, which is “Kill them or they are going to kill you”.

The performances by each actor is powerful and really makes the audience feel like they know what those men have been through. Lerman really made the audience believe he is the scared rookie soldier who comes into his own. Pitt played his role of the tough, battle-ridden commander perfectly. The most surprising performance was by La Beouf, playing a much more serious and masculine character that the audience could identify with.

This film is definitely one worth seeing and compares to other great war films to the likes of “Saving Private Ryan”. It could easily be considered one of the best war films of this generation and can make a run for an Oscar by the time Academy Award season comes around.