Following The Beekeeper in 2022, action star Jason Statham and director David Ayer have reunited for A Working Man, now playing in theaters. In his 10 feature films thus far, Ayer has specialized in law enforcement and the U.S. Armed Forces, none more memorably visceral than the 2014 WWII movie Fury starring Brad Pitt and a stellar ensemble cast including Jon Bernthal, Jason Isaacs, and Shia LaBeouf.
Fury tells the story of a gritty squadron of American tank fighters who face overwhelming odds deep in German territory in 1945 as World War II nears an end. Vividly immersive and hyperrealistic, the movie proves that Ayer is just as adept at telling war stories as he is at corrupt police tales. Thanks to explosive violence on the battlefield, Statham fans and those who enjoyed A Working Man will have an undeniable blast watching Fury on Netflix.
Release Date
October 17, 2014
Runtime
135 Minutes
Fury Is a Great WWII Movie With an A-List Cast
Loosely inspired by Belton Y. Cooper’s memoir Death Traps, Fury occurs in Germany in April 1945. With the Germans on their last leg, they put up formidable resistance against the U.S. tank squad commanded by Don “Wardaddy” Collier (Pitt), whose M4 Sherman tank is dubbed “Fury.” Wardaddy’s hardened crew includes driver Trini Garcia (Micheal Peña), gunner Bible Swan (Shia LaBeouf), ammo loader Grady Travis (Jon Bernthal), and the inexperienced bow gunner Norman Ellison (Logan Lerman).
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Ellison joins the squad after his predecessor, Red, is killed in combat. Ellison’s lack of combat experience undermines and leads the crew into a brutal ambush, sewing a division within the tank squad. As fingers are pointed at Ellison, Wardaddy tries to boost morale and advance Fury deeper into the heart of Germany. However, more in-fighting ensues after Ellison meets and sleeps with a local woman at Wardaddy’s behest.
Ordered to hold a key roadway, Fury joins a trio of tanks to bolster their stance. One devastating ambush after another ensues, bombing Fury out of commission so much that it requires repair in the heat of battle. Fighting back with everything they can, the crew makes Fury appear empty and bombed out, secretly hiding inside for a sneak attack. Without spoiling the tension and suspense of the white-knuckle ending, Fury delivers everything fans have come to know about David Ayer’s work, including his recent Statham collaborations.
Why ‘Fury’ Appeals to Fans of ‘A Working Man’
Be it Fury or A Working Man, Brad Pitt or Jason Statham, David Ayer has crafted a unique directorial style built on gritty masculinity and graphic violence pushed to the extreme. While A Working Man and The Beekeeper also adopt the Statham movie formula, a one-man-army serving vigilante justice, Fury delivers similar visceral thrills and relentlessly violent action with an ensemble. Further linking Fury and Ayer’s latest is what began his screenwriting career, the U.S. Armed Services. Ayer’s movies are about tough men doing rough things with moral compromise.
Although Fury tracks an American Army tank crew in WWII, A Working Man reveals Statham’s character, Levon Cade, as a former U.S. Royal Marine Commando. Despite being retired from service, Cade calls on his commando skills to systematically defeat a human trafficking ring in Chicago. Much like The Beekeeper, Cade leaves his government/military past behind to work a typical day job (in construction), inevitably pulled back into the violent lifestyle he can never truly escape.
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Further connecting the appeal of Fury and A Working Man is star Michael Peña. After playing Trini Garcia in Fury, he plays Joe Garcia in A Working Man. While it’s a stretch to believe the two are related in stories set 80 years apart, those who enjoyed watching Peña mix it up with Brad Pitt will get a kick watching him share scenes with Statham as Cade’s boss. It’s also worth noting that Peña starred opposite Jake Gyllenhaal in End of Watch, arguably Ayer’s finest movie thus far.
Moving forward, Ayer is set to direct a remake of the classic war movie The Dirty Dozen. With such a large ensemble, it would not be surprising if Ayer cast Statham again. It’s possible Brad Pitt also stars in Dirty Dozen after making Heart of the Beast with Ayer next. On brand for Ayer, Heart of the Beast will star Pitt as a retired, off-grid Special Forces soldier who must find a way to return to society after being stranded in the Alaska wilds with his former combat dog. Until Dirty Dozen and Heart of the Beast get made, Fury and A Working Man are must-see movies for Ayer, Pitt, and Statham fans.
How David Ayer Became a Prominent Director
As a former U.S. Navy submariner, Ayer based his first screenplay, the WWII submarine war movie U-571, on his service experience. Ayer began focusing on law enforcement after writing the script for Training Day, including Dark Blue and S.W.A.T. Ayer made his directorial debut with the gritty street crime drama Harsh Times, followed by Street Kings, End of Watch, and Sabotage, all of which deal with crime, corruption, and law enforcement.
In 2014, Ayer returned to the setting that began his screenwriting career. He wrote and directed Fury and then went against convention with Suicide Squad as his next movie. The result was so poor that he quickly returned to crime and law enforcement with Bright and The Tax Collector, both relative misfires compared to Ayer’s earlier work.
Joining Jason Statham for the first time with The Beekeeper, Ayer has found a fresh muse in the English action star, continuing their rapport with A Working Man. Looking ahead, Ayer is set to direct more war movies, with Commando and Dirty Dozen remakes in the works, along with the Brad Pitt-starring Heart of the Beast. Whether another Ayer/Statham reunion is in the cards, Fury finds Pitt and Ayer at their finest. Fury is available to stream on Netflix. A Working Man is playing in theaters.
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