Fury (2014)

Fury is set during the last month of the European Theater of war during World War II in April 1945. As the Allies make their final push into Nazi Germany, a battle-hardened U.S. Army Staff Sergeant in the 66th Armored Regiment, 2nd Armored Division named Don "Wardaddy" Collier (Brad Pitt) commands an M4A3E8 Sherman tank named Fury and its five-man, all-veteran crew: Boyd "Bible" Swan (Shia LaBeouf), gunner; Grady "Coon-Ass" Travis (Jon Bernthal), loader; and Trini "Gordo" Garcia (Michael Peña), driver. The tank's original assistant driver/bow gunner has been killed in battle and his replacement turns out to be a recently enlisted Army typist, Norman Ellison (Logan Lerman) who, it transpires, has never even seen the inside of a tank before, let alone experienced the ravages of war. Norman later earns the nickname "Machine", given to him by Grady Travis.

The surviving crew, which has been together since the North African Campaign, upon meeting the raw recruit despise him both for his lack of experience and for his reluctance to kill Germans, and especially teenagers of the Hitlerjugend, in cold blood; a decision which results in the destruction of one of the Allied tanks and its crew. Wardaddy is furious and in an effort to brutalise the young man and 'educate' him to the realities of war, he violently attempts to force Norman to take his weapon and shoot dead a captive German artilleryman. When Norman refuses to do so, Wardaddy forces the gun on him and makes him execute the prisoner. It is around this point in the film, that it becomes evident that Wardaddy has begun to feel a responsibility for the young man.

This bond between Norman and Wardaddy becomes stronger after capturing a small German town, where Wardaddy and Norman meet a German woman and her cousin, named Emma. Norman (presumably) has sex with Emma, then joins Wardaddy and Emma's cousin for breakfast, during which time Norman discovers that Wardaddy has sustained horrific burn scars on his back at some point. However, the rest of the crew barge in and cause tensions while at the table. Shortly afterwards, a German bombardment hits the town, killing Emma and some of the American forces.

The platoon of tanks, led by Wardaddy, gets a mission to hold a vital crossroads (protecting a clear way to supply trains), but after encountering a German Tiger I, only Fury remains, the other vehicles being knocked out. The vehicle is immobilized after hitting a landmine; shortly afterwards, a German column of three hundred Waffen-SS infantry approaches. Wardaddy refuses to leave, and the rest of the crew, initially reluctant, decide to stay and plan an ambush.

Outnumbered and outgunned, Wardaddy and his men nevertheless inflict heavy losses on the Germans using both the tank's and the crews' weapons, but eventually Grady, Gordo and Bible are all killed and Wardaddy is wounded by a sniper. Norman and Wardaddy retreat back into Fury where they share their last words. Wardaddy tells Norman to escape through the bottom hatch of the tank and he hides in the crater made by the landmine explosion, while Wardaddy stays behind and is killed by soldiers after they drop two grenades into the tank. A young German Waffen-SS trooper finds Norman, but does not turn him in, leaving the assistant driver hidden safely beneath the destroyed tank as the surviving German soldiers move on.

The next morning, U.S. Army units discover Norman, and it is implied that the German offensive failed because of the crew's actions. Norman is taken off to safety while he looks back at the carnage of dead German SS troops and the destroyed Fury.