Ardennes Fury Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		2.0
Video		4.5
Audio		4.5
Extras		3.0
Overall		3.5

Ardennes Fury Blu-ray Movie Review

Saving little orphans.

Reviewed by Martin Liebman November 27, 2014

The Asylum has taken one of the holy grail movie genres, the World War II film, and performed its magic in Ardennes Fury, a low-budget and quickly-photographed film that's the studio's "mockbuster" companion film for the recent Brad Pitt picture, Fury. Neither engaging nor novel, the movie is a generally dull and basic recreation of one of history's most tumultuous times. Uninspired and its low budget and lightning-fast production schedule apparent throughout, Ardennes Fury doesn't do a disservice to the World War II genre, but it doesn't really do it any favors, either, looking like it was made by people who played war in the backyard in their youths, recently caught a few World War II pictures on television, and subsequently considered that enough experience to make the movie.

With the +1.

When an American tank crew, headed by Sergeant Lance Dawson (Tom Stedham), comes under heavy fire and runs out of gas, the handful of men are forced off the war machine and must proceed on foot in search of fuel deep behind enemy lines. Along the way, they come across a disheveled woman named Sister Claudette (Lauren Vera) who implores the men to help her save stranded orphans. The men ultimately agree, pushing further into enemy territory and risking their lives for people they know nothing about, hoping they are not walking into a trap. Meanwhile, the men are hunted by a determined German officer named Heston Zeller (Tino Struckmann).

About the nicest thing one can say about Ardennes Fury is that it tries. It's not one of those Asylum films that's so bad that it loses all credibility. It's just generic through-and-through, marching to the beat of the World War II movie script book and never doing a thing to distinguish itself from other genre movies, at least in terms of positives. It circles through all of the expected scenes, including the sniper scene, the land mine scene, and the general "figure out whether to follow orders or divert from the plan" routine. The movie at least spares the audience from the expected barrage of cliché characters beyond the grizzled American sergeant and the devilishly polished Nazi. Of course, most of the other soldier characters are pretty much interchangeable, anyway, but they do avoid type well enough. Outside of that, there's not a whole lot happening in the movie on the positive side of the ledger. It's tolerably paced but feels fairly repetitive, largely because it is fairly repetitive, even as it goes through the war movie checklist noted above.

Though Ardennes Fury isn't anywhere close to the worst The Asylum has cranked out -- this may actually be in the top 10% of the studio's "best of" list -- there's still the usual problems plaguing the film. Everything from misplaced lingo and iffy historical recreations that will have historians living a waking nightmare to basic mistakes such as radio call signs getting confused during a single conversation hinder the movie throughout. That's not even to mention the shoddy visual effects, which include a steady dosage of artificially created, and very phony, tanks, airplanes, explosions, and smoke. The acting is stiff and hugely unbelievable as the actors spit out military jargon and fire their weapons in a grossly unconvincing manner, certainly, and expectedly, a far cry from the excellent performances in superior wartime pictures like Glory, Saving Private Ryan, and Lone Survivor, just to provide a wide berth of historical timeframes. Almost worse, the battle scenes lack spirit, the drama lacks heart, and while the soldiers' actions do have consequences, there's precious little emotional depth around them, the movie playing like none of it matters outside of a generically amplified bubble that's only meant to mean anything in some almost abstract way because it should mean something, not because the story and actors actually do anything to make it feel like something.

Ardennes Fury Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Ardennes Fury looks great on Blu-ray. Aside from hints of occasional banding and noise, the color 1.78:1 transfer is richly detailed and infinitely clear. The HD video source brings out the very finest details, including military helmet and uniform texture, grasses and mud, even wooden rifle stocks. Facial features -- pores, stubble, blood, and muck -- look marvelously clear and naturally defined. Colors are a little drained, but seemingly intentionally so in the process of giving the movie a very slight sepia appearance. Greens are still vibrant and red Nazi insignia are deep enough. Predominately, however, the movie is defined by shades of gray and brown. Black levels satisfy and flesh tones never push too warm. The included black and white image is presented at a 2.35:1 aspect ratio, while the main color presentation runs at 1.78:1. The B&W image enjoys the same sort of crisp, lifelike details as its color counterpart. Screenshots from both versions are included, both color (1-14) and black-and-white (15-29).

Ardennes Fury Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Ardennes Fury rolls onto Blu-ray with an active and immersive DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 lossless soundtrack. Musical delivery is wide and enveloping, focused in the front but playing with a solid surround element that's obvious but unobtrusive. Clarity is rather strong throughout the range. Light atmospherics help shape a handful of scenes with commendable accuracy and reasonable aggression and placement. Action effects are where the track shines. Explosions are heavy, rumbly tanks and tank fire hit hard, gunshots are snappy and powerful, and screams and other assorted sounds of battle are dynamically focused to the point where the listener often feels pulled into the battles. Considering the lower budget with which the audio engineers certainly had to work, these sound effects are amazing. Lastly, dialogue delivery is commendably crisp and focused up the middle. Overall, a job very well done by The Asylum.

Ardennes Fury Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

The Asylum apparently has high hopes for Ardennes Fury. Not only does it come with the rare Asylum audio commentary, it also includes a soundtrack-only audio track as well as a black-and-white version of the film.

• Soundtrack Only: The film with only its musical track presented in Dolby Digital 2.0. Available on both cuts.
• Audio Commentary: Director Joseph J. Lawson and Actor Bill Voorhees offer a track that covers the production history, the lightning quick shoot, casting and performances, the film's style, military advisors and the film's resultant authenticity, shooting various scenes, handling guns on the shoot, costumes, and more. This is a strong track that offers a fascinating insight into low budget filmmaking.
• Black and White Version (1080p, DTS-HD MA 5.1, 1:27:14): While the color feature plays at a 1.78:1 aspect ratio, the black and white version appears in a 2.35:1 aspect ratio.
• 'Making Of' Featurette (1080p, 9:59): Cast and crew look at the plot and making the movie "right" in terms of authenticity. The piece also highlights casting and characters, shooting in 12 days, editing the script on-the-fly, fight choreography, and more.
• Gag Reel (1080p, 2:27).
• Deleted Scenes (1080p, 4:15).
• Trailers: Additional Asylum titles.

Ardennes Fury Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Ardennes Fury is a stock, unimaginative World War II movie that flubs much of its production but finds just enough rah-rah interest to make it a serviceable watch for anyone who enjoys the genre. It's about what one would expect of an Asylum World War II movie. It feels rushed and the digital effects are rubbish. The acting is stiff and historians are bound to pick it apart. For casual viewing, however, it's not a bad choice just for an evening of low-budget kicks. The Asylum's Blu-ray release of Ardennes Fury features striking video and lively audio. More supplements than usual are included. Rent it.