Asylum is known for making mostly B movies and knock offs of current movies starring actors that are either on their way up or their way down the Hollywood ladder. This explains the C. Thomas Howell version of War of Worlds that came out at the same time as Tom Cruise's version several years ago and Ardennes Fury is no different in that way, since it comes out alongside Brad Pitt's tank epic simply titled, "Fury", which I reviewed earlier this month. How Ardennes Fury IS different from other Asylum productions, is that this is basically their first stab at a completely straight ahead drama, with no scifi, sexual or goofy twists.
Ardennes Fury is an action movie set in World War II, focusing on one tank crew and the Nazis they encounter while trying to complete their assigned mission and a more emotional one they take up themselves, and in that way, it can definitely satisfy war movie buffs. However, this is a VERY low budget film made in less than two weeks. Does it look like it? Maybe. I'd actually say it looks like it had a little more money than it did and a couple more weeks. Asylum knows how to make the most of what they have and they improve every time. Sometimes the acting is lacking, though some of that can be chalked up to poorly written dialog. Most of the time the special effects are lacking. However, I'd say given a bit more time and money, none of that would have mattered if they'd just had more time for the director and editor to go after what they really wanted from each scene. Nothing in this movie made me laugh. It was more a matter of wishing they'd had the resources to complete a better product with the raw material they were given.
Remember I said my friend Bill is in this movie? Well, don't let that cloud your judgment of my review when I honestly say he was the best part of this film. Even knowing how poorly made Adrennes Fury is, Bill Voorhees is responsible for the only scene of true emotion that lead to tears welling up in my eyes. I truly didn't think this movie could get to me like that, but there is a scene where his character feels responsible for the death of a little boy and is the one who has to tell his mother and the way he responds to her grief and anger really got to me. It's not just that scene that leads me to believe Bill will be recognized for lots of future work either. Overall, his character was the most believable, because he was the only one who didn't look like he was "acting". He was believable and three dimensional in a way no one else in the film achieved.
If you pick up the DVD, be sure to check out the gag reel and the commentary, done by none other than Bill Voorhees himself.
2.25 out of 5 stars
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