Directed by Brian DePalma, The Fury stars Kirk Douglas as desperate father Peter Sandza, who enlists the help of teenage psychic Gillian (Amy Irving) to find his son Robin (Andrew Stevens), who has been abducted by Ben Childress (John Cassavetes), the head of a shadowy government organisation.
The Fury isn't really much of a De Parture for De Palma, who had scored a hit only two years earlier with Carrie, another film about a psychic teenage girl. This sense of deja vu might not be such an issue if The Fury was on a par with his previous film, but it isn't: the pacing is too slow, the script rather dull, the acting uneven (at times, Douglas seems to be playing his role for laughs), and the direction over-egged, De Palma laying on his Hitchcockian style to such a ridiculous degree that supposedly dramatic scenes frequently prove unintentionally hilarious.
Giggle-worthy moments include Gillian's escape from a psychic institute that is rendered laughable by an over-use of slow motion, a car chase through fog (where not being able to see both vehicles at the same time seriously reduces the thrills), a pair of unfortunate Arabs on a malfunctioning fairground ride flying through a restaurant window, and Kirk Douglas' anticlimactic death scene (after all his efforts, he simply rolls off a roof).
4.5 out of 10, rounded up to 5 for the reminder of just how far games consoles have advanced since the late '70s, the extraordinarily large spectacles worn by schoolgirl Cheryl (Hilary Thompson), and the film's closing full-body explosion special effect that is shown from every conceivable angle.
The Fury isn't really much of a De Parture for De Palma, who had scored a hit only two years earlier with Carrie, another film about a psychic teenage girl. This sense of deja vu might not be such an issue if The Fury was on a par with his previous film, but it isn't: the pacing is too slow, the script rather dull, the acting uneven (at times, Douglas seems to be playing his role for laughs), and the direction over-egged, De Palma laying on his Hitchcockian style to such a ridiculous degree that supposedly dramatic scenes frequently prove unintentionally hilarious.
Giggle-worthy moments include Gillian's escape from a psychic institute that is rendered laughable by an over-use of slow motion, a car chase through fog (where not being able to see both vehicles at the same time seriously reduces the thrills), a pair of unfortunate Arabs on a malfunctioning fairground ride flying through a restaurant window, and Kirk Douglas' anticlimactic death scene (after all his efforts, he simply rolls off a roof).
4.5 out of 10, rounded up to 5 for the reminder of just how far games consoles have advanced since the late '70s, the extraordinarily large spectacles worn by schoolgirl Cheryl (Hilary Thompson), and the film's closing full-body explosion special effect that is shown from every conceivable angle.