Hacksaw Ridge

Hacksaw Ridge (2016)

**** (out of 4)

The incredible true story of Desmond Doss (Andrew Garfield), a simple man from Virginia who grows up with a strong religious nature, which means that he can not kill anyone. WWII breaks out and Doss believes it's his duty to sign up but he's soon butting heads with the people in his troop as he refuses to pick up a gun. They believe him to be a coward and can't understand his feelings but soon he's going to have to prove his worth during the battle of Okinawa.

Mel Gibson's HACKSAW RIDGE is a story that probably would have been laughed off the page had it not been based on a true story. Obviously I'm not going to spoil the various plot points in the film but it's quite remarkable what this young man did. Not only the courage he showed but also the guts it took for him to stand up and do what he believed in. Gibson's direction is perfect and technically speaking there's not a single flaw to be found. There's no question that the film is one of the greatest war movies out there.

What makes the film work so wonderfully well is that the drama off the battle field is just as intense as what is on the battle field once we get there. The battle scenes themselves are downright horrific and there about as tense as you're ever going to witness on a screen. Gibson's direction through these scenes was terrific and I must say that he managed to put some of the most graphic war scenes that you're ever going to witness. There's also a jump scare that happens towards the end, which has to be one of the greatest of any film I've seen. There's no question that you feel the horror that these men felt and it's just amazing that anyone could go through that and survive.

Many people say SAVING PRIVATE RYAN has the greatest battle scenes and they're perfect but so are the ones here. What makes this film even greater for me is the fact that the story outside the battle is wonderful. I thought the training sequences were terrific and I thought the abuse that Doss goes through was terrific. Yes, we've seen this stuff in countless war movies but the story here is just so great and Gibson does such a wonderful job that you can't help but feel as if they're fresh and original. It also helps that the entire cast is so wonderful with Garfield leading the way. He's simply terrific here and not once do you ever feel as if you're watching an actor doing a part. You really do feel as if you're watching a real man battle with his beliefs. Sam Worthington, Vince Vaughn, Hugo Weaving and Teresa Palmer are all terrific as well.

I usually hate when a new movie opens and it gets labeled "the greatest" this or "the greatest" that. I honestly think films need time to grow and time to become a classic but I honestly have no reservation calling this film something truly special. It works on every level and it's really a masterful piece of filmmaking and it shows once again that Gibson is one of the greatest director's working.

"I have seen stalks of corn with better physiques." Sergeant Howell (Vince Vaughn)

Director Mel Gibson is an action genius and along with that compliment, let's add he knows his violence. Hacksaw Ridge is a true and heroic story of the first conscientious objector to receive the Medal of Honor for bravery in battle. Brave also could be any attempt to separate the film from its controversial director, but I'll let the film speak for itself.

The contradiction is real: Desmond T. Doss (Andrew Garfield) was a Seventh Day Adventist who not only refused to work on Saturdays, but he also refused even to touch a gun. Through the intervention at a court martial of his improbably brave and conflicted father (Hugo Weaving), Doss is allowed to serve as a medic under those conditions, proving to all that he could be braver saving men at Okinawa's Hacksaw Ridge than anyone else (75 men as a medic with a flair for ingenious rescuing).

Although Director Gibson is best known for his graphic depictions of violence in Apocalypto and The Passion of the Christ, he can also be accused, along with writers Andrew Knight and Robert Schenkkan, of clichéd story telling. The film's two parts, at home and at war, follow some pretty trite set-ups such as the mountain boy smitten by the nurse, the call to righteous service, the tough drill sergeant ( a terrific Vince Vaughn, see opening quote), and the sentimental trench dialogue.

Yet these flaws work when the story needs them to establish Doss's kind heart, courage, and the essential goodness of fellow combatants as they confess they misread him and his conscientious objection. If you can forgive the almost unreal, lush setting for his youth in Lynchburg, Virginia, and his mooning for his future wife, Dorothy (Teresa Palmer), then you will enjoy seeing a real hero in a real war.

Yes, Gibson knows how to depict action, not just pain, and it helps make Hacksaw Ridge a welcome addition to war films that tell true stories. And lest I forget, welcome back, Mel; you have been redeemed.

I was lucky enough to sneak into a cast & crew screening at the Newtown Dendy cinema. I thought 10.30AM on a Sunday was too early for a Mel Gibson movie, that I might be in for something along the lines of the heavy-handedness of THE PASSION OF THE Christ, and the adrenaline pumped brilliance of APOCALYPTO.

I was proved wrong because after the first thirty minutes I wasn't sure if this was a Mel Gibson film when I was placed into a comfort zone, with its melodrama set in a small Virginia town during the Forties, a schmaltzy romance, and the cliché violent drunken father who survived a brutal war. The performances were maybe a little let down by the clumsy dialogue, but all directed safely with a natural sense of storytelling.

By the 2nd act, I was put on high alert in the military training with our protagonist, Desmond Doss (Andrew Garfield who I at first felt was wrongly cast, but he really came through in the end). It was here when the true purpose of the story began to evolve, that of Doss' moral and internal conflict with using a gun! What he had to endure and stand-up for was a courage I greatly admired. It was also in this phase of the film that the dialogue and characters began to shine. Maybe it was the introduction of Vince Vaughn's character. We all know how Vaughn is notorious in ad-libbing, and it seemed to help because the other actors bounced off it well.

Now the story had me in their pocket because by the 3rd act I was with our protagonist and his platoon when they got to the battlefield graveyard of Hacksaw Ridge. You thought the horrific situation in WE WERE SOLDIERS was brutal, well this was captured so vividly that you felt you were there. It was almost on par with the brilliance of GAME OF THRONES; BATTLE OF THE BASTARDS.

Now I felt I was in a Mel Gibson film. As with Braveheart, the battle scenes in Hacksaw Ridge didn't hold back. Maybe a notch better because of today's CGI (and I didn't even notice the effects!). The scenes were unflinching, haunting and in your face. Possibly showing you the true horror of war. Definitely not for the squeamish.

The religious aspect of the film was relevant to the story, so as a non-believer I thought it was an integral part of the protagonist and had to be told, so it didn't bother me as much.

Overall the technical aspect of the film was brilliant, but then again I didn't really notice it because I was too distracted by the story and the characters, and when that occurs, I know the film has succeeded.

When thinking about war films, it's very hard not to go straight to the classics such as Apocalypse Now, Platoon or Saving Private Ryan. You have to make something very special to be mentioned in the same sentence as films like those and in Hacksaw Ridge, I think Mel Gibson has made one of the all time great war films.

Some war films use a particular war from history to tell a fictional story, all three of the above for example however, a war film for me becomes something else entirely when it tells a true story, especially one as remarkable as the story that Hacksaw Ridge is based on.

Desmond T. Doss (Andrew Garfield) became the first Conscientious Objector in American history to be awarded the Medal of Honour even though he refused to kill or even carry a rifle while serving as a medic during the Battle of Okinawa in World War II. Doss' phenomenal story of courage saw him single-handedly save the lives of over 75 of his comrades while under constant enemy fire.

Hacksaw Ridge is very much a film of two halves; the first introducing us to Doss, exploring both his personal life and his motivations for choosing to become a Conscientious Objector and serve as a medic, the second depicting the Battle of Okinawa at Hacksaw Ridge, the site of one of the bravest human feats in history. Both tell the story of the determined individual that Doss was and Mel Gibson does a wonderful job in directing the film.

Gibson has attracted a lot of bad press over the years but there is no denying that he is a good director, and in Hacksaw Ridge, he may just have made his best film yet. It's the emotional power of the story that Gibson taps into so successfully that makes Hacksaw Ridge such compelling viewing, whether it be Doss' arduous journey through combat training or the visceral war sequences. I was an emotional wreck as the credits started to roll.

Speaking of war sequences, Hacksaw Ridge possesses some of the most brutal and harrowing you'll ever see, reminiscent of the opening to Saving Private Ryan. Due to the fact that Doss served as a medic, there are parts where a strong stomach is needed as he obviously has to tend to a number of seriously wounded soldiers. The relentlessness of the sequences is admirable from Gibson and they're wonderfully shot by Simon Duggan.

Coming to the performances, Hacksaw Ridge features an amazing lead performance from Andrew Garfield, who wanted to move away from his days as Spider-Man with a chance to play such an inspiring real life hero. I thought Garfield was always one of the best things about the Amazing Spider-Man films but it's great to see him really grow as an actor. His performance as Doss is one of the best of the year and I would love to see him get some form of recognition come awards season.

The supporting cast threw me a little but they all play their part in excelling the film, expected from the likes of Hugo Weaving and Teresa Palmer but the film surprised me with how good some of the cast were. Sam Worthington and Luke Bracey were two that come to mind but the real surprise was Vince Vaughn, who I never thought I'd see play a part in a war film, particularly that of an Army Sergeant.

Few films this year have hit me emotionally as Hacksaw Ridge did and that's why I have to say it's a most welcome return to filmmaking from Mel Gibson. It's right up there as one of the best films of the year and definitely one to see on the big screen.

We knew already that Mel Gibson is a filmmaker with a powerful vision and the craftsmanship to go with it. Extraordinary battle scenes. Violence, Gibson style, which means Peckinpah plus, because here there is such a personal intention that makes every frame, utterly compelling. The only drawback and I have to say it, Vince Vaughn. Why? In the moment he appears, this extraordinary film becomes a movie. It took me completely out of it. When you look at him you see an actor, acting. On the other hand, Andrew Garfield. Sublime. He makes totally believable a character that could be fictional. The humanity in Andrew Garfield's eyes makes everything real. It tells us, in no uncertain terms, that at the very center of it all, there is love. Love!