A great retelling of an inspiring story

Rating: 8/10 (14 December 2017)

I was very impressed by the direction considering the large gap between productions Mel Gibson taken on and directed. I feel the screenplay really captured the atmosphere in a platoon you would expect from a soldier who doesn't want to carry firearms into battle.
I did feel that Andrew Garfield maybe wasn't the best choice for the role and I hadn't even heard of Pvt Doss before this. The lack of funding may have contributed to this and I guess the family members of the real Pvt Doss were happy enough so go figure.
Hugo Weaving however, was brilliant, and it took me to the middle point of the feature to realise it was Hugo Weaving.
The biggest surprise was seeing Vince Vaughn in a serious war movie...he makes a few jokes towards the latter half....but he actually pulls it off surprisingly well.
Sam Worthington brought nothing to his role and might aswell have not been there.
Being a thrilling, dramatic and story-telling war, I do feel we were not given enough character development for his fellow comrades besides the 10 minutes or so during his introduction to the platoon. I feel this is crucial in gripping war movies. The movie lasts longer than 2 hours as it is...but still.
The other thing that was missing was a lot more intensity. There were really 2 scenes or so which really had you on the edge of your seat yet the set design for the battlegrounds were created incredibly well so it was a shame not to make better use.