Welcome back, Mel

Rating: 8/10 (4 November 2016)

Mel Gibson returns to the director's chair with this war epic based on the true life story of Private Desmond Doss, who served in the Army as a medic during the Battle of Okinawa during World War ll...he also happened to be a pacifist, someone unwilling to partake in violence due to his religious beliefs, which there is plenty of in the climate of war therefore facing tremense odds not in his favor, more so than the men who carry their weapons into battle. I've been a big fan of Mel Gibson's work despite the lows of his career, and "Hacksaw Ridge" is no exception. One of the biggest strengths of Mel Gibson's direction is that he doesn't shy away from depicting violence in his films, and with this film he shouldn't, war is one of if not the ugliest thing to exist in the history of mankind, war SHOULD be gory, it SHOULD feel like you're watching a horror movie. Andrew Garfield is very good as Private Desmond Doss, he perfectly portrayed the good hearted nature of his character, and his accent for the most part wasn't too distracting, the film also stars Hugo Weaving, Teresa Palmer, Vince Vaughn, and Sam Worthington, they too give very good performances in the movie, but most surprisingly of all we also see "Point Break" remake star Luke Bracey EASILY giving the best performance of his young career. "Hacksaw Ridge" is a roaring return for Mel Gibson in the director's chair, masterfully delivering this brutal yet uplifting tale of one man's battle against the tremendous odds stacked against him and his brothers in arms.