Gibson's Triumphant Return in Hacksaw Ridge

Rating: 9/10 (21 February 2017)

Hacksaw Ridge is the story of an Army Medic Desmond Doss (Andrew Garfield) who was the first to ever receive the Medal of Honor for bravery without having fired a single shot. His father Tom (Hugo Weaving) fought in World War I and it took its toll on Tom who turned to drinking and was often violent with his family. It was his father's violence that prompted Desmond to commit to the Scripture's command that "Thou shalt not kill." He refused to even pick up a gun. Things got even tougher for Tom when both of his sons enlisted in the army after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor launching the United States into World War II.
Desmond did not get along with his superiors in boot camp due to his opposition to guns and killing. Refusing to train on Saturdays as it is the Sabbath, didn't earn him any popularity points with his fellow trainees either. Sergeant Howell (Vince Vaughn) made his training as hellish as possible and Desmond was beaten in his barracks by the other soldiers who viewed his conscientious objections as cowardice. But Desmond did not give up their names when asked who attacked him. He took everything they threw at him and persevered. The day the squad was released from training, Desmond was arrested for his insubordination making him miss his own wedding day. Only the testimony of his father saved him from a court martial.
Desmond's stand against killing continued in Okinawa, Japan as he refused to take up a weapon against the enemy, even though he believed their cause was just. Instead, he regularly risked his own life, unarmed, to aid his wounded brothers away from the front lines to get medical attention. In all, Desmond rescued over 75 men without ever firing a shot.
Hacksaw Ridge marks Mel Gibson's return to the Director's chair after a ten year hiatus after Apocalypto in 2006 and The Passion of the Christ in 2004. Hacksaw Ridge has been nominated for 6 Oscars including Best Picture of the Year, Best Leading Actor (Andrew Garfield) and Best Director (Mel Gibson). Gibson 2 for 2 in Oscar wins, both for Braveheart in 1996 that earned him the Best Picture of the Year and Best Director. Hacksaw Ridge is another installment in brutally graphic, tragically realistic, touching and character-driven movies in Gibson's repertoire. I was concerned about Andrew Garfield in this role. He started gaining major recognition with his role in The Social Network in 2010 followed by a reprized role as Peter Parker / Spider-man in two Spider-man movies. But this is quite a different role for Garfield and he more than rose to the occasion. In fact, his performance earned him a Golden Globe nomination (Casey Affleck won for Best Actor in a Drama) and an Oscar nomination.
I was also concerned about Vince Vaughn in this very heavy movie. I love him in his comedies, but he failed to impress in the second season of True Detective. Granted, everyone failed to impress in that series follow-up, but particularly Vaughn who wasn't very convincing in his dramatic role. While he was more than adequate in this role, he still proved to be the dimmest star shining in a sea of brightly burning suns. Vaughn will never be mentioned alongside the greats like R Lee Ermey in Full Metal Jacket, Louis Gosset Jr. in An Officer and a Gentleman, or Christopher Walken in Biloxi Blues.
That being said, early comments on the film, the notoriety of Gibson's previous works and the preview made me very optimistic for Hacksaw Ridge, so I gave it an anticipatory 4.0 Star Prediction. And I'm going to stick with it giving it a solid 4.0 Stars. It really had everything. It started with a tragic family story torn apart by alcohol and violence. It had a beautiful love story that was so pure and sweet. It made you love and support Desmond in boot camp and feel for him as his fellow soldiers attacked him. It ended with a brutal, graphic, realistic war reenactment. That is one of Gibson's specialties: graphic violence that isn't just for the sake of being bloody, but rather because that's what actually happened. And that's how you look at it. You don't ask, "Why did that movie have to be so violent?" Instead, you realize just how violent the war was and that makes Desmond's heroics just that much more incredible. Hacksaw Ridge was well worth the money in the theatre, definitely worth the 6 nominations, and a contender for a spot in my home collection. marksmoviemind.blogspot.com