"My way to serve"

Rating: 9/10 (27 December 2016)

This movie is the story of Desmond Doss, an American army medic who was a hero at the battle of Okinawa. This enjoyable, profound and well-crafted movie not only tells a great story, but also has important life lessons about war, courage, sacrifice,leadership, character and conviction.
We should be grateful that a movie like this can still be made in 2016. That there are still writers, directors and producers able and willing to do this. We're no longer used to going to films that hold out characters as role models. Yes, there is a religious element to it. But I'm not religious at all, and I felt the religious aspects of this were sensitively handled and not too overt.
I don't think it's inappropriate to be reminded now and again that we were once in a life-and-death struggle with some of our current allies. It is shocking now to see the intensity of it in one realistic battle scene after the other. Tempora mutantur, nos et mutamur in illis
What I didn't like about this film: (1) The recruit training scenes were not 100% realistic to me. (2) The director made it seem like Doss's c.o. status was unusual and affront to his officers, but of course they must have had a system for dealing with this not uncommon situation. (3) The battlefield carnage may be too realistic to some. (4) The Japanese side was not developed in any way, and I think they were almost caricaturized.
If you have children who can handle battlefield carnage, take them to see this inspiring film. Are there still young people of conviction out there? Is Mel Gibson's Desmond Doss a realistic role model for our jaded times? I think Andrew Garfield played the role well, and is someone that young people can identify with today.
I'm sure some people are going to be uncomfortable with seeing a movie like this made by a director who is wrongly perceived as a dumb*ss beefcake actor and as conservative, ultra-religious and racist. And yet regardless of what you believe about Gibson, there is no doubt that the man is a gifted craftsman. He is a great director who makes mind-blowing movies.