Better than overrated & schmaltzy Saving Private Ryan; depicts true heroism & visceral carnage

Rating: 8/10 (27 December 2016)

Awaiting Director Mel Gibson's return since the astonishingly hyper-real thriller Apocalypto, which was one of the best movies of the 2000 decade, I came to the movies on the day after Christmas, just when this movie might depart from the first-run theatre too soon.
Needless to say, my reaction was that of astonishment, to some extent, in seeing the visceral horrors of the 'unimaginable' carnage of combat and atrocity, that indeed force the viewers to question mortality and that war is indeed Hell.
Hacksaw Ridge is a spectacular war movie, that should compliment the varying classic wartime movies like All Quiet on the Western Front, Paths of Glory and Full Metal Jacket.
However, due to the moderate budget that had to be funded by the sources outside the Hollywood system that basically blackballed Mr. Gibson following the scandals that are best left unmentioned, the unfortunate outcome is that the visual effect/FX looks dodgy in some combat scenes, that detract from the immersive realism of the horrors of war.
Especially, in the gut-wrenching and nauseatingly visceral portrayal in this movie, the particularly ferocious battle between the American infantry and the relentlessly brutal and ruthless Imperial Japanese infantry on the southernmost Japanese-held island of Okinawa in the duration of World War 2, that was precipitated by Japan's unwise decision to attack Pearl Harbor, likely as a reaction to President Franklin's oil embargo and blockade that antagonized the Japanese to commit to total war, much to their regret given the Americans' fearsome and retributive resolve.
I would go on the record to state that Hacksaw Ridge, despite some dodgy CGI effects of combat violence and gore that was, understandably enough, due to the moderately low budget in financing outside the unforgiving Hollywood movie studio system, accurately and unflinchingly depicts the horrors of carnage in the protracted battles, especially against the fanatically determined and heartless Japanese infantry.
I have had read the history books on the horrors of war and occupation, such as Imperial Japan's brutal occupations of China, Korea and the Philippines as well as the accounts of the battles, notably the famous photograph of the flag-raising on Iwo Jima and what led to that moment. My father is an amateur historian of WWII Pacific Theater who interviewed the ancient surviving American soldiers of this theater, who spoke very negatively about the Japanese soldier that seem demonic and inhumane, which is true.
With Hacksaw Ridge, through Mel Gibson's brilliant but otherwise almost imperfect (i.e. melodramatic scenes meant for establishing characters in order to explain the motivation -- especially why the humble yet unrelentingly non-conformist Christian protagonist chose to enlist only to be subject to violent bullying and hazing trying to force him to change his inexorably pacifist belief when he only wanted to serve as the mere combat medic) direction to show us how horrible the war truly is, it forces us to confront our mortality as well as ask ourselves the existential questions such as nihilism and suffering.
This movie, for the first time in a long time (not even recent other violent and horror movies would bother me), made me queasy and aghast at the grand vision of carnage that infers the absolute inhumanity to one another, that invoked the philosophical questions of mortality.
In many ways, Hacksaw Ridge is, in terms of pacing, storytelling, characterization and visual portrayal, the better movie than Spielberg's absurdly sentimental and turgid propaganda Saving Private Ryan, that went downhill after the opening battle sequence that was well-done in depicting the carnage on the massive Allied invasion of Normandy on D- Day.
Furthermore, Hacksaw Ridge touches upon the utmost courage in face of adversity that include despicable bullying for holding firm to the pacifist belief in genuine religious principle, unbelievable heroism and absolute carnage, whereas Terrence Malick's The Thin Red Line is merely philosophical that, while almost well-made (fantastically ethereal cinematography by the twice-Oscar-winning cinematographer of "Braveheart" John Toll) and well-meaning, was frustratingly esoteric, almost maddeningly inert, and apparently naive.
Ergo, Hacksaw Ridge is certainly dissimilar to the aforementioned films Saving Private Ryan and The Thin Red Line, noting my complaints about these movies with their inherent flaws.
Indeed, Hacksaw Ridge is one of the finest war-centered movies made to date, with all the right filmmaking and competent storytelling components that accentuates the true horror of war, with Mr. Gibson's insistence to show us that war is really hell, and that we the people should be thankful that the Allied soldiers fought valiantly for our freedom and liberty.
I am the descendant of the grandfathers on both of my parents' side. I am the grandson of the former captain-ranked bomber pilot in the European Theater and the former Navy sailor in the Pacific Theater. My father and I saw this movie when we finally had the time to go to the movies, since he and I were busy with our jobs & other obligations.
Hacksaw Ridge impressed us to poignancy, knowing that the horrific portrayal of carnage is exactly why our ancestors fought the unspeakable evil, especially the Imperial Japanese with their terrible love of violence and rape and so on, yet vigorously denied by the ultra right-wing nationalists in Japan.
The Allied forces sacrificed their lives and limbs to "save" the civilization, and for that we must be grateful to them, including my grandfathers, so that we never have to experience the appalling horrors under the occupation by the despicable invading enemy.
A grand comeback for Mel Gibson in redemption as the superbly proved auteur, since Apocalytpo and this film are the visually astonishing, compelling and unapologetically unflinching movies that depicts the morally tenacious and appalling human conditions in the duality of good and evil, with the latter film that portrays the doubtlessly truthful adage to its most effective extent: "War is Hell."
3 1/2 stars out of 4