An unexpectedly entertaining journey through the cruel depths of war.

Rating: 7/10 (8 April 2017)

Hacksaw ridge is by far Mel Gibson's best movie as director; it had all the criteria for it to be this year's best picture. It is a calm journey through the life of a simple yet unstable southern family; it brought us to admire the simplest joys of life, the happy and loving daily life of the American suburban families before the war. This movie showed us the true meaning of love and compassion and restored our hope in humanity. And then as expected gave us its obscure side, throwing us in the most well directed and performed war decors ever filmed, a true human carnage between the seemingly weak American army and the ruthless Japanese battalions. Hacksaw ridge is a story of pain and suffering and war, but it also represents the eternal fight between good and evil, and by that not meaning the two armies themselves but the true battle between faith and despair. Hacksaw ridge is truly a modern odyssey. One of the most crucial elements of such an amazing quest is the protagonist Desmond doss, a man of iron will and unbreakable faith who tried to save humanity in my opinion from violence and war. Portraying such a persona is undoubtedly a great challenge, and Andrew Garfield was up to it: The young actor exhibited with the help of the industry's veteran Mel Gibson one of the most sincere performances in the history of war films, his great acting skills were a key element to the success of this picture. The character of private doss was itself a fascinating trait that contributed to the critical acclamation this picture had received, he is as Andrew Garfield perfectly fits a man of a poor physique yet of great courage and altruism, his a medic that dived head first into the hordes of dead in the battlefield without hesitation, he is a loving husband, a great son and a true patriot who stood willingly in the face of the dreadful war in japan in order to save his fellow brothers in arms. In this dire times , the only one who truly stood by the side of private doss was his father Thomas , a good turned cruel man that lived to tell about the war to end all wars, he was disturbed and traumatised , something that Hugo weaving mastered on screen , he was such a great cast choice and delivered more than what was needed from a secondary character, he visualized in every move he did and every word he spoke the true horrors of war, he was all the time dark and shocked demonstrating what a war could do to a country, a family and a man. To sum it up, hacksaw ridge is definitely a must watch, it's by far one of this year's most exciting and overwhelming pictures. It is a top notch movie that depicts unprecedentedly the march of one man to end a war, it's the story of a real war hero who chose not to take the life of his brethren, and it's a movie for the director Mel Gibson to be proud of.