Against All Odds

Rating: 10/10 (6 November 2016)

Mel Gibson has made unforgettable films. When he brought back the Mayas during their civilization's last days, it was an incredible montage of sounds and landscapes. Here was a window into the past, fully complemented with a Mayan language soundtrack. He did a much more and controversial portrayal of the days leading to Christ's death. People complained about the violence in his films, and he's not to disappoint his audience with his new entry, a tribute to the heroism of a soldier who refused to carry a weapon, even to protect the members of his battalion but who had no qualms about risking his life to save others.
Our hero is introduced as a very agreeable and ultra charming member of a community who has been exposed to the ravages of war before. His immediate family is traumatized by what the father saw while he was in the service, and because of events in his home, he chooses to dedicate his life to peace and to help others. Eventually he must confront what society expects of him, and he becomes the target of prejudice and the beliefs of others. Soon, he clears his name, only to find himself in the nightmarish world of war.
Gibson puts together a sensational and more violent, realistic view of battle. There's just enough gore to upset you, but the display of explosions, shootings, and attacks shows little restraint. The tension and the horrors are all there, and one can't stop looking at nastiness and illogical nature of war.
Now it's only time to wait and see the accolades that are coming to the team who put it together, and like "Mad Max" last year, the team has shown us that magic can still happen at the movies, with a solid source, great storytelling, and direction of the best type.