Faith & Determination Against All Odds

Rating: 8/10 (15 November 2016)

Hacksaw Ridge- In this bloody, yet heroic biopic Andrew Garfield portrays Private First Class Desmond Doss who was a 7th Day Adventist and an obvious pacifist who enlists into World War two refusing to bare arms. Garfield plays the character in an almost "Forest Gump" like Southern personality that is simple, innocent and true.
Mel Gibson shakes off a decade of rust with this one and though it's visible in a few spots, overall you would not be aware of a 10 year absence in directing. The movie itself is shot similar to "Passiondale" where there is a backstory of true love followed by the gruesome and gritty realities of war that delivers non-stop intensity and at times a grotesque view of events.
Depending on your religious believes you may grapple with Doss' reasoning for entering war with zero intentions of killing or even fighting the enemy on behalf of his country but just as his superiors learned in the movie (and in real life), so too will the viewer of this film who will quickly discard any negative opinions of him as they learn the nothing but spectacular heroics of him (Private Doss).
Vince Vaughn offers some amusing scenes early on while playing a very convincing drill Sgt (Howell). Hugo Weaving has played better roles than an abusive alcoholic father to Doss, but he does pull i toff respectably enough. The previews for Hacksaw Ridge in my opinion depicted this movie to be a little more heart wrenching than it actually is but in the end I think it will successfully appeal to those who believe in a higher power and the strengths that one can gain from such beliefs, while still feeding those who want to see some epic World War 2 battle scenes and action that do not shy away from the graphic details that come along with it.
I'm always up for a good war movie so I certainly recommend this to those with a similar affection. I enjoyed the back story as well and I felt it added to the overall film but it may prove a bit of deterrent or drawback for some.