Hacksaw Ridge - Review

Rating: 8/10 (15 March 2017)

Mel Gibson has come out of his 10 year directing hole and shown us all once again how brilliant he is at directing. His last three films Braveheart, The Passion of the Christ & Apocalypto were all absolutely brilliant films and I'm glad to say, he isn't making rubbish anytime soon. Hacksaw Ridge tells the true story of Desmond Doss, an Army Medic who served in the battle of Okinawa but refused to kill people. "One of the greatest heroes in American history never fired a bullet". Desmond is portrayed by Andrew Garfield (The Amazing Spider-Man [2012] & Silence [2016]), the film also stars Sam Worthington, Hugo Weaving & Vince Vaughan. There is not one performance that I can find a flaw in during the whole duration of the film. The acting is superb which is wonderful, you can connect and empathize with the characters easily. The film does not only explore what Desmond experienced during the battle but explores his childhood, relationships with his family and his partner. It also shows how Desmond came to be on the battlefield without a weapon as a medic. Desmond is a Christian and has a strong belief that going out into the battlefield and fighting is murder, at the same time he wants to serve for his country whilst staying true to his beliefs. When it comes down to the battle sequences in this film, words can't describe it. When the battles start, THEY START! I have never seen battles more terrifying, harrowing, bloody and intense as Hacksaw Ridge. Every single camera angle, all the make-up and CGI are beyond phenomenal. I have never seen war sequences this terrifying since Spielberg's "Saving Private Ryan". I cannot praise this film enough for the amount of terror it imparts during these sequences. Andrew Garfield is phenomenal, after being in two awful Spiderman films to be portraying one the greatest war heroes of all time is an astonishing achievement. When it comes to brilliant war movies you think Apocalypse Now, Platoon or Saving Private Ryan. Well Mel has put himself on the map of absolutely stunning War Films. I highly recommend this film, especially to those who are Christian, as a Christian myself it made me think about my morals and how I view "The Act of War". I think everybody should see this film at least once. It's not for the faint of heart, but it gives a brutally accurate representation of the battlefield and a glimpse at what it was actually like for Desmond. Film Classification: MA15+ Film Length: 139 mins Film Rating: 10/10