Good movie, but with irresponsible narrative

Rating: 6/10 (7 February 2017)

As this is my very first review, I am happy to start with Hacksaw Ridge. Although I thought I would watch another war movie, it did not disappoint me. It presents an original take on war, where a medic is risking his life to save his fellow comrades. The filming is done beautifully and the plot is easy to follow. In general, the movie was captivating and action-packed and I didn't catch myself scrolling Facebook at any point in time. The acting and special effects were also believable and held a high standard.
However, Hacksaw Ridge did not have that extra edge for me to give it a higher score. It did not change my opinion or make me ask more questions. As soon as I was done with the movie, I put on some laundry, ate dinner and went back to my normal life. Another reason for my lower score is the movie's narrative when it comes to war. I was personally not very fond of the "us great Americans" and "them filthy Japanese" that was presented in the movie. Although I am aware that a war movie will seldom depict two fighting nations singing kumbaya and drinking beer, I would have liked for this movie to have a more humane take on the Japanese part. Instead, the Japanese army was at some point in the movie faking its surrender, whereas the Americans were depicted really honest with their intentions and had a self-less hero medic. I do not believe that is how it goes down in war - both sides have tricks up their sleeves, which was just not presented in the movie.
In sum, I encourage you to watch Hacksaw Ridge as it is a good movie, but it will only fill two hours of your life, rather than remain in your memory for a while.