Hacksaw Ridge (2016)

• Year: 2016
• Released: 04 Nov 2016
• Country: Australia, United States
• Adwords: Won 2 Oscars. 56 wins & 115 nominations total
• IMDb: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2119532/
• Rotten Tomatoes: https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/hacksaw_ridge
• Metacritics: https://www.metacritic.com/movie/hacksaw-ridge
• Available in: 720p, 1080p,
• Language: English, Japanese
• MPA Rating: R
• Genre: Biography, Drama, History
• Runtime: 139 min
• Writer: Robert Schenkkan, Andrew Knight
• Director: Mel Gibson
• Cast: Andrew Garfield, Sam Worthington, Luke Bracey
• Keywords: biography, based on true story, based on a true story, world war ii, gore,

	8.1/10
	71/100
	84% – Critics
	91% – Audience

Hacksaw Ridge Storyline

An American army veteran grieves by the tombstones of his army company that died during World War I. Back home, he raises his sons in a pious setting and asks them to shun weapons. After a naughty fight turns awry, Desmond reads the Bible and vows not to harm another human in his life thereafter. Desmond then saves the life of a worker, experiencing a wholesome satisfaction in the process. In the hospital, he is smitten by a nurse, who he then dates. After the United States enters the Second World War, both sons enlist, adding to the ire of the father who despises his sons joining the Army. The rigorous regimen of training in the Army requires Desmond to clear his firearms training, but after a huge tiff with his seniors, his father, an old corporal, intervenes to save Desmond from being court-martialed and serve with the Army as a medic. They get posted to Hacksaw Ridge, Okinawa. A win there would ensure that the Empire of Japan surrenders to the Allied Forces. What happens thereon?

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Hacksaw Ridge Movie Reviews

Stirring War Film

The resistant soldier has been a theme for many films over the years. The young man here who serves as a medic has several good reasons for not carrying a gun. Apparently, putting yourself into harms way, unarmed is not adequate to keep you from being tormented. This could have been a cliche, but the acting is superb, the effects amazing, and the pacing works wonderfully. Basing it on an actual Medal of Honor recipient gives it a little push ahead of most others.

****

Superb film dealing with a conscientious objector becoming a war hero. No, it’s not Gary Cooper in Sergeant York, but rather newcomer Andrew Garfield who gave a gut wrenching well-deserved Oscar nominated performance.

From a dysfunctional family, he meets the love of his life and with the advent of World War 11, he wishes to serve as a medic but didn’t realize the abuse and harassment he was in for when he went into the army and refused to touch a gun.

We see military brass ready to condemn him, but yet we see sympathy for him, especially by the sergeant he later almost saved at Okinawa.

Pulling the wounded survivors off the mountain was certainly a fete to be remembered. The battle scenes are gory all the way but after all, what is war?

Ironically, he saves those who scorned him and earned the respect he truly deserved.

Mel Gibson’s near-triumphant come-back

Not one of my favourite war films, like 1930’s ‘All Quiet on the Western Front’, ‘Paths of Glory’, ‘The Thin Red Line’ and ‘Apocalypse Now’, but exceptionally well made and incredibly powerful.

It has been said about ‘Hacksaw Ridge’ that the second half is better than the first half, something that is agreed with by me. Not that the family/character study stuff is bad, far from it, it’s beautifully filmed, even better acted and paints Doss as a very fascinating character that it’s easy from the get go to identify with his wants to succeed against all catastrophic odds.

Just that the first third does take time to get going with a pedestrian pace, the dialogue is corny (in fact, to me the dialogue is the least good thing about ‘Hacksaw Ridge’ in general and the element that rings true the least) and the sentimentality is laid too thick (this is also particularly true in the slightly underdeveloped romance).

However this is made up for by the entertaining yet hard-hitting training scenes and in particular the truly jaw-droppingly brutal war/battle scenes that soar in nerve-shredding intensity and raw emotion, giving the first 30 minutes of ‘Saving Private Ryan’ a run for its money and perhaps making it tame in comparison (high praise for a film with one of the most gut-wrenching first 30 minutes on film, though to me the rest of the film isn’t quite as good).

Throughout ‘Hacksaw Ridge’ has exceptional production values, in particular the cinematography in the battle scenes, and Gibson directs like his life was depending on it. Rupert Gregson-Williams’ score has the right amount of pulsating energy and nuance, and the sound effects in the war/battle scenes have a terrifying authenticity.

For a vast majority of the time, the story is very compelling and makes the most of mature and very easy to relate with themes. It has a wide range of emotional impact, being for the second half intensely powerful, much of the film being poignant, some of it sardonically amusing (without it being out of place) and also all of it inspirational. Rather than straying from the facts for dramatic license, Gibson is surprisingly respectful this time round.

Andrew Garfield has yet to give a better performance than his astonishing turn here (though he is splendid too in Martin Scorsese’s ‘Silence’), and Gibson similarly brings the best out of Sam Worthington (often a charisma-free actor but here doubts were cast aside) and Vince Vaughn (at his sardonic best while also touchingly subdued, proof that he can be good if the material serves him all which too often in his career it hasn’t but it does brilliantly here). Hugo Weaving is terrific, also giving some of his best work in some time. Teresa Palmer makes the most of her role.

In conclusion, a near-triumphant come-back. 8/10 Bethany Cox