Hacksaw Ridge

            I am a huge fan of Mel Gibson’s Braveheart. I saw Hacksaw Ridge opening this weekend and I knew I had to see it. It was a big weekend for movies; a huge drought of let downs from the summer blockbusters led to a clearing of three big films in one weekend (Even more awesome movies after that with Arrival, Fantastic Beasts, Moana, and La La Land.) Doctor Strange is one of the Marvel movies and I have been oversaturated by Disney’s movie machine so I decided not to go see it. This review is only about Hacksaw Ridge. Warning, it’s a bloodbath with one of cinematographers’ favorite grandkids: Slow Mo scenes.

            Here is a quick summary about this film because I want to get into the review part. Hacksaw Ridge is a plateau in Japanese territory during the Battle of Okinawa and is necessary for the United States to invade Japan. Desmond Doss is a Seventh-day Adventist that does not want to use a firearm or kill the enemy in the middle of Hell on earth. Instead, he wants to be a combat medic and save his friends to prevent them from dying. Doss is pretty successful at this, even though everyone doubts what he can be without a weapon in a world of death.

            I am not putting this lightly when I say this movie is an anti-war gore fest. Death is the least of the soldiers’ problems when they are on Hacksaw Ridge. The people that survive the bullets, shells, fire, bayonets, smoke, and death are not in great shape. Japanese soldiers rampage against the American defenses by day, and rats and maggots eat the soldiers left behind by night. Only two or three main characters come out of the movie with all of their limbs and organs fully functional. This World War II movie is a combination of Forrest Gump, Saving Private Ryan, and Full Metal Jacket, and good God does it work. Andrew Garfield’s character, Desmond Doss, is not mentally handicapped, but he is a little slow compared to the other people. One of my favorite character chemistry arcs in the film is Desmond Doss with Smitty Ryker (Luke Bracey). Ryker is first seen as a guy that likes to be the big alpha dog. He is mainly successful, and quickly judges Doss about being a waste of space on the battlefield. At the first night of their battle Ryker and Doss sit in a mortar crater together for shifts. This is my favorite scene: Doss and Ryker sitting in a hole talking about home and bonding. The acting is astounding and the lines are beautiful. Ryker confesses he is a jerk and that he was harsh to Doss back in America, and Doss tells him a personal tale of why he does not want to use a firearm. They bond overnight and realize that friendship is a powerful thing to have during war. The scene is complete banter, but it is heartfelt and realistic. I could go on about the action scenes, the silent filler in between, and the religion ideals being the icing on the cake, but I want to save most of the scenes for you to see for yourself.

            I have read several reviews about this film being stereotypical and having predictable events and bland characters. I do agree that it is a basic World War II movie where the main character will go into war thinking he will be a hero, and then only to be proven wrong with his first day in combat. It is that movie, but the story is unbelievable because these events really happened. Desmond Doss was a real war medic and received the Medal of Honor because of what he did, and this film proves it. Yes, the characters are a little textbook, but seeing most of them is till enjoyable. The main problem of this movie is the big name actors playing supporting roles. I liked Andrew Garfield’s portrayal; I thought it was a little weird and hillbilly until I actually saw pictures of the real Desmond Doss. Garfield has this cheesy smile throughout most of the movie and gives an uneducated English dialogue, but the pictures of the real Desmond Doss show that he is that person.

The actor that plays the Sergeant was not fit for that role. Vince Vaughn plays Sergeant Howell and seemed to be struggling. I might be reading too much into this, but when I saw Sergeant Howell I thought he was a man that tried to be something he could not. He showed guilt and sorrow when Doss was beaten senseless from the other privates because it was his fault. He felt sorry and was about to help Doss go home, but Doss denied selling out the men that beat him and continued his training. I would say Vince Vaughn was not struggling, but his character was. Sergeant Howell was given the duty to prepare a bunch of kids to be ready for war, and he sees a coward that does not want to touch a gun. He punishes the kid to make him realize the reality of the situation, and he goes too far. Again, I think that is maybe a stretch, but Mel Gibson has a ton of resources. If he wanted to have a real drill Sergeant (like in Full Metal Jacket) then he could get a real drill Sergeant. Another big name actor was Sam Worthington as Captain Glover. Yes, the guy from Clash of the Titans, Terminator Salvation, and Avatar. I have nothing against this guy, but if an actor disappears from big movies, sometimes for a good reason, and then shows up in a really good film years later, it can throw some viewers off guard. His performance was fine, not academy award winning, but critics have to realize that not every film is the holy grail of cinema. Some movies are really good and they do not need to have a depressed father, or drug addict, or a twist to throw you on your head. Movies need to be enjoyable, and I thought this was the best movie I have seen in theaters in a LONG TIME. This summer was a collection of let down blockbusters. I was about to give up on this year movie wise until I saw the list of baffling films coming out every week until January. It is insane, and this movie is the front of it. It may not be the best, Arrival had 100% on Rotten Tomatoes only three days before it came out, but that does not mean we should forget Hacksaw Ridge.

In summary, I thought this film was an experience. I was tensed up through most of the fight scenes because big characters were being shot down left and right. My favorite actors were the ones I had never seen before, and I hope to see them again in the future. Some shots were a little quirky. Dialogue during slo mo is infuriating, I cannot follow or take it seriously. Many scenes were also not necessary, but Mel Gibson made a fantastic film for a fantastic story. 8.5/10 stars because I know this film will be amongst Saving Private Ryan, Enemy at the Gates, Forrest Gump, Apocalypse Now, and Full Metal Jacket in a collection of war movies I can watch multiple times. If any book-to-movie readers/watchers are wondering, Hacksaw Ridge was better than Unbroken. Hands down, no questions asked (Mainly because I hated how Angelina Jolie directed it, the movie looked like a cartoon.) This movie is definitely in my top ten this year.