Film Review: Hacksaw Ridge

Genre: Drama, History, War , Bio

Cert: 15 cert

Director: Mel Gibson

Screen writer: (screenplay) Robert Schenkkan , Andrew Knight


Starring: Andrew Garfield , Richard Pyros , Jacob Warner , Darcy Bryce , Milo Gibson , Roman Guerriero , James Lugton , Kasia Stelmach , Hugo Weaving , Rachel Griffiths , Jarin Towney , Jarin Towney , Tim McGarry , Tyler Coppin , Teresa Palmer , Richard Platt

Running time:
 
2h 19min

Parents advised to read before viewing film as some scene may contain scenes unsuitable for younger viewers.

Sex & Nudity: A naked man is seen briefly from behind with bare buttocks visible.

Sex is briefly implied between a married couple.

Violence & Gore: In the beginning there are soldiers being burned alive by flamethrowers and in the midst of explosions and others being shot during the combat of war

A boy hits another boy in the head with a brick while they are fighting

A man has his leg crushed by a car which gives him compound fracture and causes blood to spurt out of his leg

A man smashes a glass bottle on a tombstone as a result his hand bleeds on the tombstone from his wound

A man throws a knife into another man's foot

A man punches a man in the face in order to instigate a fight and test him

A group of men beat up a man which results with the man bloody and bruised

In the later half of the film the tone drastically changes into a more dark atmosphere and becomes very intense which also has long battles that contain graphic war violence involving:

- Soldiers being riddled with bullets through torsos, legs, and heads with blood spurting out

- Explosions from grenades, mortars, and RPGs that cause some lost of limbs and tissue damage

- Soldiers being stabbed/bayoneted and beaten up with fists

- Soldiers are burned alive with flame throwers and exploded by them as well

- Some soldiers are decapitated and commit suicide with self stabbing and kamikaze attacks

There are soldiers dead on the ground with intestines strewn out and missing limbs on the ground which also on some bodies have rotting flesh with maggots and rats feeding off of the bodies

The violence in this movie is comparable to "Band of Brothers" and "Saving Private Ryan"

Profanity:  A few uses of "sh*t" and "b**ch"

References to Japanese soldiers as "Japs" or "Nips".

Alcohol/Drugs/Smoking
A man is seen drinking whiskey from a bottle during the day. He is later described as being an alcoholic.

Several soldiers smoke cigarettes

Frightening/Intense Scenes:
 
The most intense part of the movie comes in the later half of the movie which portrays the horrors of war as it is.

Once the violence breaks out it is a long intense and graphic battle with little breaks in between other battle scenes

There are some scenes that might frighten people or make them jump at certain jarring moments in the film



Story: The true story of Desmond Doss, the conscientious objector who, at the Battle of Okinawa, won the Medal of Honor for his incredible bravery and regard for his fellow soldiers. We see his upbringing and how this shaped his views, especially his religious view and anti-killing stance. We see Doss's trials and tribulations after enlisting in the US Army and trying to become a medic. Finally, we see the hell on Earth that was Hacksaw Ridge

Likes : Wow this film is incredible on storytelling of one of america's greatest heroes during the WWII that never fired a shot once due to religious beliefs , with his courage and bravery he rescued over 75 men from the what i can describe "hell on earth" that was hacksaw ridge.

This film is brutal , emotional , intense and very frightening as it throws you into a story of the bravest men that throw them self in to a "meat grinder" , as wave upon wave of Japanese fighter's throw them self at them with a kamikaze attitude.

This is how war film should be portrayed with brutal violence , with an emotional concept giving a realistic point of view of how war was like during these times , Despite all the things Mel Gibson has said in the past it look as if Hollywood has forgive him and give him a chance. Mel certainly is good at directing as what his done with this film is incredible directing , with good direction and flow.

Andrew Garfield we haven't seen a lot of since the spider man film although his recent film silence  after he was fired  , but i think after this film he's proven to Hollywood that he can have a variety of acting skill as his performance in this film was nothing short of perfection.

Andrew portrays Desmond Doss on screen playing a simple country farm boy that found god after an incident with his father who refuse to carry or shot a weapon in this war , yet he wanted to be apart of it which cause some upset with the generals & sergeants as they all called him a coward but despite of this allow him to serve as a medic.

Clearly during this war he's shown absolute bravery in the face of danger and death by rescuing 75 injured men from the Japanese onslaught on battle field which he was alone and by him self  doing this , which to the shock of his fellow soldiers who we're all off the ridge saw him in a different light after this.

Andrew portray this brilliantly on screen with one of the best performance ive see in a long time ,  giving us a believable character and showing that Andrew has what it take to become to the next big star in Hollywood. Andrew is also up for a nomination in the Oscars which he well deserves for his performance in this film.

 The action choreography and stunt work gone into this film to bring us a brilliant story is amazing done , these brutal scene through the film show a real situation in war. It very similar to film such as "Apocalypse Now ", "Platoon" or "Saving Private Ryan" in brutality , which add's to the film entertainment value also show us i vivid blood thirsty violent war.

 The supporting cast made this film as well as they all play their part in the film with brilliance , from the likes of Hugo Weaving and Teresa Palmer put in some screen time performance in this film surprised me on how good the casting is.

Sam Worthington and Luke Bracey were two that come to mind being good as the side characters but the real surprise was Vince Vaughn , who I never thought I'd see play a part in a war film , particularly that of an Army Sergeant which he done brilliantly.

Very rarely does a film in the year hit me emotionally as Hacksaw Ridge did and that's why I have to say it's a most welcome return to film making from Mel Gibson. It's right up there as one of the best war film's ive seen since Mel Gibson "we we're soldiers" you be a fool to miss this film special on the big screen as this is a phenomenal film you must watch.

I will say this ; this is true heroism to actually rescue injury soldiers knowing that any min by yourself you can get shot , Desmond in the history of soldier is the bravest man ive seen who received the "Medal of Honor" the highest award for courage under fire.

He went on to marry his wife after the war until she sadly past away in 1991 son after he spoke up about the war saying " the real heroes are buried over there" at hacksaw ridge , Desmond Doss one of the bravest men to service in the us army who saved 75 men sadly past away at the age of 87 in march 2006.

Dislikes : Nothing wrong with this film

Overall : Brutal , blood thirsty , brilliant storytelling and one of the best true story ive seen in a long time.

Rating: 5 out of 5 for Entertainment / 10 out of 10 for bio true storytelling







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