Hacksaw Ridge is an American war docudrama. It is based on the real life experiences of one Desmond Doss, a war hero from World War II even though he refused to carry a weapon or fire a single shot. Doss miraculously saved 75 soldiers and was awarded the prestigious medal of honor. He was the first conscientious objector to receive such an honor. This film retells his story. 

Hacksaw Ridge was directed by Mel Gibson and it appears to be following in the footsteps of his previously massively successful "Braveheart" and "Passion of the Christ" films.

Main Cast:

Andrew Garfield

Sam Worthington

Luke Bracey

Teresa Palmer

Hugo Weaving

Rachel Griffiths

Vince Vaughn

Plot:

The film starts out by introducing us to a young Desmond Doss (Garfield) and his younger brother being involved in a tussle. The two are very heated and fighting tooth and nail. As tempers keep escalating Doss grabs a nearby brick and hits his younger brother over the head with it. His younger brother is immediately knocked unconscious. 

Fearing that Doss may have just killed his younger brother he starts to feel immense pain and guilt for his actions. His family is very religious and thus he knows how important the "though shalt not kill" commandment is. For this reason he makes a promise to himself and to God that he will never use force or violence on another human being again.

That lasts for many years until he catches his father in a drunken rage taking out his anger on their mother. In defense of his mother Doss grabs the gun from his father and points it back at him, threatening to kill him right there. In doing so he realizes that he is still capable of committing this terrible act of murder. He uses that incident to reaffirm his commitment to non violence and recommit to his promise to God that he will never take another human being's life.

Right around that time Doss witnesses a local man get his leg run over by a car. The injury is very severe and many of the bystanders aren't sure what to do. Doss immediately wraps the wound and applies a tourniquet just above the wound. Once those are in place the man is immediately rushed to the hospital. Upon inspection by the nurses and doctors, Doss is informed that he likely saved the man's life by his quick thinking and use of a tourniquet. This feeling of joy that he made such a positive impact on the man's life brings him overwhelming joy and from that moment he decides not only is he committing himself to nonviolence, but he is also committing himself to a life of helping people.

Right around this time World War II had taken it's bloody battle to the shores of Pearl Harbor. After the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor, American men from all over were signing up to help fight for their country. Doss wanted to help as well but he wanted to save people as opposed to kill them. For this reason he enlisted as an army medic. 

What ensues is a controversial boot-camp and training period that saw Doss discriminated heavily against for his beliefs and views. After being told to "quit" and "go home" (among other things) repeatedly, he finally receives approval from Congress to be allowed to participate in the War without being required to carry a weapon. This approval would be what he needed to make his way overseas to help fight for his country, by not fighting.

I won't go into any more details of the plot in case you haven't seen the film. If you want to know what happens next, you will just have to rent the flick. :) 

Reception:

The film has received overwhelmingly positive reviews from both critics and general audiences alike. Rotten Tomatoes gives the film an 86% approval rating. It's critical consensus reads:

"Hacksaw Ridge uses a real life pacifist's legacy to lay the groundwork for a gripping wartime tribute to faith, valor, and the courage of remaining true to one's convictions."

IMDB gives the film an 8.2/10 rating while Metacritic gives the film a 71 out of 100 rating. 

The American Film Institute named the film as one of its top ten Movies of the year for 2016. The film also received 6 Oscar Nominations as well as numerous other awards and nominations. Basically, the film is a badass.

Financially the film continued with it's badassery in grossing over $175 million to date with a production budget of only $40 million. That's what I call a massive success! 

My Review:

As referenced above, this film as a badass among films. In my opinion it deserves every bit of praise it has received. It is a winner on so many levels. It succeeds in that it shows you the horrors of war (which we already know), but it even seems to take it up a notch in terms of how graphic and awful war really is. This film might even go down as one of the bloodiest films of all time, although I am not quite sure how one goes about measuring such a thing?

It also succeeds in telling a great story while not deviating too far form the actual original story. Upon doing some research, Desmond Doss had been hesitant on doing a film or book for many years after the war because he was afraid for how he and his faith would be portrayed. If there was going to be a film done, he wanted it to be an accurate account of his story. This film apparently did a very good job of telling his story to the best of his recollection according to Doss. There were only minor liberties taken in the film, which seems to be a rarity these days with docudramas... 

The film succeeds in drawing you in, and making you fall in love with the characters. Even the seemingly "bad ones". Just about every single one of them had some redeeming quality at some point. It also didn't twist the faith aspect too much, which I guess can be expected from Mel Gibson directed films. He is a very religious man himself and that is why he tends to focus on films like this. Faith is a very important part of Doss's life and the film doesn't leave that out one bit.

It succeeds in presenting a slightly different spin on a war film. Most war films and war stories tend to focus on the guys that kill the most "bad guys" or cause the most death and destruction for the enemy. This was a refreshing twist in that it focused on someone who didn't kill a single one of his enemies, in fact he even saved a few of them as well. It made me want to be more like him after watching the film and any time a film can do that about me personally, it is massively successful in my eyes. Not many films can do that...

My overall rating for the film would be a 10/10. 

I give this film a perfect score. I don't give those out lightly but it is easily one of the best films I have seen over the last year. The message is outstanding, the story is unbelievable, and it appeals to many different audiences. Even the non religious ones. It is one of those rare films that makes you feel all warm and fuzzy inside while also leaving you in shock that it was all a true story. Those are my kind of films.

I would definitely recommend seeing this film if you haven't. I may even watch it again if I get some spare time here. It is extremely bloody and graphic but other than that there isn't much else to warrant an R rating. If the younger ones can get passed the gore it is a great film with a great message for everyone. Now, if we could all stick to our convictions as much as Desmond Doss did, the world would be a much better place!

Have you seen the film? If so, let me know your thoughts in the comment section below.

Live well my friends!

Sources:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hacksaw_Ridge

Image Sources:

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2119532/mediaindex?page=1&ref_=ttmi_mi_sm

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