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The movie begins with two brothers Desmond & Hal Doss. They both get in a fight and Desmond hits his brother on the head with a brick; nearly killing him. Their parents go crazy and Desmond thinks he killed his brother. Thus, making him acknowledge the fifth commandment which says "Do not kill". Their father, Tom (Hugo Weaving) is an alcoholic World War 1 veteran suffering from PTSD and guilt, stemming from the death of some of his friends during the war. After helping a boy who got stuck under a car, Desmond becomes interested in being a doctor. While at the hospital, he meets Dorothy (Teresa Palmer), a nurse. They go on a few dates and he promises to marry her on his first leave. Desmond's father isn't happy with the fact that his two sons enlisted in the army after Pearl Harbor.
Doss, who is a conscientious objector decides to serve as a combat medic. While at the training camp in Fort, Jacksonville, he becomes an outcast among the other soldiers who are not happy with the fact that Doss refuses to carry a rifle or train on Saturdays, hinged on the premise that he's a Seventh Day Adventist. He gets beat up by some soldiers and arrested for refusing to carry a rifle while Sergeant Howell (Vince Vaughn) tries to make him leave the camp. He is visited in jail by Dorothy and she tells him to plead guilty so he would be released but Doss refuses. At the trial, he pleads not guilty but just before he gets sentenced, his father comes in with a letter from his former commanding officer who is now a Brigadier General, stating that Desmond's refusal to carry a firearm is protected by the US Constitution. For this reason, the charges are dropped.At the Battle of Okinawa, Doss and his unit take on the Japanese soldiers. He is able to prove his worth to the other soldiers at Hacksaw Ridge by spending the whole day and night hiding from the Japanese and saving more than 75 soldiers. They are eventually able to conquer the Japanese and take over Hacksaw Ridge. The movie ended with snippets of a 2006 interview of Desmond Doss giving his account of some of the events portrayed in the movie. Doss was given the Presidential Medal of Honor by President Harry S. Truman. He stayed married to Dorothy until her death in 1991 and died at the age of 87 on March 23, 2006. Directed by Mel Gibson (Passion of the Christ), Hacksaw Ridge is about patriotism, heroism and the selflessness of one person who wanted to help save lives in a war. The first part of the movie focused on building of the characters and relationships. The relationship between the two brothers, Desmond & Hal appeared to be a major part of the movie but it was completely ignored after the first few scenes. However, I understand that they had to shoot only the very important aspects of Doss' life for a-2-and-a-half-hour movie. There are lots of war movies but very few of them stand out like Hacksaw Ridge; which is evidently Mel Gibson's directorial come back after Apocalypto (2006). Even with all the controversies surrounding him, there's no denying that Gibson is a phenomenal director. Hacksaw Ridge had the most gruesome scenes you'll ever see in a war movie. I kept cringing when Doss tended to the wounds of some of the soldiers. This has to be Andrew Garfield's best role to date and I'm happy his Spider Man days are over. The most surprising role for me was Sergeant Howell played by Vince Vaughn. I never really took him seriously when it came to his movie roles, but he fit into the character really well especially in his scenes at Hacksaw Ridge. The supporting cast which included Teresa Palmer, Sam Worthington, Luke Bracey & Rachel Griffiths also did amazingly well. The movie had me feeling emotional with the brutality and horrors of war, but you can't help but appreciate Doss' character. The American Film Institute chose Hacksaw Ridge as one of the top films of 2016. I consider Hacksaw Ridge a masterpiece and one of the best movies in 2016.  |
| The real Desmond Doss (Image via newsapi.com.au) |
Rating: 9/10
Genre Biographical War Drama
Director Mel Gibson
Screenplay Andrew Knight & Robert Schenkkan
Starring Andrew Garfield, Teresa Palmer, Sam Worthington, Luke Bracey, Vince Vaughn, Hugo Weaving, Rachel Griffiths
Running Time 2hrs 19mins
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