HACKSAW RIDGE film review

– By Cate Marquis –

HACKSAW RIDGE tells the true story of Private Desmond Doss, a medic who won the Congressional Medal of Honor for saving 75 men on Okinawa during World War II. What sets this heroic story apart is that Doss was a pacifist who refused to even carry a gun, much less fire one, yet won the right to serve and then the respect of his fellow soldiers for his bravery and compassion.

Mel Gibson directs HACKSAW RIDGE yet the film has the sepia-toned look and historic epic sensibility of a Clint Eastwood film. Patriotism, courage and faith are big themes in this war epic. However, by the time we reach the Okinawa battlefield, we definitely know we are watching a Mel Gibson film. Gibson’s taste for plenty of guts with the glory is legendary. Gore abounds and the battlefield scenes are gruesomely realistic, filled with exploding bodies and decaying carnage strewn across a battlefield where days of fighting have left their mark. It may be a realistic depiction of war but it takes a strong stomach to watch on a big screen.

This is not the first movie to spotlighted a war hero who was also a pacifist. Gary Cooper starred as a World War I hero with religiously-based pacifist beliefs in SERGEANT YORK.

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http://www.wearemoviegeeks.com/2016/11/hacksaw-ridge-review/