Review of Hacksaw Ridge (2016) by Johnny T — 03 Mar 2017

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. Thanks to some of the greatest battle scenes ever filmed, Gibson once again shows his staggering gifts as a filmmaker, able to juxtapose savagery with aching tenderness. Garfield melts into his Doss character in a performance that seems impossibly still and tranquil. He's mesmerizing. It's almost impossible to imagine he ever played Spider-Man. It's a movie about bravery and the power of inspiration, be it divine or corporeal, in moments of hopelessness. Desmond's faith is placed front and center, and the way it operates here celebrates not the object of that faith, but the power it has to motivate both Desmond and his squad. There's no doubt that this is confident, striking, film-making and if it merely serves as the final step in Gibson's rehabilitation and allows him to forge ahead with his new career as a director of true vision and power. The nightmarish battle scenes on Okinawa are masterfully handled, and include some of the most sickeningly violent sequences I've ever had to endure. Hacksaw Ridge is one of the best films of 2016. And the victory is all the more sweet for Gibson in that he succeeds on his own weird terms.

VERDICT: "High-Quality Stuff" - [Positive Reaction] This is a rating to a movie I view as very entertaining and well made, and definitely worth paying the full price at a theatre to see or own on DVD. It is not perfect, but it is definitely excellent. (Films that are rated 3.5 or 4 stars).