Review of Hacksaw Ridge (2016) by Stephen G — 08 Aug 2017

Mel Gibson returns to bring one of the greatest war and extreme commitment movies of all time!

Based of the conflict on Okinawa island in 1945, to secure it for an airbase for the invasion of mainland Japan. U.S. troops had to scale the 400-foot cliff face named Maeda Escarpment, also known as "Hacksaw Ridge" to the Americans. The Japanese troops had been there for years preparing for the war. The entire island was one massive camouflaged tunnel, trench, or trap of some sort. Climbing that cliff face, the Americans were immediately met with heavy and direct machine gun, mortar, grenade, and small arms rifle fire.

The movie is not one for the faint hearted, whereas the very first scene of the film is that of blood, bodies, severed limbs and rotting death. Mel Gibson returns to bring one of the greatest war and extreme commitment movies of all time! The strengths and unimaginable resolve Desmond Doss displays throughout this movie in his faith, romantic love, overcoming bullies and war itself, is unfounded. The previous Great War movie, "Saving Private Ryan", would be child's play in terms of gore and combat imagery contained within "Hacksaw Ridge". If you ever imagined what war would be like, this movie will give you a very good insight.

"Hacksaw Ridge" is a true story of Desmond Doss (Andrew Garfield), a very faithful Seventh-day Adventist from Virginia, who grew up in an abusive household. His father (Hugo Weaving) who fought in WWI, now has PTSD, drowns himself in alcohol to cope with the loss of his fellow soldiers and takes his aggression out on his wife and children. Desmond is a conscientious objector, or a 'conscientious cooperator' as he calls himself due to him volunteering for the Army. Enlisting as a Medic, because of his strict convections to God, he'll never has to touch a weapon; or so he thinks.

His father is the first to try and persuade Desmond from serving. His brother who shows up to dinner in his uniform, shortly after enlisting in the Army Infantry, strikes a nerve with his father. He begins to relive the horrible scene when his best friend in France was shot in the back, 'blowing his intestines out the front, awful everywhere'. He is so distraught that he tells his son to get out of his sight. Doss later meets his father at the cemetery where he's standing above his friends who were killed in action. He tells Doss that "everybody else jumps in and does things without thinking. Soldiers who live, they live because they can do that, you can't! You have to sit there, think and pray about everything". Doss tells his father that he wouldn't be able to live with himself if he didn't enlist.

His conviction to his God and the duty to serve are tested quickly from the moment Doss arrives at basic training. He is met with hate, disrespect, hazing, and judgement by his fellow soldiers; even his Captain (Sam Worthington) and Sergeant (Vince Vaughn) partake in the abuse, when they find out he's a conscientious objector. Most of the men turn against him, belittle him for his beliefs, brand him a coward, and beat him severely because if it. Doss barely makes it through training alive and out of a prison sentence, after facing a Court Martial for disobeying a direct order - the refusal to pick up a rifle and train.

Falling in love with Dorothy Schutte (Teresa Palmer) before leaving for Army basic training, his love for her is tested in the Court Martial confinement cell. While visiting Doss, his fiancé pleads with him to find another way 'who you going to save in prison? Pick up the gun and wave it around. Meet them half way'. Remaining steadfast in his conviction he won't break Gods' commandment of 'Thou Shalt Not Kill' and to himself to do his duty to his country. In a very lose-lose situation, he finds himself in front of the Judge Advocate for his case. Narrowly escaping a long prison sentence, his father returns to deliver a letter that ultimately frees Doss so that he can continue his training.

Everything would change drastically when they land on Okinawa, to scale "Hacksaw Ridge", and conquer the island. Every one of those men who beat, belittled, and swore that he would get more soldiers killed were biting their tongues when he saved each and every one of them on top of that ridge. When most of his company retreated down the cliff after being overran, calling in Naval Gunfire on their own positions, Desmond remained at the top. He could have easily gone down with his men and been safe at base camp, but he remained.

The amount of extreme commitment, not only to his fellow soldiers on that mountain but also to God, to accomplish his goal to see that each one of them would return to their families. Reaching his breaking point, Doss holds his best friend dying in his arms "I don't understand. I can't hear you" he hears the cries "MEDIC!!" and returns into the smoke and bombing to retrieve his fallen comrades. Hands torn, bloodied and rope burned "Lord, help me get one more" Doss repeats, as he goes on to send over 75 men, both American and Japanese, over "Hacksaw Ridge" to be rescued. This eventually led him to being awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor, the first ever conscientious objector to do so.*.

The ability to remain so dedicated throughout everything Doss endures in this movie really moves you. The comradeship and bravery is astounding throughout the entire movie. Even if Doss isn't willing to kill another human being, he surely shows that he is willing to die for his convictions and to protect his fellow brother. This is made apparent by disobeying another direct order to retreat, as Naval gunfire bombs the ridge, to go back and save his fellow soldiers time after time.

An intense look into war, commitment, and the ability to prove everyone wrong. Just as Doss' father had a different outlook on life after WWI, expect to have that same feeling when you finish "Hacksaw Ridge"!

4 out of 5 stars.

*Thomas William Bennett and Joseph Guy LaPointe Jr. would both receive a MoH posthumously, for separate actions, while serving as an Army Medics during the Vietnam War.