Hacksaw Ridge

It takes a lot to make a good war film and it takes even more to make a war film that stands the test of time and truly lasts. 

Not many, only a particular few, can say they achieve that. None more so perhaps than Saving Private Ryan. 

Hacksaw Ridge badly wants to be something akin to that, and it does come somewhat close. This is Mel Gibson's latest after all so there's bound to be a decent story as well as a significant amount of bloodshed and violence. 

Ridge is a remarkable story in a somewhat unremarkable film, but one can't help but be wowed by it's main protagonist and the incredible heroism that he displays. 

We follow Desmond Doss (Andrew Garfield) as he enters the war and during a portion of the battle of Hacksaw Ridge. It's a battle that I was completely unfamiliar with that took place in the Pacific of World War II. Doss was a combat medic, extremely convicted in his beliefs. He would not kill in this war, nor would he arm himself. In addition to entering the battlefield without a weapon (and even importantly, without the intent to kill) he saved over 75 lives as a medic, often going back for men who had previously been given up on. As the tagline for the film states: "he was a hero without ever firing a single bullet". Given the horrors of the Pacific theater, this is as about as impressive as war stories get. 

As usual, Teresa Palmer can make
chemistry with anyone or anything

Hacksaw Ridge really plays out like two separate films. The first half is a PG-13 oriented, hell practically almost PG, set-up for Doss and his beliefs and the literal trials he had to endure to even be allowed to fight in the war. I can't say it wasn't interesting, but it's in this first half of the film that something feels like it's missing...some heart or severe conflict of the sort. We don't really have much context for the intensity of Doss' choice until we enter and see battle. This "first film" is good, but it feels like it drags on and revisits Doss defending his convictions a few too many times. It does do a good job though at introducing us to the battalion and other characters, making the war segment all that more powerful. The latter half, or "second film" if you will, is a much more memorable, R-rated and intense war scene. I'd argue this part is a tad overlong too as war scenes can often drag on when there's little down time in between battles. There are minor faults here and there but the honest truth is that, while both of these parts of the film are good, they also aren't classics either. Again, I attribute this to a hard-to-put-your-finger-on-it lack of heart and emotional resonance. I definitely could attribute part of this to an unfortunately forgettable original score, but there's something more here too.

Astonishing acts of courage

The lack of heart certainly doesn't come from the characters however, nor the actors/actresses that portray them. There's an impressive cast here overall, but Andrew Garfield and Teresa Palmer are the best of the bunch. Garfield doesn't attempt to overact and it creates a subtly fantastic performance of a simple man with simple rules who is dead set on saving lives. During the peak of his heroics in the film, Garfield gives it all he has as we can tell that his Doss is exhausted, shell-shocked, beat-up, and everything in between. But he keeps praying, "Please Lord, help me get just one more." It's an incredibly powerful scene and probably one of the best the film has to offer and a lot of credit goes to Garfield. Teresa Palmer has always been a hidden favorite of mine as she's always supplying just what a role asks for. She also has the ability to create chemistry with anything so that's quite a special talent to have as well. Rounding out the "great" cast would be Sam Worthington in an important but easy role as one of Garfield's commanding officers. For a guy who seems like he's dropped off the face the earth ever since Avatar, it's good to see him back in something. Also taking a delightful turn for the better is Vince Vaughn. You gotta feel bad for the guy as it seemed like he just couldn't catch a break, even with the shoulda-been-a-hit True Detective Season 2. I hope he chooses more roles like this where he's clearly not the star, but he's a very strong supporting addition to the cast. He's talented, I just think he needs to get some roles that make him realize that. 

The battle of Hacksaw Ridge is one of the better war scenes I've witnessed in quite some time. The initial battle is its best, but overall out of 3-4 different fighting scenes, they're all strong. It gets a bit generic at times, but it's rarely not intense. My biggest gripe though is that it can't seem to make up its mind about being PG-13 or R. There's a litany of gore, much of it hard to bear, but then there are a multitude of scenes where you'd think there'd be gore and it's very tamed down. For example, why does one grenade explosion simply push people backward and another, seemingly identical explosion, blow both a man's legs off, hurtling toward the camera? It was a very odd contrast that kept pulling me out of the scene. That aside though, these war scenes are violent, and filled with horror. By now I think we all know how intensely the Japanese fought in the Pacific and Gibson does a solid job capturing that insanity. There are a few really inspired cinematography shots scattered throughout that I was blown away by and overall the action is filmed with grace and concentration of where each character is at. 

True American Hero ^^

Hacksaw Ridge is a good war film, but it's not a classic war film. It's length is split into two fairly conflicting halves that, in their own right are good, but together feel like awkwardly separate films. I felt, inexplicably so, that it was missing some heart or some of that special "movie magic", but I know that others will find it where I did not. Personally I recommend it to you, the reader, as an honor to Doss himself. This story is nothing short of a miracle and it deserves to be heard and seen. 

CONS:

• Lacked some heart or that special something. Not always something I can put a finger on, but that's what will unfortunately result in it not sticking with me come end of year
• Feels like two separate films
• Each of which is a little bit longer than they need to be
• War scene, while great, feels like it is consistently conflicted with wanting to be PG-13 or R
• Flat original score

PROS:

• Solid first half that helps us to truly understand Doss as a character
• Great supporting cast, particularly Palmer
• Garfield gives a fantastic performance, especially in the film's climax, of a true hero
• This is an astonishing story. Simply amazing
• The battle of Hacksaw Ridge is horrific and intense, much like the fighting in the Pacific actually was
• A few key moments of unique, memorable cinematography
• Ending interviews were a very nice touch

Rath's Review Score | 7.5/10

Just a side note here: unfortunately Blogger's YouTube search function for inputting trailers has plummeted in quality. I can rarely find actual trailers anymore and instead am finding only "Trailer Reactions". Since I know you don't want to see those (and let's be honest, who does?) I'll be inserting the trailer with a link instead from now on. Thank you!

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