This is Mel Gibson back in his wheelhouse. The man always could deliver a stellar action sequence, and you know a movie called Hacksaw Ridge is probably going to have a great one or two. He’s also telling a story about a person standing above the fray by sticking to his principles. Braveheart handled this better, but Hacksaw Ridge reorients Gibson (hopefully?) and failed Spiderman Andrew Garfield back on the ascent.
Desmond Doss (Garfield) was the first conscientious objector in the US Army to win the Medal of Honor. The movie takes us back to Doss’s humble beginnings, coming from a traumatized veteran father (Hugo Weaving) and simple living in Virginia. We meet Dorothy (Theresa Palmer) the nurse that inspires him and eventually falls in love with him. We also meet Doss’s platoon and leaders Captain Glover (Sam Worthington) and Sergeant Howell (Vince Vaughn) who believe Doss is just a coward. After establishing Doss’s relationship with everyone, the platoon gets shipped off to Hacksaw Ridge, one of the bloodiest battles in WWII. In the quest to take the island from the Japanese, many people get shot, burned, amputated, etc, leading Doss to show his true colors.
The first half of Hacksaw Ridge is borderline high horse schmaltzy crap. Person Mel Gibson took over from Director Mel Gibson during this segment, establishing how saint like Doss becomes after a near death experience as a child. He consistently one-ups his oppressors with beautifully rehearsed speeches, and his detractors are very neanderthalish, which hurts further down the line because his platoon will clearly play very important roles in the war to come. Any time painting some of the team members as real people would help us root for the platoon to march to victory, not just Doss to save the converted team. Gibson aims for these scenes to cause the audience to root for our hero, but those scenes end up surprisingly hollow, because they are immediately forgotten once the battles start.
But, O.M.G., those battles. I really didn’t think a movie could rival Saving Private Ryan on the battlefield, what I consider to be the greatest war sequence in movie history. I guess I underestimated Mel Gibson. The Battle of Hacksaw Ridge is an emotional battle for the audience. What Gibson adds to the war genre is a stalled battle. The Japanese don’t just retreat after the first onslaught; they fight back in clever ways, forcing American forces back to the beach. This back and forth leaves injured but still active soldiers playing dead, meaning any time Doss tries to save one, there could be a live gun toting enemy ready to shoot him. Rats break the silence creepily, eating dead/wounded soldiers. We also randomly run into members of his team, previously left for dead, whom Doss could potentially save. This is when Director Gibson, the good Mel Gibson, sells the audience because of Doss’s actions in the face of his greatest test. The war scenes are so impactful because we know how great Doss is (the lone use of the first half), and when he urges himself forward, we are on the edge of our seat, also saying “Please Lord, let me get one more” with our hero. Doss’s final descent down the mountain is wholly director Gibson, bringing me near the verge of tears with its simplicity and poignancy, with help from Andrew Garfield’s solid acting.
Hacksaw Ridge, I hate to say it, is actually a metaphor for its director. I mean, what is Mel Gibson other than a confusion contradiction of greatness and terrifying disgust? So he’s probably one of the choice directors for a war movie about not killing on principle (also, why you gotta just forget Theresa Palmer is in the movie halfway through, dude?). Plus it’s good to see Gibson let Spiderman help people again.