Hacksaw Ridge
Director: Mel Gibson
Year Released: 2016
Rating: 3.0
Pacifist Desmond Doss (Andrew Garfield) volunteers to be a medic for the Army during World War II but refuses to carry a weapon (it goes against his Seventh-day Adventist beliefs), which leads to mockery (and beatings ... and almost a court-martial) from fellow soldiers in boot camp; during the Battle of Okinawa, he risks his life repeatedly to try to save the wounded (and is later awarded the Medal of Honor). Mel's definitely cribbing from others with this project: part one is straight out of John Ford (corn-cobby), basic training is watered-down Kubrick and war itself is Spielberg ... with Gibson joining the bits together to create another movie about personal sacrifice as a means to redemption (along with Braveheart and The Passion of the Christ). It's a little hammy, it's definitely excessive and unapologetically patriotic ... but still riveting, with Gibson showing off his talent for staging sharp action sequences.
