Hacksaw Ridge (2016) movie review.

Hacksaw Ridge is a brilliant movie directed by Mel Gibson. It is a war movie with a lot of realism and drama. Battles look terrifying. And in the middle of bloody and violent scenes there is a guy Desmond Doss, who doesn't even carry a rifle, because of his true belief in God. His pacifism always made his life more difficult. His fellows-soldiers beaten and intimidated him for their misunderstanding of his reasons. But he was so strong that didn't break and went to the war with everybody else. This is a story of a true hero of mankind, who saved dozens of wounded people caring them out from the battlefield under enemy fire. 

The movie starts out with a fight, when main hero is wounded himself. It basically tells us that he is already a hero, that he did his feat. I am stunned how Gibson creates this bond between the viewer and the characters. This is why the movie takes its time to tell a backstory of Desmond Doss, who was a real person, masterfully played by Andrew Garfield, who will be nominated for an Oscar this year, but no one is sure for which film. 

The whole thing about religiousness of his is well told and described in the movie. It explains how Desmond became a pacifist and shows his relationship with his future wife, played by Teresa Palmer, who gives a strong performance in the movie. Characters are alive and perfectly done. Especially Tom Doss, the father, played by Hugo Weaving. His performance really touched me. His character is a war veteran, who saw all ugliness of the battlefield. He is also very sorry for himself, for what he has become as a person, but he doesn't deserve what happened to him. Vince Vaughn's character is very different from any other in this movie. He has a nice sense of humor, which is very important for the story in my opinion. I just love everything about acting in this movie. Sam Worthington is good same as Luke Bracey, who played a role of the main bad guy and then friend for Doss.  This is this type of film, when everyone is good. Maybe this is Mel Gibson's talent to take everything best from the actors. 

Everything ties up: relationship between Desmond and his father, between him and his girlfriend, events that caused other events. This movie has everything to be called a masterwork. And the whole story is very well told. You can understand why is he so religious, why his father is a drunk and why it is so important for him to go to the war, but not carrying a gun. 

And the story just begins, when he has arrived to the military base where he is supposed to get training for battle. After his officers find out that Doss doesn't want even to carry a weapon he becomes an outcast, everyone started to ignore him and even beat. No one agreed with his beliefs. He was threatened to be imprisoned for disobeying orders if he doesn't complete his weapon training or leave the military. All these hard things he has been through just to serve for his nation to help to defend everything what he believes in.  

The war is shown so terrifying, so ugly, that it is so emotional and sensitive when it starts. The atmosphere in the movie is so dramatic. I really felt like every last thirty minutes of it made me cry. The emotional impact it has is so huge, every shot of the backstory of Desmond Doss had a purpose, it made us care for everyone in it, so it would be even more dramatic, when it will be over. 

The film is a masterwork. It is a very effective and passionate movie. It glorifies the bravery and courage of a man who fought a war without a gun. This movie is so important. It has such a message. Message that if every one in the world would have been like Desmond Doss, there would not be need for a weapon.