Hacksaw Ridge (2016)

[Ezen Baklattan]

Review, Discuss, Debate, Celebrate, etc.

 

Show the love, @Nutella of Arabia and @Water Bottle.

[Dementeleus]

I'd give it an A-. For the most part, this isn't a story with a lot of surprises, and the first half is very old-fashioned (not in a bad way, but it hits the beats you expect it to hit). But Gibson does a good job of setting up the firmness of Doss' resolve, only to test it with some really horrific battle scenes.

[Water Bottle]

Simply fantastic. If you aren't moved by the end, you are made of stone. Just about the whole cast brings their a-game, Gibson does a fantastic job directing, and it's just great.

 

A

[Kvikk Lunsj]

Seeing it tomorrow. 

[timurfincuk]

This is the best film of the year. A+

[filmlover]

So, I actually really loved this. Whatever you think of Mel Gibson as an actual human being, Hacksaw Ridge is a masterful tale of courage and determination in even the most dire of circumstances. This isn't always an easy film to watch (few movies have portrayed the ugly side of war as viscerally as this one), but then war never is. Highlighting the film is a rather marvelous lead performance from Andrew Garfield as Desmond Doss. This will probably have insane staying power in the weeks ahead, it's been a while since I saw an audience applaud at the end of a film as I did here. A-

[Ozymandias]

Its pretty great from start to finish.  Everyone in this was good, even Sam Worthington.  When Mel Gibson gets a good performance out of Sam Worthington, theres no arguing his directing capabilities.  Sometimes its genuinely funny, there parts where I busted out laughing.  The action in this is relentless and brutal, once it starts holy shit it packs a punch and doesn't let up, motherfucker knows how to shoot action.  Perhaps most impressively, being a faith based film, I never felt like I was being preached at or told how to think.

 

A

[filmlover]

I was pleasantly surprised to be reminded that Vince Vaughn can still be a really good actor. He's been wasting his talent on asinine comedies for too long.

[Kvikk Lunsj]

I really loved this film. Say what you want about Mel Gibson but he can direct.  Everyone in the film gives s good performance.  Horrors of war are shown in this film and it is one best films at doing so. The film hits you with an emotional punch. The runtime speeds by I though there was another 30 minutes left in the movie. 

5/5 

 

[DAJK]

One of, if not the best, of the year. I seriously loved this movie, @Nutella of Arabia @Water Bottle I was scared I was going to be let down by how hyped I was based on a combo of your reactions/critical reviews/audience reception at my theatre.

 

I was not let down. Awesome movie. Yea, it mostly does hit the beats you expect it to hit, especially after seeing the trailer. But it's extremely well done in pretty much every aspect, from the performances to the battles to even the music. Would certainly put it up there along the likes of SPR among modern war flicks. 

 

Everyone, please go see this.

[lilmac]

Pros

 

One of the best war movies of all time. I almost teared up during the recollections by the real Desmond Doss and others who served with him. Ranks up there with Saving Private Ryan and Braveheart. I would see it again. Certainly worthy of a Blu-Ray purchase.

 

Cons

 

Garfield's character, Desmond Doss, was a bit hokey during his courtship of Dorothy. The stares he gave her in the movie theater made me cringe and look away. I guess someone who has never sseen a beautiful woman before could react that way but it took me out of the movie...briefly.

 

 

A+

Edited January 12, 2017 by lilmac

[Kalo]

Hawksaw Ridge is riveting, bold, emotional, graphic, and one of the best films ever to grace the screen.

 

After a 10 year Hiatus from directing after being shamed by hollywood, Mel Gibson's first directorial film since "Apocalypto" goes beyond what you called a comeback.

Hacksaw Ridge tells the true story of Desmond Doss, a Conscientious Objector Military medic, who face extreme persecution for his refusal to hold a gun, and went on to became one of the most heroic men that ever lived saving countless lives on the battlefield.

 

This movie is beautiful to look at, but in the worst and best ways, as far as war films go it is one of the most realistic and gruesome films I've ever seen, not shying away from showing severed limbs after an explosion or maggot intestines lying on the blood covered battleground. but the way it is all filmed, while certainly dramatic, it perfectly captures the tone, but the excellent camera work at hand, there is some slow motion shots, but they are not gratuitous and only enhances the experience of the film. during the action I was tense and on the edge of my seat, it perfectly portrayed the horror of war. and we can think Mel Gibson and his autor vision for that, this film is expertly directed and while thanks to the sins of his past Gibson probably won't get the nomination that he deserves to win come oscar season.

 

As for the acting, everyone is fantastic, Andrew Garfield embodies the character of Desmond, with the same convict that man he's playing has, he is such an amazing likeable character it's kind of hard not to buy it and if by the end you are not cheering for him, you have no soul. But not only Garfield was great, Hugo Weaving gives one of the best performances of his career as a damaged war vet, who while not the most likable character, you can't hate him, because of the layers to the character, much of which is in weavings expert performance. Teresa Palmer is excellent as Desmond's love interest. freaking Vince Vaughn gives the performance of his career.
Sam Worthington is great.

 

But really at the heart of this movie is it's incredibly almost unbelievable true story of Desmond Doss, who just wanted to serve his country while staying true to his own convictions. I gotta say in a day in age where Christianity and Christian values are almost completely ignored by the media, even dammed. it is refreshing to see a film standing up for these values that everyone seems so eager to forget.

A powerful, important film that everyone should see. A+

[Kvikk Lunsj]

11 votes and 11 As. This could be a contender for BOFer award. If this wins award can we send a little certificate to Mel Gibson. 

[DAJK]

17 minutes ago, Dexter of Suburbia said:

11 votes and 11 As. This could be a contender for BOFer award. If this wins award can we send a little certificate to Mel Gibson. 

As soon as Nolan and Miller get theirs

[Kvikk Lunsj]

1 hour ago, DAJK said:

As soon as Nolan and Miller get theirs

Nolan will get his next year

[RobinHood26]

WOWOWOWOW

 

The first half of the movie was good. It wasn't bad, but it didn't bring anything new to the table, direction was strong, little corny, but its almost necesary for this classic movie feeling Gibson gives. 

We need the set up for the 2nd half can pay off and boy does it.

 

Like straight up, Holy fuck, next level A worthy shit. I was blown away. Not just by the intensity and gore of the action but how Gibson was able to perfectly contract and connect character moments/ faith and his message. The first battle might be best war scene of all time. I can't put my words into text on this movie. Too much to express. The trust of emotions is insane.

 

I also loved the pace in the middle. HUGE battle and really one character scene (Luke Bracey gives his best performance easily)  to bridge us to the true climax of the film. 

 

The final battle after he's saved everyone was really cool, the whole thing being a montage I thought worked and was kinda genius, however the ending felt odd, rushed, kinda like they weren't sure where to end the story. I also felt they needed to somehow show Tessa Palmer again. 

 

 

 

Overall amazing direction, fantastic acting form everyone, A+ action, I cried 3 times. 

 

B+ (89)

 

 

I've only seen 33 2016 releases so far, but this tops my list. We'll see how it does on a blu ray viewing and see if it can climb to the A- spot 

[Dementeleus]

Just to reiterate what I mentioned in the main Hacksaw thread, because of budget constraints, they had to shoot the montage sequence in three and a half hours. Gibson and his producer were joking that it makes for a good story now, but it was a really stressful day because they were really up against it: the producer was pushing pushing pushing that they had to move on and Gibson knew it was true, so he was scrambling to grab every sort of shot he could, as quickly as possible.

 

The whole battle section was tough because they were so limited budgetarily. (They used BRAVEHEART as an example -- it had a 70m+ budget back in the 90s. This had a 42m budget). They only had a few dozen Japanese extras to use for the entire army, so they had to keep re-dressing them in different costumes and framing/blocking them so the audience wouldn't catch all the same faces.

[MrHardapple]

Mel Gibson definitely deserves an Oscar for Hacksaw Ridge.

What he did with a relatively small budget and in a pretty limited amount of time is just fantastic.

[baumer]

Not only possibly the best film of the year but this has usurped Saving Private Ryan has the best war film ever made in my opinion. Every performance in this film is top-notch as well. I have no idea if the academy is going to recognize Mel Gibson this year but they really should if they put all of their biases aside. If you're going for strictly the best film of the year with the best performances in the best Direction and so on movie hands down it's probably that film.

 

9.5/10

[Blankments]

Hacksaw Ridge is a very simple film, but in a good way. The first half is a better Capra throwback than most other recent attempts. However, everyone in this is a fairly decent person; it's refreshing in a very humanistic way. Garfield does a fantastic job as Doss, bringing some everyman charm to the proceedings. Then the second half kicks in and it becomes a harrowing war film, yet one full of hope. Doss's deeds are portrayed phenomenally, and Gibson does not let you forget the gravity of the situation once.

 

Gibson's direction in general is excellent, not ever really being flashy. Yet he knows how to make the war scenes brutal, and the non-war scenes hopeful. To talk a bit more about the war scenes, the technical prowess of how these are shot is stunning. Every shot is felt thanks to tremendous sound mixing, and the cinematography always captures the pure horror of the battlefield. It's important to note though that although separating the halves while critiquing makes sense, the overall film is good too.

 

Sometimes the simplicity of Hacksaw Ridge becomes too much to bear. The throwback elements feel dated for a few scenes, and sometimes, you wonder why Doss couldn't have any flaws. However, it's a true story about a man who saved many lives, and it's inspirational to finally see a big budget war film about a war medic in modern Hollywood, when the only other big one we've seen is about a man who bragged about how many people he sniped. Hacksaw Ridge is necessary in this way, but also a great film in its own right, capturing one of WWII's finest heroes in a quality tale of heroism in a horrible world. B+