Hell in the Pacific: Review of Hacksaw Ridge

Hacksaw Ridge

Director: Mel Gibson

By Alex Watson

After years in the wilderness, Mel Gibson seems to be working his way back. His new project Hacksaw Ridge is a fitting tribute to our WWII veterans. Focusing on the story of Desmond Doss- who was awarded the Medal of Honor despite being a conscientious objector. Gibson's direction brings the man's strength of character to life. On the battlefield is where this picture scores highly and we are given the best war scenes since Spielberg's Saving Private Ryan.

Desmond Doss (Andrew Garfield) is a young man who wants to serve in WWII but his refusal to bear arms puts him at a disadvantage immediately. Superiors Captain Glover (Sam Worthington) and Sergeant Howell (Vince Vaughn) want him gone. Despite his brutal treatment Doss refuses to give in. Shipped over to the Pacific, Doss must contend the fiery hell of battle in Okinawa. Without firing a single bullet, Doss will show these men of war what courage really is.

Mel Gibson takes his time over telling Doss' story and the fast half of Hacksaw Ridge explains why he maintains his pacifist beliefs. Raising in rural Virgina to an abusive, alcoholic war veteran father (Hugo Weaving). His first experience with violence nearly kills his brother in a play fight. Reinforcing his belief in the sixth commandment, Doss resolves to never hurt anyone. He begins a cute romance with his future wife Dorothy (Teresa Palmer), a nurse at his local hospital. Their courting has a glowing innocence of youth and feels very much like the calm before the storm. When Doss enlists in the US Army and begins basic training, at first things go swimmingly but he refuses to pick up a rifle things get ugly. His purity of heart and self sacrificing are just the start of what will become a life altering experience. The early scenes between Doss and his father are like hearing the voices of the soldiers already lost, as his father begs him not succumb to same fate his his lost friends.

Called out by both Howell and Glover for his beliefs, Doss soon finds himself ostracized by his squad and deemed a coward. Glover fears he is damaging troop morale and cannot under why a pacifist would join a combat regiment? During this sequence we get a firm glimpse at his refusal to give in. Doss is beaten up, given extra duties, refused leave but still resolves to complete training. Even when faced with an easy out of military service, Doss still will not pick up a rifle. With a court martial pending it takes a piece of bravery for his afflicted Dad to save him from spending the war in jail. Doss' argumens about his right to serve will melt even the most stubborn of hearts. Although a proven team player and demonstrating sheer courage, he is frown upon by even the most senior officers. Continually bruised and scarred from his experience, Desmond emerges as a hero before he even sets a foot in WWII.

Arriving in Okinawa is where Hacksaw Ridge shows its true colours. As the troop watch the numerous dead bodies and shellshocked troops heading away, it is clear this is a place men fear to tread. Taking this island is all important and Glover explains this could swing the war towards Allied victory. Entering the battlefield, the nerves tingle all around us and surrounded by the ashes and fire of combat are the tenacious Japanese army. Be prepared for continual anxiety and claustrophobia because when the bullets fly this combat zone turns into hell on earth. Soldiers are ripped apart in moments and the men we have become familiar with are lying dead all around. Gibson doesn't hold back and his fascination on showing the guts and brutality of war bring us right into the horrific nature of war. Through his excellent direction, Gibson shows just how perilous Doss' sacrifices to save his comrades really was. Fearlessly diving into the heat of battle to drag another to safety while ankle deep in the insides and blood of the fallen- Doss keeps praying for the lord to just let him save one more. His display of bravery is rousing to the core and a true hero of the battlefield is born.

Andrew Garfield turns in an Oscar worthy performance as Desmond Doss. It is hard to imagine another actor that show the same kind of heart as this man? Garfield embodies the spirit of Doss and plays his character like he doesn't know the meaning of the word quit. With this and his role in Martin Scorsese's 'Silence' Garfield is on a career high and is a frontrunner for the awards season. Sam Worthington and Vince Vaughn also give as good as they can. Vaughn in particular is scene stealing as the loud Sgt. Howell. Hugo Weaving in a brief role in the one that is the most poignant. Weaving ably demonstrates the effect that war has on a man's mental state. His character is lost in a haze and feel confusion over what precisely his generation were fighting for when so many were killed?

Mel Gibson as a character might never be fully redeemed, as a director we forget just how great he can be with the right material. Hacksaw Ridge is a movie that puts him on the map again and there is no better man than Gibson to tell the story of Desmond Doss.

Expendables 3: An Action Hero Too Far

Firstly a disclaimer; I love a good dumb film. I like switching my brain off for two hours and being entertained by explosions and one-liners. I am Michael Bay's target audience.

The Third instalment in the Expendables trilogy was released in the UK last week, and on the internet ages ago. Whoops. Despite being the school holidays and the movie having a 12A, I was at least 25% of the whole theatre audience.

The movie opens with Stallone and friends assaulting a prison train to rescue former team member Wesley Snipes because subtlety isn't the point of this movie. If you've seen the trailer, you'll know that the train then crashes into a prison and explodes. Dumb fun.

If this movie is anything to go by, Snipes has recently watched a ton of free-running videos as his character Doc leaps about like Super Mario on springs. There's a lot of this.

It's then straight into another action sequence and Terry Crews turns up to add some humour. Sadly this is the only real sequence Crews had as shooting commitments clashed with Brooklyn Nine Nine. This harbour fight sequence is fun, as it also introduces the movie's baddie, Mel Gibson.

To make a long story short (and it's the longest of the trilogy), Gibson's character, the improbably named Stonebanks injures one of the team and escapes, so Stallone goes off to take revenge. However, realising that his team of veteran soldiers is getting on a bit, he leaves them at home and recruits a new, young team, probably the main characters of the next movie. This is where Kelsey Grammer comes in as a man with a lot of phone numbers. Montage-tastic.

While Statham, Snipes, Lundgren and Couture stay at home and watch TV, Stallone and the Junior Expendables nip of to Bucharest to try and nab Gibson. Things go wrong, the kids are kidnapped and it's up to Stallone and the old guard to rescue them.

Cue explosions, more explosions, helicopter chases and a final set piece that pitches the new and old Expendables facing off against an army from a made up country. There's also the obligatory fight at the end between Stallone and Gibson.

Good points;

* Although the score is largely recycled from the last two movies, Brian Tyler's punchy strings still carry the action nicely and you'll leave the theatre humming the main motif.
* The rapport between the characters is fun, you'll probably hate the youngsters but the banter between the elder members of the group is well written.
* Harrison Ford's last minute inclusion works well.
* The location scout deserves a raise. A lot of the location work was beautiful.

Bad points;

* Jet Li! I'm a huge Jet Li fan but despite top-ish billing, he has less than five minutes of screen time and he does no martial arts at all.
* The cast was too big. Not enough time to develop the youngsters which just made them easy to dislike.

Should you watch this film? Yes, as dumb action films go, it's fun but it's not as good as its predecessors. It's also not as good as Transformers Age of Extinction which in turn is nowhere near as good as Guardians of the Galaxy. All of which are still in theatres. I watched it on a Tuesday because tickets are only £5 at Odeon. I'd be less happy if I'd paid full price.