Once again, as we delve ever deeper into award season, we arrive at one of the most popular Oscar bait categories, the 'World War Epic'. You can't have award season without it; Fury, The Hurt Locker, Saving Private Ryan, Pearl Harbor (forget that one) among many others, the list goes on.
The most significant factor that separates 2016/17's Hacksaw Ridge from other War movies is that it marks the big return to directing for one Mel Gibson after a 10 year hiatus (2006's Apocalypto being the last movie he headed). The other major difference is that this story revolves around a soldier who was also a conscientious objector. With these factors in play, does Hacksaw Ridge deliver the goods on the traditions of the 'war epic', and does it bring anything fresh to the otherwise well trodden path?
The film finds Desmond Doss (Andrew Garfield) in his hometown of Lynchburg, Virginia and follows his journey through romance, family trouble, hatred from his company at a military training camp due to his conscientious objector beliefs, all the way to his experiences as the company medic at the Battle of Okinawa, Japan. The location: Hacksaw Ridge.
Positives:
Andrew Garfield:
No actor has had a more consistently impressive 2016/17 than Andrew Garfield: While I thought Martin Scorsese's Silence wasn't as good as it could have been, Garfield absolutely blew me away and carried the whole movie on his shoulders, and he does the same here. Playing Desmond Doss through an infectiously likeable performance, Garfield brings a truly human character with extreme dedication to his religion and his pacifistic practises to life. This movie really delves into Doss' beliefs and challenges him right from the start, including some very important childhoods events that put his pacifism in motion. Where Silence was a watch-once-and-move-on movie to me, Hacksaw Ridge was a much better platform from which Garfield could really showcase his tremendous acting ability. An easy oscar nomination is certain to follow. Brilliant stuff.
The Score:
This has absolutely been one of my favourite years for film soundtracks in a long time. While nothing has yet come close to Ennio Morricone's Hateful Eight masterwork of last year, many of the scores to come out in the last few months have been epic, touching and memorable and this is no exception; Rupert Gregson-Williams has given us a truly epic soundtrack of War with blaring horns and heartbreaking strings. While it clearly takes a great many melodic influences from many war films, the only downside to this soundtrack is that it is nearly identical melodically to the soundtrack for another classic war movie, The Thin Red Line. The influence of that score is all over this movie, but considering it's one of the all time great war movie soundtracks, that's not necessarily a bad thing. The music builds with epic scope and emotional melodies to the point where you almost feel the need to jump out your seat and do your part in the fight. It's a powerful, albeit influenced soundtrack.
Mel Gibson's Direction:
I'd be the first to admit that Mel Gibson isn't exactly the most popular gentlemen around, but I'd also be first to say that I've really missed his work behind the camera. Gibson is an exceptionally talented director, regardless of his personal beliefs. He handles this movie extremely well, focusing more on the characters than the fighting. More than half the movie is dedicated to before the company even arrives in Japan even starts and it really benefits the story as a whole. However, when the fighting starts, it's a kick in the face with one of the most graphic, disturbing battle scenes in recent memory. Gibson really strikes the balance between whimsical romance, comedy, family drama and military patriotism in the first half, only to grab you by the neck and drag you into the screen with a second act of truly heart-pounding battle sequences. The 2 hour-19 minute run time flies by and that can definitely be attributed to a fantastic directorial return.
Negatives:
Typically Underdeveloped Supporting Cast:
This is a common difficulty that large-scope War movies share. The company of supporting soldiers aren't given anywhere near enough character time to develop alongside Garfield's superbly realised Doss. The military base scenes are funny and give us a good glimpse into these characters, who are all introduced by name in rapid-fire succession, but that is all it is, a glimpse. Once the battle starts and inevitably fellas get picked off pretty quickly, there isn't a great deal of weight to it.
One or two high ranking soldiers get a bit of development, namely the characters portrayed by Vince Vaughn and Sam Worthington. Within the company itself however, one soldier has a mini ark with Doss that is well rounded and resolves appropriately within the main story but otherwise, the characters are merely your average secondary war characters which is a shame, given the significance some of these people had in Doss' life.
A 'Perfect' Romance:
I was very unsure about where to place my opinion on the romance story between Andrew Garfield's Doss and Teresa Palmer's Dorothy. In the end it all felt slightly too perfect to me. Gibson had the difficult task of placing a great deal of content into his movie and for the most part it works, though as a result the romance comes off as a little rushed. It's never cheesy and the dialogue is very good, not to mention Garfield and Palmer's chemistry is great, but there is no real depth to the relationship and it isn't really explored enough to really feel real. It's very much a Hollywood romance; not a bad romance, but a little too fantastical.
Final Verdict:
Overall Hacksaw Ridge is the best War-Epic to come out in quite a while. Much more substance than style, grand in scope, well developed lead characters and a fantastic return to directing from Mel Gibson.
While it does suffer from a slightly rushed romance and an ensemble too large to manage, the story flows beautifully and the script allows it to fly by without any slow points or boring scenes. Everything focuses on and serves a fantastic lead performance by Andrew Garfield.
The battles are downright ferocious with a heavily inspired score to really ground it's epic scope and visual horror. Any fans of Saving Private Ryan will see similarities but that definitely doesn't prevent the intensity from sticking with you long after the credits role.
Overall I will definitely be seeing Hacksaw Ridge again and likely buying it in future.
I must say though, if you aren't a fan of World War movies, I will not say that this changes the formula in any profound ways; it's just a very welcome addition to a genre that can all-too-often be a bit stale.
8.5/10
The most significant factor that separates 2016/17's Hacksaw Ridge from other War movies is that it marks the big return to directing for one Mel Gibson after a 10 year hiatus (2006's Apocalypto being the last movie he headed). The other major difference is that this story revolves around a soldier who was also a conscientious objector. With these factors in play, does Hacksaw Ridge deliver the goods on the traditions of the 'war epic', and does it bring anything fresh to the otherwise well trodden path?
The film finds Desmond Doss (Andrew Garfield) in his hometown of Lynchburg, Virginia and follows his journey through romance, family trouble, hatred from his company at a military training camp due to his conscientious objector beliefs, all the way to his experiences as the company medic at the Battle of Okinawa, Japan. The location: Hacksaw Ridge.
Positives:
Andrew Garfield:
No actor has had a more consistently impressive 2016/17 than Andrew Garfield: While I thought Martin Scorsese's Silence wasn't as good as it could have been, Garfield absolutely blew me away and carried the whole movie on his shoulders, and he does the same here. Playing Desmond Doss through an infectiously likeable performance, Garfield brings a truly human character with extreme dedication to his religion and his pacifistic practises to life. This movie really delves into Doss' beliefs and challenges him right from the start, including some very important childhoods events that put his pacifism in motion. Where Silence was a watch-once-and-move-on movie to me, Hacksaw Ridge was a much better platform from which Garfield could really showcase his tremendous acting ability. An easy oscar nomination is certain to follow. Brilliant stuff.
The Score:
This has absolutely been one of my favourite years for film soundtracks in a long time. While nothing has yet come close to Ennio Morricone's Hateful Eight masterwork of last year, many of the scores to come out in the last few months have been epic, touching and memorable and this is no exception; Rupert Gregson-Williams has given us a truly epic soundtrack of War with blaring horns and heartbreaking strings. While it clearly takes a great many melodic influences from many war films, the only downside to this soundtrack is that it is nearly identical melodically to the soundtrack for another classic war movie, The Thin Red Line. The influence of that score is all over this movie, but considering it's one of the all time great war movie soundtracks, that's not necessarily a bad thing. The music builds with epic scope and emotional melodies to the point where you almost feel the need to jump out your seat and do your part in the fight. It's a powerful, albeit influenced soundtrack.
Mel Gibson's Direction:
I'd be the first to admit that Mel Gibson isn't exactly the most popular gentlemen around, but I'd also be first to say that I've really missed his work behind the camera. Gibson is an exceptionally talented director, regardless of his personal beliefs. He handles this movie extremely well, focusing more on the characters than the fighting. More than half the movie is dedicated to before the company even arrives in Japan even starts and it really benefits the story as a whole. However, when the fighting starts, it's a kick in the face with one of the most graphic, disturbing battle scenes in recent memory. Gibson really strikes the balance between whimsical romance, comedy, family drama and military patriotism in the first half, only to grab you by the neck and drag you into the screen with a second act of truly heart-pounding battle sequences. The 2 hour-19 minute run time flies by and that can definitely be attributed to a fantastic directorial return.
Negatives:
Typically Underdeveloped Supporting Cast:
This is a common difficulty that large-scope War movies share. The company of supporting soldiers aren't given anywhere near enough character time to develop alongside Garfield's superbly realised Doss. The military base scenes are funny and give us a good glimpse into these characters, who are all introduced by name in rapid-fire succession, but that is all it is, a glimpse. Once the battle starts and inevitably fellas get picked off pretty quickly, there isn't a great deal of weight to it.
One or two high ranking soldiers get a bit of development, namely the characters portrayed by Vince Vaughn and Sam Worthington. Within the company itself however, one soldier has a mini ark with Doss that is well rounded and resolves appropriately within the main story but otherwise, the characters are merely your average secondary war characters which is a shame, given the significance some of these people had in Doss' life.
A 'Perfect' Romance:
I was very unsure about where to place my opinion on the romance story between Andrew Garfield's Doss and Teresa Palmer's Dorothy. In the end it all felt slightly too perfect to me. Gibson had the difficult task of placing a great deal of content into his movie and for the most part it works, though as a result the romance comes off as a little rushed. It's never cheesy and the dialogue is very good, not to mention Garfield and Palmer's chemistry is great, but there is no real depth to the relationship and it isn't really explored enough to really feel real. It's very much a Hollywood romance; not a bad romance, but a little too fantastical.
Final Verdict:
Overall Hacksaw Ridge is the best War-Epic to come out in quite a while. Much more substance than style, grand in scope, well developed lead characters and a fantastic return to directing from Mel Gibson.
While it does suffer from a slightly rushed romance and an ensemble too large to manage, the story flows beautifully and the script allows it to fly by without any slow points or boring scenes. Everything focuses on and serves a fantastic lead performance by Andrew Garfield.
The battles are downright ferocious with a heavily inspired score to really ground it's epic scope and visual horror. Any fans of Saving Private Ryan will see similarities but that definitely doesn't prevent the intensity from sticking with you long after the credits role.
Overall I will definitely be seeing Hacksaw Ridge again and likely buying it in future.
I must say though, if you aren't a fan of World War movies, I will not say that this changes the formula in any profound ways; it's just a very welcome addition to a genre that can all-too-often be a bit stale.
8.5/10