***1/2 out of ****
Rated R
(for intense prolonged realistically graphic sequences of war violence including grisly bloody images, some language)
Released: November 2, 2016 NY/LA; November 4 wide
Runtime: 131 minutes
Director: Mel Gibson
Starring: Andrew Garfield, Vince Vaughn, Hugo Weaving, Teresa Palmer, Sam Worthington, Luke Bracey, Rachel Griffiths
Available to rent through Amazon Video or buy on Blu-ray, DVD, and 4K. Proceeds from purchases made through these links go to support this blog.
Ranked #15 (Honorable Mention) on My Top 10 List For 2016, and 2016 Academy Award winner for Best Film Editing and Sound Mixing
My review of Hacksaw Ridge, for The Tulsa Voice, the new World War II movie from director Mel Gibson. It’s the true story of Desmond Doss, the first Conscientious Objector to be awarded the Medal of Honor for his service on the battlefield.
Hacksaw Ridge “melds the brutal content and sacrificial spirit of Gibson’s two most famous works, Braveheart and The Passion of the Christ” as the film’s “second hour explodes with manifest warfare and carnage.”
To read my full review for The Tulsa Voice, click here.
‘Hacksaw ridge’, very well put. Kudos for keeping your critiques focused on the art and not the artist(for someone as hounded by controversy as Mel Gibson, the temptation is strong to be sure). As with most military themed movies, ‘hackshaw’ is heavy on the cliches(main reason I’m not a huge fan of military themed films), mostly in its first half. Mel Gibson’s films as a director may not be ‘comfortable’ viewing(I’m the only person in my nuclear family who has seen ‘passion’ all the way through and I still can’t talk my dad into rewatching ‘apocalyto’) but they are always emotionally profound and philosophically necessary viewing.
I’d even suggest that Mel’s demons and his conscious battle with them have influenced his films in fascinating, and revealing, ways.