[Movie Review] Five Reasons Why You Should Watch Hacksaw Ridge!

How long can you stand for your beliefs? How far can you go to fight for what you believe in? If things went beyond expectations and if everything is not falling into place, will you still have enough motivation and courage to continue? When  your faith is being tested, are you strong enough to withstand the challenges? How long can you hold on?
Photo Credit : Columbia Pictures

Okay, this is not me being so dramatic but these are just some of the thoughts running in my mind right now after watching “Hacksaw Ridge” last Wednesday. The highly acclaimed film is finally hitting the Philippine theaters this coming February 22 and it was truly an amazing film to watch. Honestly, I am not really into action movies and I seldom watch films that are related to war or anything that features extreme violence but Hacksaw Ridge caught my attention in so many ways. This film shares another heroic story that will surely move your hearts. Now, allow me to give you my reasons why you should not miss this movie once its hits the cinemas this week.

Photo Credit : Columbia Pictures

5. “It’s Another Mel Gibson Film”
After ten years (literally), Mel Gibson is back with another brilliant film! It is another Gibson’s masterpiece that should never be missed! If you guys have watched some of Gibson’s (directed) films like “Braveheart” and “Passion of the Christ“, you should know that these films were both critically acclaimed. Hacksaw Ridge, on the other hand is not an exemption at all. It features an equally compelling story, impressive cinematography and a great ensemble of cast who delivered their roles so well. It is not really surprising why the film has earned praises and already won various awards from different award bodies.

Photo Credit : Columbia Pictures

4. “It’s a Multi-Awarded and Critically Acclaimed Film”
A Film will not be awarded or be recognized by different Award bodies for no reason. Films are being recognized mainly because of their quality and that’s exactly what Hacksaw Ridge will provide. It offers a very compelling story with decent amount of action and pinch of humor to balance the intensity (thanks to Vince Vaughn who provided most of the comic relief prior to those heart pounding war sequences in Hacksaw Ridge). The film has earned not just one but 6 Oscar nominations including the Best Director for Mel Gibson, Best Actor for Garfield and Best Picture. Those are major categories competing against other highly  acclaimed films such as La La Land and Arrival. Prior to the Oscars, the film has already earned major awards and nominations from other award bodies including the recently concluded Golden Globes and more. To top it all, did you know that the film received a 10-minute standing ovation in its premier in Venice.

Photo Credit : Columbia Pictures

3. “Spidey No More”
Honestly, prior to this movie, I cannot think of anything about Andrew Garfield other than being the Amazing Spiderman but after watching the movie, I was really surprised and I can confidently say that Garfield was such a revelation in this movie.  When i thought that Andrew Garfield (after the cancellation of his Spiderman trilogy) will share the same fate with Brandon Routh (Superman Returns) and Toby Maguire (also the Spiderman) who both had a hard time escaping their superhero image and have been typecaste for the same roles, this film proved me wrong. Garfield in portraying Desmond Doss in this film showed us what he is capable of and he is more than just your favorite hero who can swing from one building to another. The acting was really convincing, the accent was on point and delivery was just beyond expectations. With so much praises from the critics, I’m sure Andrew Garfield just placed his career to an all new level and we just can’t wait to see more from him in the future.

Photo Credit : Columbia Pictures

2. “It is Based on a True Story”
When I first watched the trailer weeks before the special screening, my first impression is that , it is just another typical war movie… a “Saving Private Ryan – wanna be” but the movie proved me wrong. Even though both of the movies were set on the same time line [World War II], there is a huge difference between the two. Saving Private Ryan is a movie that is merely inspired from the events that occurred during the second world war but the characters were entirely fictional while Hacksaw Ridge is a biographical film which is based on a real story whose character truly existed. The film basically follows a heroic journey of Desmond Doss who was a combat medic who interestingly went on a life-risking mission without any weapons to protect him. He was a conscientious objector and despite of having the rights to refuse to join the military service, he volunteered in the army with a mission not to kill but to save lives. The film may not have that epic 27 minute battle introduction like what we have witnessed in Saving Private Ryan but the intensity is still there especially when the troops entered the cliff (the Hacksaw Ridge) and fought against an overwhelming amount of enemies (Japanese).

Photo Credit : Columbia Pictures

1. “A Compelling Story About Faith That Will Move Your Heart and Soul”
The story of Desmond Doss is truly unique. A man who has no weapon to protect him managed to save over 75 men from the bloody battlefield single-handedly? It is seemingly impossible indeed and it feels like watching a heroic tale that is often depicted in most fictional books but the story of Doss is not a tale but events that impressively happened in real life. The epic story of Doss should have been adapted a long time ago but he refused a lot of offers for both books and film adaptation for one reason, he want his story to be depicted as accurate as possible. This movie adaptation was merely based on the documentary about Doss in 2003 (Doss passed away on 2006) and they only made few notable changes including the backstory of Doss’s father. Doss by the way is a Seventh Day Adventist and even though it incorporates religion, the film will emphasized more on how Doss managed to keep his beliefs despite of so many detractors. His faith is truly an inspiration to many and it teaches us to fight for what you believe in. Doss’ determination to save lives left a huge impact to his comrades which gave them so much hope and motivation in the battle. Every time Doss throw the line where he prays to the Lord to help him save one more life during the battle gives me so much goosebumps. You can really feel the emotions going on during those epic sequences and it touches my heart so deep that made me question my own faith to God. If i was on his shoe, will I have enough faith to hold on? Will I have enough courage to think of others before saving myself?
Photo Credit : Columbia Pictures

Hacksaw Ridge is rated R-16 Without Cuts and opens Philippine cinemas on Feb 22, 2017.