James Mel Gibson has put together what is basically an Australian film, revealing in the extra materials that he is looking for heightened truth to achieve clarity. And indeed, everything here is writ large - from the beauty of the Blue Ridge Mountains (or convincing Australian substitutes thereof), to the awe-inspiring wonder and purity of the love interest in the film between Desmond Doss (as superbly played by Brit Andrew Garfield) and Dorothy Schutte (played with total commitment by a simply exquisite Teresa Palmer), to the spectacle of the drunken-aggressive-shellshocked apparently-hopeless WWI veteran that is Doss's father stepping back into uniform and pulling himself together to save his son from court-martial; and through to some of the strongest and most trully appalling battle scenes you have ever seen - in what is an amazing and shocking contrast with the earlier part of the film, if only a confirmation of the message about war Doss received from his broken father (here played wonderfully by Hugo Weaving). And yet, as the credits approach and we see the real-life versions of the characters portrayed in the film, we know that truth is indeed being presented here, a truth that committed Christian Gibson is trying to tell us is also the truth of God - and 7th Day Adventist-conscientious objector Doss would certainly have no doubt about that; and he went to Okinawa refusing to fight or touch a weapon, yet determined to be with his comrades in the absolute heat of battle, and to save lives - which he did indeed do, again and again and again and again. Seeing the recreation of the Hacksaw Ridge slaughter one might anticipate that literally nobody could get out alive, and - since not every battlefield was fortunate enough to have had its Desmond Doss - a further behind-the-scenes star of this film is of course the one called "Enola Gay" - somewhat sad (if inevitable) to think of that given the bravery and heroism in the midst of the slaughter, but slaughter it undoubtedly was. Ultimately, intolerable slaughter.Needless to say, the portrayal of Doss's military training is an uncomfortable one for the viewer, yet there are truly magnificent scenes when Officers, Sergeants and men first begin to get an inkling of the man of true, stubbornly steadfast conviction they are dealing with. The way the behaviour begins slightly to change in the direction of first admiration is immaculate acting in and of itself, most especially from Vince Vaughn as Sgt. Howell. Yes, really, this is that Vince Vaughn, and what he produces here is an absolute peak of achievement.Once again, "Hacksaw Ridge" draws inspiration (potentially even divine inspiration) from its utterly amazing subject-matter. Perhaps it would indeed be difficult to make a bad film out of this story. But in the hands of Gibson, some really great actors and special effects guys absolutely going above and beyond anything you can think of, this film is a moving, awe-inspiring, shocking TRIUMPH. Required viewing, if far from easy to view!

muvi-fan-73 More than place (Hacksaw Ridge) where the war was fought, this movie highlights is the medic Desmond Doss who saved numerous lives without carrying a gun or firing a shot. It makes me say a quote 'Faith in humanity restored'.I find Oscars overrated, but here -this movie has won two Oscars, which makes me say, 'Faith in Oscars restored'.The movie comes from the director Mel Gibson, the one who directed the passion of the Christ and apocalypto. He stands new coming into my conscience and what I would like to say is he is one hell of a director.Final Verdict: Movie coming from a director who understands faith so well is a reason why justice is done to the subject so nicely. Even if you are not a part of country involved in war shown in this movie, please watch it for the humanity of Desmond Doss.

xiaoxiao2007 This movie gave me so much emotional, just like a gift of my life to see such extraordinary thing

shakercoola Hacksaw Ridge is a film based on a true story about a Seventh-day Adventist and turned U.S. Army corporal, a pacifist who won the Medal of Honor for his outstanding bravery on Maeda Escarpment during the Battle of Okinawa without firing a shot as a combat medic and "conscientious collaborator". It is an astoundingly violent film, reminiscent of director Mel Gibson's previous films and of Sam Pickinpah's style of violence in conflict and war mixed with the notion of faith. In a way, it is a film that feels like it is at war with itself for the opposing moral codes it exhibits. The film's style is questionable at times, not for the mayhem, gore and graphic violence, but for Gibson's compulsion to use explicit threat and violence in scenes that are uncalled for and feel out-of-kilter even away from battle. Scenes of violence on the battlefield sometimes suffer from tension exhaustion because of their sheer length. Yet, Gibson has the sensitivity to leave out some scenes of Doss's bravery because they might have been deemed too unbelievable by audiences, even though they certainly were not. Nonetheless, Andrew Garfield delivers a careful performance as Corporal Doss and the film has a strong supporting cast of good performances. Mel Gibson, still hard at work under the ritual of expiation, is still a competent filmmaker of traditional Hollywood blockbusters and this film is his best film direction since Apocalypto.