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MOVIE REVIEW: Hacksaw Ridge...

Hon. Dr. in Acts-celeratology Posts: 6042 **11/13/16 9:46 pm**

First, there are no f-bombs or taking God's name in vain. There is still some rough language, but I read that Gibson edited out these things (or didn't film them in the first place) in honor of Desmond Doss' religious convictions.

This film is AWESOME! I have long been a Desmond Doss fan, and I believe that Gibson largely nailed it (even if some of the southern accents didn't quite make the cut).

The blood and gore, however, are every bit as "over the top" as "Saving Private Ryan." By that I mean that the viewer is not spared the absolute horror of battle. When you see someone dragging a person with ease...and then find out that's because legs are missing...and it is presented in all it's horror, it makes you appreciate more what good boys when through to fight WW2.

Doss' faith is not toned down. It is right there for all to see. He has his Bible. He doesn't work on the Sabbath (Saturday--as he is a 7th Day Adventist). And he doesn't carry or use a weapon, due to his believe in "Thou Shalt Not Kill," and some other backstory that we learn of.

It's a touching film.

When it was over, an almost elderly lady told me that she had lived in Okinawa, etc., due to her step-father being in the military. She had been moved by the movie also.

Again, it's not a movie that you can show in church...but perhaps it is a good thing to show it so that we better understand the sacrifice...and the tremendous moral courage that Desmond Doss had. I took my 12-year-old son to see it for the express reason to make him better appreciate the cost of war...and that moral courage is the greatest courage of all. He handled it well. I have not allowed him to see Saving Private Ryan because, so far as I know, it's not a true story...but Doss' story is.

Golf Cart Mafia Consigliere Posts: 3147 **11/15/16 4:07 pm**

I am looking forward to seeing it. My dad was drafted in the Vietnam war and had the same feeling about killing and became a medic and refused to carry a gun in the same way. He was spared combat and sent to Germany instead, but he did go through a lot of persecution because of his stance including attempted murder by a sergeant (who was convicted and sentenced for it). I hope to go see it with my sons this week.

P.S. The Saving Private Ryan story is based on an account given to Steven Ambrose by a member of the 506th PIR while writing Band of Brothers. Its unverifiable, but it was such a moving story that Tom Hanks wanted to do a movie about it. At least that's what I remember reading once. My wife and I watched that movie sitting behind a WWII vet and his wife, during the Normandy scene, he fell into his wife's lap sobbing, it was deeply moving.