Hacksaw Ridge: Critics Hail Mel Gibson’s War Movie, Call It A Must-See In 2016

Hacksaw Ridge got a standing ovation at the Venice Film Festival, Sunday, sparking rave reviews from critics and ushering Mel Gibson back into Hollywood prominence, the Independent is reporting. The 60-year-old Australian-American who directed his last movie, Apocalypto in 2006, wowed the audience with his World War II action drama, prompting a 10-minute standing ovation which is a rarity at a festival known for the staunchest critics.

The Hacksaw Ridge stellar cast, including Andrew Garfield, Hugo Weaving, Sam Worthington, Vince Vaughn, and Teresa Palmer joined Gibson on the red carpet to celebrate a movie that has been described as a “moving and bruising war film that hits you like a raw topside of beef in the face.”

Hacksaw Ridge is based on the real-life story of Desmond Doss, a conscience driven man in the American army who refuses to carry a weapon, much to the ridicule of his superiors and fellow soldiers, but who unbelievably stays behind during the 1945 Battle of Okinawa when his battalion is forced to retreat, and single-handedly saves 75 wounded men from danger.

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Andrew Garfield, who took over from Tobey McGuire as Marvel’s Spiderman, stars as the young man who enlists in the army and insists on his constitutional right to serve strictly as a medic and not to carry a weapon. His actions baffle Sgt. Howell, played by Sam Worthington, who makes life a living hell for the young soldier and tries to get him squeezed out of the army.

Garfield impresses in Hacksaw Ridge with a more matured performance than Marvel’s skyscraper scampering superhero as he refuses to give in to the physical punishment and mocking humiliation from his superiors and colleagues, triumphing against the odds buoyed on by iron-clad support from his love interest, Dorothy, played by Teresa Palmer.

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Hacksaw Ridge which initially centers on the psychological and emotional pressures of the war, soon explodes into a no-nonsense action flick when Desmond’s battalion sails out to the Pacific and tries to capture impregnable Japanese territory. The battalion ends up behind enemy lines and gets more than they bargain for while suffering heavy losses that force them retreat. Doss, the man who does not have the conviction to kill another man, chooses to stay behind and save the wounded soldiers that have been abandoned.

Gibson was looking to tell a faith-inspired story with Hacksaw Ridge and show that real heroes drew strength from a higher power. Mel jokingly compared the courage of Desmond Doss to comic-book superhero characters, adding that he wanted to portray a realistic type of hero and not one running around in spandex.

” Hacksaw Ridge is about a man who wouldn’t touch a weapon and wanted to be part of saving lives in the worst place on earth. Okinawa was a horrific place…there were over 300,000 casualties, mostly civilian. A lot of attention needs to be paid to our warriors; they need some love and understanding. I hope this film imparts that message. If it does nothing but that, that’s great.”

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Gibson spent almost an eternity studying Doss’ time in the military during World War II and how he was the first conscientious objector to be awarded the Medal of Honor in recognition of the courage he showed during the brutal assault on Okinawa Island. Gibson said he was held spellbound by the story of the Seventh-Day Adventist man who served in the 1st Battalion 307th Infantry and wanted to tell his story with the epic war movie, Hacksaw Ridge.

“It’s undeniable what the essence of Doss was: he was a man of great courage and strong conviction and strong faith; to go into a battle zone like that—which the Japanese called ‘steel rain’ with artillery and lead flying around—to go into that armed with only your faith, your faith has to be strong in you. That’s an undeniable part of the story I found really inspiring.”

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Mel Gibson has proved that he is a cat with nine lives after coming back from a strained relationship with Hollywood. In 2006, according to a CNN report, Mel hurled anti-Semitic abuse at a police officer. In 2010, according to a report in The Guardian, the Braveheart actor, launched a racist tirade at his partner, Oksana Grigorieva. Hacksaw Ridge will start showing in cinemas across New Zealand and Australia November 4.

[Photo by Joel Ryan/AP Images]