Hacksaw Ridge (2016)
Based on the incredible true story.
So the new movie buddy had a request for a movie this week - another war one, a bit more serious this time but also a far more impressive story. The fact that it’s based on a true story really helps sell how impressive it is - and of course set in a time of greatness - even if that greatness isn’t all in the good way. Tonight we see the reason behind a man, and the impressive story to go along with what happened up on Hacksaw Ridge.
This guy is nuts. I mean that in the best of ways of course, but seriously what a dang story. I mean, sure, you might not agree with his standings on things, but this man not only saved a ridiculous number of people (on screen and off), but did it without firing a gun in a world war. I mean, that concept alone can cause a brain.exe error in people - but I guess I’m getting ahead of myself. Yes, I’m sure some embellishments were taken for the sake of entertainment - just as much as I’m sure the actual gravity of the violence was still toned down compared to what it was in reality. They even have the actual folks pop in at the end as talking heads, recalling some of the events and their feelings on things - it’s an exceptional backbone they have here, so even if it might be visually bumped up it doesn’t matter - there’s grounds to be impressed regardless.
The story here follows our main through his childhood - and a few traumatic moments that really helped shape who he would be in the future. Look, I’m not huge into the drama genre, largely because it deals with humans doing human things and normally a lot of talking - but it works great for really building up why a character or person is the way they are, and in this case really doesn’t feel like it drags it out at all - granted, if all you wanted going in was a war movie you might find it takes a while to get the war part, but it’s all in service of building the character and getting you into their headspace as to why they are this ridiculously brave dude.
The actors do a great job here as well, and chemistry isn’t even a question. These people right knock things out of the park - even the ones you barely get to know. They didn’t waste a line in here, and you’ll find yourself having your pants charmed off just as much as you can find your dislike towards some characters making an eventual turn when you understand their situation better. Of course, it also doesn’t end up feeling like it comes out of nowhere, and especially if you’ve experienced a ton of different stories - but look, I’m not going to dock it for characters they introduce you to dying in one of the worst wars to exist - this is based on reality, and there was a lot of deaths in that thing.
Our main character isn’t the one in the background.
The scenery is fitting for what it wants, and the pacing is good. There’s a lot of not-violent conflict in the earlier parts, with a lot of tense violence filled and impending moments in the later half. The characters are all at least based on someone real, and they don’t come off feeling as anything but real in the runtime. Even when it feels absurd, you come back in by the end when listening to the recounting from the actual people - and it’s just really a nice grounded experience. Yes, it’s not all happy, but that’s also how the world is. Sure, modern sensibilities may find themselves getting a little off put by the rather accurate slang getting thrown around, or triggered by some of the moments of upbringing - but this is the stuff of reality, and the depth of the message doesn’t benefit from getting watered down for our sensibilities. The best way to show war is bad is to actually show how bad war is, even if that means you need to see some missing limbs and death-masks of horror.
Of course, part of the things that makes it a rather special war movie is the fact the man was quite pacifistic. Never shot a gun - although he did touch one to use it as a drag bar, never to shoot another person - during the war. It’s just impressive, and then to see the shear number of folks he managed to save doing it, it’s just baffling. This thing is a great movie for the thinkers as well though - there’s a lot to digest. You can get into a bit of the spousal abuse, parental drunkenness, faith and the challenges involved in it - and of course that ever-so-basic thing that we always somehow forget as humans, how bad man can be to man. The thing that I love about this is that it never really feels preachy about it. We don’t have the main telling everyone else that they shouldn’t use guns - it’s always simply that they allow him to not. You could argue the court hearing might feel a little bit preachy, but it fits in with the explanation of motivation and hardly feels like a heavy wink to the camera.
The sounds there to keep you going. You want it to sound like a war, oh it does. You want to be able to hear things people are saying? You will. Inflections that feel like actual people with perhaps the slightest amount of overblown cheesy that isn’t that out of line with how you’d expect a person to act - got that too. The sound department doesn’t drop the bar in the slightest, and neither really does the effects department. Costumes are great, you can generally tell the main people apart from one another, and everything looks well believable. There was one moment where i swear someone had a blue blood burst when shot, but that might have just been the light and a trick of the eye.
Carrying the team to safety.
This thing is finally crafted. If you want an impressive story, particularly with a rather happy ending all considering - this is a fine movie to check. The feats are impressive, and the movie is well put together. Acting is great, sound is good, and there really isn’t much to complain about here. Drama fans will love the character building at the front, and the war movie folks will appreciate the carnage at the back.