This is going to be an incredibly brief review. Basically, this movie is exactly what you'd expect after watching the trailers. There are no twists, no surprises. it's pretty straightforward. It's masterfully directed, as is to be expected from Mel Gibson. The one thing that I wondered during the movie was whether or not the majority of the movie would be spent in the training camp, where Private Doss would spend a great deal of time petitioning to be allowed to not carry a gun, since that part of the movie went on for a while. However, it was a long movie, and there was quite a bit of time also dedicated to the actual part where he's on the battlefield.

There isn't much swearing in Hacksaw Ridge, or much to merit the R rating. The rating comes purely from the intensity of the battle scenes. People get shot in the head, and the enemy comes from nowhere. It's pretty frightening. Hands down, the most intense part is the gore. You see the soldiers walking over the intestines of their fallen comrades, and rats and maggots eating up the dead bodies. There are people who have their legs blown off by grenades, and you see them get carried off, with ribbons of loose flesh trailing behind on their stumps.

If you can handle watching that, then I do encourage that you go watch this movie. Due to the subject matter, it's a really good drama that doesn't slip into the boring territory.

I'm also tempted to say "Oh hey look, a really good film about religion!" Which is sort of is. Often times, movies about a person's faith are really lame and kind of prejudiced, but this is a good one. Granted, Doss was a Seventh Day Adventist, and I have major disagreements with those guys, but still, it's refreshing. Perhaps a movie of similar quality will one day be made about a guy from my branch of the faith.