Hacksaw Ridge (2016)

Gibson has chosen the right subject for his intense, self-obliterating vision of violence and selflessness, staging relentless battles that highlight the hero's scale. Garfield's all-in performance makes Doss believable as a man on a different plane driven by faith and shame.

An old-fashioned story of faith and bravery is delivered with bleeding-edge craft, highlighted by cataclysmic combat sequences and Garfield's grounded lead performance. The film balances spectacle with a character study of moral conviction under fire.

The film powerfully depicts the true story of conscientious objector Desmond Doss through intense, unrelenting combat sequences that evoke Saving Private Ryan. Garfield delivers a standout performance as the humble hero whose faith and courage anchor the visceral war drama.

The critic describes it as a blatantly unsubtle but true story of humility and redemption that earned Gibson Oscar nominations. The battlefield action is singled out for exploding into a timely reminder of war's horrors and the power of doing the right thing.

Mel Gibson returns to directing with a muscular, intense true story of heroism without violence that overcomes cliched tropes for stirring drama. Andrew Garfield delivers a fiercely driven, human performance as the conscientious objector medic.

Gibson delivers a stirring war drama about a conscientious objector's heroic actions on the battlefield, marking a strong career comeback. Garfield gives a terrific performance radiating quiet humanity, supported by assured direction and intense combat sequences.

The critic describes an extraordinary, blood-soaked epic with magnificent battle scenes up there with Malick and Spielberg, praising the nuanced performance from Andrew Garfield in this true story.

The critic calls it a brutally effective if unsubtle war film with a rousing tale of faith-driven heroism at its core. The recreation of the Battle of Okinawa is singled out as masterfully handled and impossible to look away from.

Gibson delivers a fetishistically violent biopic about a Seventh-day Adventist medic that flouts contradictions in the material but succeeds as throwback entertainment blending piety with bloodlust. The simplistic storytelling and religious iconography make it silly yet cannily effective.

Gibson returns with a ferociously felt anti-war movie that burns with conviction, while Garfield invests his character with tremendous conviction. The slow-burn setup pays off in fierce focus on characters and intense battle sequences.

The critic calls it a robustly told story of courage with a sympathetic performance from Andrew Garfield but notes excessive, unwatchable gore that compensates for the hero's non-violence and a conventional story lacking rigorous investigation of the protagonist's beliefs.

The film is a tribute to one man’s courageous adherence to his deepest beliefs, steeped in blood, guts and Christian iconography. It is a mightily impressive, morally incoherent spectacle whose contradictions reflect something irresolvably true about its maker.

The film is the strangest release of the year: an implacably violent movie about a man who wants no part of violence at all. It treads close to madness and majesty alike, with Gibson asking viewers to observe extreme bloodshed to better comprehend the faith that upholds the hero.

The film is a bluntly effective faith-and-flag war drama about a remarkable hero with moral tension at its center. Gibson retells the story with vigor and suspense while plunging a man of peace into a charnel house of cruelty.

The critic finds the film a fascinating picture that explores the necessity and limitations of the protagonist's pacifist beliefs amid horrific violence, making it richer than a simple hagiography. Andrew Garfield's tender, endearing performance firmly aligns the audience with the lead character.

The review praises Mel Gibson's visceral and powerful handling of violence as the element that best anchors the material and accentuates its themes of bravery and inspiration. It notes the film's balanced tone celebrates the power of the human spirit during wartime without being strictly pro- or anti-war.

The critic calls the film viscerally affecting yet ethically worrisome, arguing it glorifies religious intransigence rather than humanist convictions. She praises the spectacle and Gibson's return but objects to its agenda-driven portrayal of faith.

The piece questions whether the film functions as war porn despite its pacifist hero, arguing that Gibson's graphic, thrilling battle sequences ultimately celebrate violence more than condemn it. It singles out the heavy-handed treatment of combat and the enemy as a major flaw.

The critic calls the film remarkable and inspiring, highlighting Mel Gibson's best directing work since Braveheart and Andrew Garfield's moving performance as the heroic medic. The realistic, unflinching combat sequences are singled out as astonishing and unforgettable.

The critic calls the film a transcendent achievement for Gibson and Garfield, praising its portrayal of a man of deep faith and grace amid horrific war violence. They highlight the contrast between the earnest character study and the extreme battle carnage as particularly effective.

The critic finds the film clichéd and overly reliant on heavy-handed melodrama and excessive gore in its battle sequences. He acknowledges the real-life story's power but criticizes the artificial passions and over-the-top violence.

The critic observes that the film extols pacifism while making war brutally exciting, praising the kinetic and architecturally clear battle sequences as some of the most breathtaking wartime footage in recent memory. The over-the-top ultra-violence and the inherent difficulty of making a truly anti-war film are noted as drawbacks.