Mel Gibson returns to directing in ‘compelling’, ‘turbocharged’ Hacksaw Ridge

REVIEW: Screen legend Mel Gibson’s return to directing in Hacksaw Ridge again proves he is a major talent behind the camera.

MEL Gibson has not been in the director’s chair for just over a decade.

However, his return after a prolonged and problematic absence with Hacksaw Ridge serves as a triumphant reminder of Gibson’s prodigious and compelling talent behind the camera.

The supremely accessible assurance of Braveheart and the challenging, manic fury unleashed by The Passion of the Christ are still very much to the fore in Gibson’s filmmaking arsenal.

Filmed here in Australia with an international cast, Hacksaw Ridge takes the stately, time-honoured structure of a traditional war movie, and turbocharges it with a graphic battlefield authenticity that will powerfully resonate with modern audiences.

The central focus is on a key skirmish in the 1945 Battle of Okinawa, the most telling and terrifying flashpoint in the Pacific during America’s WW2 clashes with Japan.

Andrew Garfield in a scene from Hacksaw Ridge. Picture: Supplied

Unusually, Gibson frames the ensuing, tragic blood-soaked spectacle through the remarkable actual experience of a soldier whose only reason to be there was to save lives, and not take them.

US army medic Desmond Doss (played by Andrew Garfield) famously survived a punishing two-day period at the height of fighting without once picking up a weapon to defend himself.

Instead, this devoutly religious conscientious objector single-handedly carried 75 wounded men from his company to safety, miraculously avoiding intense and unrelenting attacks from the Japanese enemy.

Vince Vaughn also co-stars. Picture: Supplied

In its quieter, more conventional stretches, Hacksaw Ridge occupies a safe, accessible middle ground somewhere between Peter Weir’s classic Gallipoli and the Russell Crowe-directed The Water Diviner.

However, at the height of the carnage-strewn conflict documented here, Hacksaw Ridge raises the realism stakes above and beyond the ferocious mark set by Steven Spielberg’s Saving Private Ryan.

Garfield (best known for his work in the latter-day Spider-Man films) anchors proceedings with unshowy, noble aplomb.

The supporting ranks are equally strong, with Australian actors Luke Bracey (a star-making turn as Doss’ gung-ho opposite) and Sam Worthington (his best work since Avatar) just two of the many standouts.

Hacksaw Ridge opens in Australian cinemas on November 3.

Originally published as Mel Gibson returns to directing in ‘compelling’, ‘turbocharged’ Hacksaw Ridge