An Exceptional War Movie : Review of Hacksaw Ridge

Let me start this review saying I have seen a lot of war movies.  I do mean A LOT.   My brothers and dad had me growing up viewing many war movies - some good - some not-so-good.  I was a bit hesitant starting this movie just because I didn't want to witness another gore-fest with no heart.   However,  this movie proved to be the opposite.  It surprised me in many ways and many positive ways.  It was edifying, encouraging and it was true.  These all made it stand apart from the average war movie.  The other beauty of this movie was that it showed the Christian faith can be a source of strength regardless of whether the Christian carries a weapon.  That was a powerful statement for any movie to make.

The story is of Desmond Doss a conscientious objector who entered WW2 and declined to carry a weapon but served the US Army by being a medic.  He was persecuted by his own fellow army guys.  He was ridiculed and beat by men on his side.  Yet he stayed true to his convictions and not only that - he eventually earned the respect of his fellow army guys, he demonstrated Matthew 5:5 in a way that is hard to deny.   Jesus said "Blessed are the meek for they shall inherit the earth." in that verse - and Desmond Doss showed how that worked in real life.  Many people think "meekness" and "weakness" are synonyms.   They aren't.   Meekness is controlled strength and it takes more self-control to exercise meekness than anger.   Desmond Doss showed meekness is an amazing way in this movie.   It inspired me to stand by my convictions and not give up when God calls you to a mission.  Kudos to Mel Gibson for showing this with high production values.  If you are curious in how that looked, watch the movie.  I doubt you will be disappointed.

American Sniper Review

Finally saw this much discussed movie.  I had heard how it ended so I was bit reluctant to see it.  However, overall I'm glad I did.  This is the story of Chris Kyle and his amazing story of becoming a legend in the SEAL teams for his sniping skills.  I thought Bradley Cooper did a wonderful job playing the main character and Sienna Miller had much more of a part than a traditional war movie allows.  What were the take-aways of this movie without spoiling it for you?

1. Did a great job showing the struggle of man to go from fighting a war to raising a family.  This is a struggle I only know the second half about.  Raising a family ain't easy.  However, I thought the writing and directing captured well the struggle of man going from war-time alertness to husband and dad.   I don't know from experience, but this transition is no easy one to take on.  Chris Kyle dealt with it, and still managed to adjust.

2. Showed the horrors of war and the struggles within a man to do what was right.  This movie did a great job showing how evil the enemy is.  So much so that I caution anyone with a sensitive stomach to be careful watching this movie.  Let's just say the bad guys were truly hideous in this movie.

3. I haven't read the book by the same name,  but I felt like the movie gave me the summation of it.  I usually prefer book reading to movie watching.  However, on this movie I don't think I will be reading the book.  It was powerful, well acted, and I felt like I understood Chris Kyle's life enough that I don't need to read the biography as well.

4. Finally I felt it was well-written and directed for a being a biographical movie.  Biographical movies are tough, because if they are too accurate they can bog down and get boring.  I never felt that with American Sniper.  The movie pace kept me interested and I never felt like it was getting boring dwelling on one part too long.  I think Clint Eastwood and the script writer did a great job distilling this movie into the time it took to tell the story right.

Negatives: Despite the good direction and excellent story-telling this movie did feature graphic violence and harsh language.  I would not recommend this for children or for those sensitive to war violence and colorful language.    Overlooking those traits,  you may be interested to watch the Chris Kyle story in American Sniper.