Hacksaw Ridge (2016)

The first hour of Hacksaw Ridge plays like a church picnic movie, all golden light and a nurse won over with polite persistence, and it’s honestly a little corny. Then the unit reaches Okinawa, and Mel Gibson films the battle as close to unbearable as a studio movie gets. Nothing about it is glamorous, which is the point. Andrew Garfield plays Desmond Doss, a real Army medic who refused to carry a rifle, with a stubborn, almost goofy sweetness that hardens into something like steel. Vince Vaughn as the drill sergeant is a strange bit of casting that kinda works in the boot camp scenes. Gibson leans hard on religious imagery, and a couple of slow-motion shots near the end tip into stained glass window territory. Audiences handed it an A CinemaScore, and it’s easy to see why. A 7.6 because Doss deserves this movie and the second half honors him, even when the first half reaches for a greeting card. $84 says you look up the real Desmond Doss before the credits finish.

What works: Andrew Garfield’s quiet, stubborn faith and a second half that shows what Doss walked into without turning it into an action ride.

What doesn’t: The hometown romance and boot camp stretch lean on old war movie cliches, and the religious imagery gets heavy-handed near the end.

Who it’s for: People who want a war story about courage that isn’t about firepower, and anyone who likes true stories with a real person at the center.