I don’t like war movies. I appreciate when they, like Hacksaw Ridge, are especially explicit about the bodily destruction, but then it just underscores how much war has existed and how much it continues to exist. It is somewhat heartening to see a conscientious objector like Desmond Doss (Andrew Garfield) focused on rescuing the rest of his platoon instead of killing, but his story just makes me wish he could be saving people from natural disasters instead and that the war had never happened in the first place. I’m not naively suggesting that war will just magically end if we want it to. What I’m getting at is: it is paradoxical to me to attempt to mentally process a well-made war film.
I give everyone involved making Hacksaw Ridge my appreciation but hope that it could have been for something else.
Jmunney's Blog 
Jul 18, 2026 @ 07:33:36
I completely agree with your point about the film’s explicit depiction of bodily destruction underscoring the enduring reality of war. It’s a powerful and often uncomfortable reminder. And like you, I also found the focus on Desmond Doss’s conscientious objection and his commitment to rescuing others to be a truly heartening aspect of the movie.