Mel Gibson finds ‘redemption’ with Hacksaw Ridge getting rave reviews

Mel Gibson has been persona non grata in Hollywood for some years now, following his famous and very public meltdown.

The Oscar-winning director (best picture and best director for Braveheart) first saw major tabloid scandal in 2006, when he was arrested in a drunken-driving incident on the Pacific Coast Highway in Malibu, Calif., and responded with an anti-Semitic tirade to the arresting officers. You could argue that Gibson, as a filmmaker, is having his bloody cake and eating it too, but the less cynical (and more accurate) way to put it might be that “Hacksaw Ridge” is a ritual of renunciation.

Since then, Gibson has apologized and has now come out with a new movie, WWII epic Hacksaw Ridge, which made its premiere at the Venice Film Festival.

He compared Doss’ bravery with that of comic-book characters such as Garfield’s Spider-Man, saying: “Desmond attributed his actions to a power greater than himself and the difference between a real superhero and a comic-book superhero is that real superheroes didn’t wear any Spandex”.

So far the reviews for the Second World War movie, which stars Andrew Garfield in the true story of an army medic and conscientious objector who refused to bear arms, but was still given the Medal of Honor for his service, are hugely positive.

Co-starring Sam Worthington and Rachel Griffiths, the film is set for USA release on November 4.

“As a machine-tooled vehicle for Mel Gibson’s directorial comeback, Hacksaw Ridge couldn’t be more flawless”.

Filmed in Sydney previous year, the Braveheart star’s latest movie has even the staunchest of critics raving.

Mostly it’s due to the film’s extraordinary second half, in which the protagonist – USA army medic Desmond Doss – takes part in the assault on Okinawa. the bloody battle in 1945 for the islands just south of Japan itself, when the war in the Pacific was entering its own dying frenzy. You have to love the warrior, and give him homage and honour him.

Gibson spent nearly an eternity studying Doss’ time in the military during World War II and how he was the first conscientious objector to be awarded the Medal of Honor, in recognition of the courage he showed during the brutal assault on Okinawa Island. “You have to approach it like a sporting event”. “I think the Japanese called it a steel rain, with the artillery and the lead that was flying around, to go into that armed with only your faith, your faith has to be strong indeed”, he continued.

“Desmond is a wonderful symbol of the idea of living and letting live no matter what your ideology is, no matter what your value system is”, he said. “This is heroics”, Garfield said.