TIME

A leading man saves Hacksaw Ridge from hackdom

As Desmond Doss, Garfield, right, brings corn-fed charisma to Gibson’s bloody epic

MEL GIBSON MAY NOT ALWAYS BE A good director, but he’s never a stupid one. Hacksaw Ridge, his fifth feature, is blunt and effective, a picture cannily crafted for maximum effect. Whatever subtlety appears onscreen comes from its anchor performance by Andrew Garfield, who plays Desmond Doss, a real-life World War II medic who—as a conscientious objector—refused to carry a weapon but whose bravery saved the lives

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