YMMV / Hacksaw Ridge

• Alternative Character Interpretation: Was Doss hearing the screams of the injured men still on the battlefield actually God speaking to him or was it just a coincidence?
• Awesome Music: To be expected from Rupert Gregson-Williams:
  • Okinawa Battlefield, the opening theme of the movie.
  • I Can't Hear You, a profoundly heartbreaking piece.
  • One Man At A Time: "Please, Lord... help me get one more."
  • Rescue Continues starts out dramatic enough, but at the 2:19 mark turns into a stirring Triumphant Reprise of I Can't Hear You.
  • Praying, a five minute epic playing over the Americans finally taking Okinawa.
  • Finally, Historical Footage brings us two Triumphant Reprises of the main theme: the first one being so good they used it as the DVD/Blu-Ray menu music.
• Glurge: As widely acclaimed as the film has been regarding its portrayal of Desmond Doss and the Battle of Okinawa, some of the heavy-handed imagery and faith-based messages from the film can be difficult to take in as they stick out like a sore thumb. It is repeated time and time again that "KILLING IS BAD," and Desmond Doss, while he himself has no personal issues with his status as a conscientious objector, ultimately causes more problems for his love interest and for his family in a prolonged trial that also brings embarrassment and hatred for all his loved ones.
• He Really Can Act: People have nothing but praise for both Andrew Garfield and Vince Vaughn for their performances as Desmond Doss and the sergeant respectively.
• Hilarious in Hindsight:
  • Andrew Garfield as a misunderstood American hero who's not known for using harmful implements. Hmm.
  • Then Chris Evans gets to hand them the Academy Award for Best Sound Mixing, making it the closest that Captain America has come to meeting a different Spider-Man.
  • This film features a protagonist who steadfastly refuses to even learn to drill with a gun. It was directed by Mel Gibson, who starred in We Were Soldiers, in which photographer Joe Galloway is handed a rifle, states "I'm a noncombattant", and is told by the Sergeant Major "Ain't no such thing today."
  • This isn't the last film Rupert Gregson-Williams would score that dealt with a hero who doesn't want to kill on the battlefield of a World War.
• Jerkass Woobie:
  • Tom Doss is an asshole who treats his wife and sons poorly but it's clear the trauma of the war is still with him and he hates himself for his abusive behavior.
  • Also Smitty Ryker confides to Desmond in a foxhole the reason for his abrasive attitude in general was because he was a victim of Parental Abandonment at age five by his mother who dropped him off at an orphanage, resulting him to judge people quicker and hate people quicker as he had to fend for himself since childhood.
• Special Effect Failure:
  • During the film, the battleships at the Battle of Okinawa are very obvious CGI. It looks out of place with the rest of the film and really doesn't fit. To add to that in the battle scenes during the beginning frames of the film feature poorly rendered fire effects on two bodies. This is pretty odd considering the actual battle scenes have spectacular effects.
  • At one point during the protagonist's youth, there's some extremely conspicuous moments of green screen. This egregious effect also pops up numerous other times in the movie.
  • There are multiple shots when bullets hit dead bodies during the assault that are laughably fake looking blood spurt effects.

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