The Reel Rejects - HACKSAW RIDGE (2016) MOVED US TO TEARS!! MOVIE REVIEW!! First Time Watching

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Starting point is 00:01:09 in just a bit HACSah Ridge commence in three two and a one Curious too

Starting point is 00:01:20 who did the music but anyways guys we just watched Excuse me Haxar You did watch it on YouTube.

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Starting point is 00:01:56 Hit that notification about it. you are notified whenever we drop videos such as these are we going to get into the Patriot. Oh, okay. I said Gregson Williams. I said Gregson Williams. I said Harry Gregson Williams because it reminded me of the kingdom of heaven. So I was halfway right. Gregson Williams family of sounds. I think I think Rupert did Aquaman and I'm not sure what I'd have to

Starting point is 00:02:19 look up to see. But should we see how we're feeling? I'm sure it's a Patriot you got on your phone. I'm feeling. I'm feeling all kinds of feels. But yeah, let's do some Let's do some QA. All right, well, we're going to get into some Patreon questions.

Starting point is 00:02:35 And again, as we mentioned at the beginning of the video, if you are a Royal Reject on our Patreon, you can ask us some direct questions and we will interact with you here about whatever movie that is upcoming, which, as you know, today is Haxar Ridge. Yeah, you get a little peek into what the schedule of videos is going to be.

Starting point is 00:02:53 And you also get to, yeah, guide our initial thoughts on the review let's see I would love to really quick I would love to ask Rupert Gregson Williams if any inspiration on this beautiful score came from his brother in kingdom of heaven just so

Starting point is 00:03:10 curious yeah but anyways let's get who's the first question from Donald all right okay so Kev B thanks for kicking us off appreciate you I have to go through this cast list in a little bit

Starting point is 00:03:24 yes yes so Kev B wants to If you could ask Desmond Doss one question about his experience after watching the film, what would it be? And why did that moment resonate with you? If you could ask Desmond Doss one moment in the film, what was it again? If you could ask Desmond Doss one question about his experience after watching the film, what would it be and why did that moment resonate with you? I feel like we might have a similar moment for this.

Starting point is 00:03:50 I mean, you know, there's so many moments to choose from. And I guess what comes directly to my mind. You know, it's funny. The thing, him talking in the little, you know, epilogue there about the blind man or the guy who thought he was blind, that was a moment that actually stood out to me. So it's cool that we got that little, again, insight into his thoughts there and his experience. I guess for me, it would probably be that moment in the foxhole with Schmitty. Yeah, that's where I was going to go to. You know, because there is so much, you know, built up between those characters in terms of, you know,

Starting point is 00:04:25 his initial arrival at training camp. No, is that what you call? Basic training. Basic training. Boot camp, yeah. Yeah, just like how that must have felt and, you know, the ever-changing sort of morale and level of respect between people.

Starting point is 00:04:44 And, like, I would be fascinated to know because obviously the movie gives you some kind of guidance, narratively speaking, in terms of like, okay, so this is what Smitty is kind of observing about this guy. And I thought that was a great performance. And so, like, watching him, you know, just, again, wordlessly, just in his posture and in his emoting, you know, yeah, learning this, you could see it in that character's face, just this, like, mass. Like, he's not, I don't know how to describe it.

Starting point is 00:05:14 It's like, he's still, obviously, present in the current moment, but there is something about, like, you can just see him sort of beholding, like, this guy's insane level of. commitment and conviction and courage and yeah like I would just want to know if that was a parent and what that you know exchange felt like between them you know yeah no I would agree with that at the blind moment as well and also when the entire unit as well like the profound respect that they had and and also the same Worthington scene when he said I've never been so wrong about someone in my entire life like I would ask him to how we felt about that moment and how accurate that was too because obviously we know in lots of Hollywood films there's certain things that they add and don't add so i would ask him like which moments like in particular are beyond accurate and which ones are you know just a little bit you know hollywood eyes i would i would definitely ask him that but that was a very impactful moment no doubt i would definitely like to know i would say too i definitely would want to know how he felt about in regards to smitty's character when he passed because that was extremely tragically heartbreaking and someone who wants to save life seeing that life being taken you know and there was nothing he could do in that moment

Starting point is 00:06:31 how helpless he must have felt and for someone like because he never it felt like too like he's such a good soul that he never took things personally he understood where people stood and he's like hey i'm a i'm a conviction person of my beliefs you were the same way and i don't want to you know disrespect you in that way and i understand why you are feeling this way towards me so i'm not going to have beef with you in in that respect yeah so i think this film just does such a brilliant job you know especially when it came to that relationship with smitty and with desmond taking its time building up that relationship so that we really gain a a real functioning friendship with those two to the point where you're like just over the moon

Starting point is 00:07:17 heartbroken when smitty is taken out and obviously you're heartbroken over everyone or anyone who is taken out, you feel bad. Even on the other side. Yeah, even on the other side. Anytime someone of the opposing side, which I don't look at it that way, but I'm just making a point in regards to the way the perspective was in the film.

Starting point is 00:07:37 Loss of life is really tragic and sad. It's terrible. Yeah, like any number of political justifications and machinations that lead to or make a war, it's like there's something's different when it's just a bunch of, of people maimed and in pain, you know, on a battlefield, you know, with no one to help them.

Starting point is 00:07:58 Yeah. And, yeah, it's like even if we're completely opposed, I would be curious about that, too, honestly, what his view, what his, clearly this is a guy who seemed very, as I understand it, you know, godly or at least, you know, like a true, somebody who truly wants to follow the teachings of the Bible rather than, you know, bend them to his own will. so you know that there's that whole moment about you know he even sent some japanese soldiers down they didn't make it and you're left to go you guys probably made sure they didn't make it but like to this guy to desmond doss and that part's not really touched upon here but it does make me curious um film to fox studios city australia i don't wonder you had somebody uh Aussie actors but uh but yeah like it makes me wonder what his view was on that and you know i can't imagine he was like a racist at least in like the fullest sense of the word or anything not that this movie suggests that in any way but you know like i think it's easy especially when you're fighting an opposing country to just you know yeah engage in that kind of behavior and uh and yeah for him to take just as much care and that moment in the in the tunnel where he finds the wounded soldier and he gives him the morphine and the bandage yeah yeah and i like i think this movie really nails a lot of reaction shots yeah whether it comes with guys getting respect for him or even the that that wounded soldier seeing an American soldiers like helping him out like and I think this film does like the the thing that a book does so well is really getting a glimpse and a good look into Desmond's mind and you know what what really drives him and like loss of life is just unacceptable for him and he will do anything to save it does not matter who it is he will do

Starting point is 00:09:45 anything to save and save another human being and I respect that and love that so much yeah like he's just really like so hard on his convictions and his beliefs and you got to respect someone for that yeah yeah absolutely and it's a beautiful message and two on a more light note i would love to hear about the whole this is just a small detail but i would you know in a light spirit be compelled to ask like so hollywood first day really just out there buck naked in the barracks just like showing off his stuff right right uh You know. So that would be a pretty interesting one to look at. Let's see. So Logan Nelson wants to ask. For Andrew, Desmond Das' story blurs the line between heroism and faith-driven defiance. From a cinematic standpoint, how do you think Haxar Ridge balances the brutality of war with the almost saint-like resolve of its protagonist?

Starting point is 00:10:44 And does that kind of portrayal still resonate in an era of morally gray heroes? That is a very thoughtful question. Desmond Dost's story blurs the line between heroism and faith-driven defiance. From a cinematic standpoint, how do you think Haxar Ridge balances the brutality of war with the almost St. Link resolve of its protagonist? And does that kind of portrayal still resonate in the world and more the gray art? I think it balances terrifically well. And it's just done so beautifully. I think, as I was pointing out earlier, the way this man, I think what I love about this character, too,

Starting point is 00:11:17 he doesn't like he's such a man of conviction and beliefs but he doesn't dwell that onto others he doesn't force that upon others like it's his own thing but he stands firm and by it and he doesn't judge others and that's what i respect so much about him you know what i mean yeah and that's and i think there's a beautiful message in that like hey i will do my thing and it's not going to affect others in a negative light but and I'm going to try and make the world a better place while still being convicted in my own beliefs and that's something I really appreciate while still staying

Starting point is 00:11:55 you know into the the part about being heroic at the same time like watching a man as ludicrous as it can be running into a war zone having these beliefs like look at the inspiration it caused with the rest of the unit like you had guys like Hollywood who are like these masculines like

Starting point is 00:12:16 buff type of men like ready to go out into war and then right when they get out there understandably so i would be like peeing my pants and doing hoping i'm wearing the brown pants as well you know what i mean again totally understandable the second you get into that war zone and desmond like because he had his faith and his beliefs at least he never showed it he was never scared out there and that's a man like who's so strong internally inside and like and you know what i mean and I really appreciate that about his character. But again, not forcing that on to others and having that respect towards others.

Starting point is 00:12:52 And that's why he's such a lovable character that you don't want anything to happen to him and you're so emotionally attached and you can get behind him. And that's also why he's so inspirational to the rest of his unit, whereas, you know, when they see him at first, it's like, this man is psychotic.

Starting point is 00:13:07 And that's why they literally sent him to the psych ward to get checked out. And then once they saw what he was all about, and watching him in action, he was truly, you know, the man that they looked to for inspiration to fight into battle. They would like lay their arms or their lives on the line for this man. Yeah. So it's a great question. But I think this film did a great job of balancing that character. This is honestly, I know we always talk about this in terms of recency bias. This is, and the fact that this is a true story too. This is really one of the most well done characters I've seen.

Starting point is 00:13:44 seen in a while just for the fact that it's also you know a biography i really like again seeing a man like being tormented being ostracized and still holding on to what he believes and not letting that get in the way i respect that so much and to have this much courage and bravery to run into the battlefield without a weapon and to still remain a pacifist because that's what he believes and to go through two traumatizing events as you mentioned one by choice and one by accident and forever changed that into what are now your beliefs as the ultimate testament to respect for me as a viewer and I just I really love this character so much it's it was really wonderful wonderful wonderful to watch and the execution by

Starting point is 00:14:36 Andrew Garfield's performance tremendous great question yeah Logan thank you so much for it yeah and I would say that in a world filled with morally gray heroes. I feel like this, I found this portrayal quite resonant in that it sort of pierces through all that and I grant that you live in a,

Starting point is 00:14:54 we live in a gray and uniquely violent world. And certainly our form of violence has changed a bit from what we see here. But that's part of what I found so moving about this.

Starting point is 00:15:11 And we'll move on to the second half of your question in a second. But yeah, like because he is so strong of his conviction and because he is like so clearly walking and the movie presents it to you like you know a stations of the cross kind of thing in a sense because every step of the way he is mocked and ridiculed and put through these paces and you know tortured essentially for his beliefs and he still comes out with again that strength of conviction and you know i think that's really moving in general and then you couple that with the fact that what his conviction is is something that is so seemingly again as of this movie's account very pure you know it's like yeah i i've seen i've had brushes with the the horror that violence even on a small scale can cause so like violence on a mass scale i can't speak to that's a problem bigger than myself uh but at the same time yeah i need to be there helping my fellow man like just there's something about yeah

Starting point is 00:16:14 watching him no weapon fearlessly running in for the sole motivation of trying to help save some lives and help make these poor traumatized suffering people feel a little bit better in this horrific moment yeah that's a great point John and the fact

Starting point is 00:16:31 that I'm getting emotional just thinking about like the fact that he continually is just like I'm just going to make this my mission I'm just going to be up here all night pulling dudes out of here yeah like is is you feel that element of not only conviction but like vocation which again as of this movie's account of it

Starting point is 00:16:48 is like really beautifully presented I think that's an excellent point I do want us to get to the next portion of the question just really quick to add to what you just said I do love what he was doing Desmond when he was adding levity for all these guys because they are in a horrific situation

Starting point is 00:17:04 so to add little comedic bits there you know like with Hollywood for instance like saying hey no woman going to kiss that anymore like I think that was really good because like still they'll still or some whatever yeah whatever you're still still want a kiss yeah yeah yeah exactly exactly making him my bad he's saying something nice to make him feel just a little time exactly like yeah yeah no and I I think when he ain't got anesthesia that's your anesthesia yeah exactly and

Starting point is 00:17:28 like he always knew the right thing to do or say and also again that that levity and that horrific of a situation like just just a good human being we'll get to the second portion of this question for John you've always had a strong emotion emotional read on character vulnerability, and Garfield's performance is layered with conviction, fear, and compassion. What moment hits you hardest, not in terms of violence, but in terms of what it means to stand by your beliefs when everyone around you says you're wrong. I got my moment. I know this is for you, but I got my moment for this one. You know, weirdly enough, I don't know why this is the first moment that comes to mind, because there are a lot of moments that

Starting point is 00:18:12 I feel like we're going to be on the same thing. Maybe. Maybe. I mean, certainly, I think a lot of beats of the relationship with Smitty definitely stood out in a personal sense, you know, between the two characters. And, you know, there's a lot of rousing stuff just with seeing the respect, you know, sort of slowly, you know, disseminate throughout the group. But I don't know, like there's there's that one moment in the prison cell. when he's, you know, having the visit, you know, where he lets all that rage out, you know, that he's gotten, that he has done such a great,

Starting point is 00:18:50 you know, the whole movie is about a lot of things, but partly about his, like, level of resolve. Like, there's so many times and places and moments in which any person would be forgiven for a moment of weakness or letting in. And it's like he lets this out, this anger that exists inside, this pain from all this,

Starting point is 00:19:09 all alone. and then, you know, Dorothy comes in to plead with him, you know, to kind of make this stop and to reassure him that I'm going to love you no matter what you do. And then he has that moment of like, have I been prideful? Like, have I, am I doing this because I feel, yeah, am I looking down on other people? Am I doing this because I feel like this is a self-serving, you know, a mission here? I will feel pious and good and pure if I hold. to my convictions rather than compromising for what everyone around me is telling me is the betterment of my fellow man.

Starting point is 00:19:49 You know, that really struck me because, you know, the amount of, again, continued conviction that comes out of that is a real big thing. And, you know, there are so many wonderful moments of him proving his conviction and sort of acting in what appears to be by, again, the film's account, like his natural, state of motivation you know which is to yeah be here help you know serve and and protect his fellow men uh and you know the following scene after that you know going into the courtroom and him delivering him changing his plea and delivering you know his address you know about why again sort of trying to to have the conversation of like i'm not saying i'm better than

Starting point is 00:20:35 anybody and i'm not even like throughout the movie he's never really casting judgment on anybody and he never comes across his condescending even though everybody is projecting that on to him yeah and so like yeah when he's it's that last step before they're finally like you know what fine go um and that just the way he pleads his case and then you know his dad coming in that's another thing to the previous half of your question I would love to ask about is like how do you feel you know he didn't stick around but that gesture from your father must have been a huge huge huge thing um and yeah I mean like I I appreciate the compliment of this because, I mean, the performance is, as you described it,

Starting point is 00:21:15 like layered with conviction, fear, and compassion. And even those moments where he's kind of laughing early on in the boot camp and sort of, he does have, as Andrew Garfield portrays him, and even as, you know, seeing some of the pictures of him and seeing him speak at the end, you know, you really do kind of feel like this guy does exist in his own world in a sense, but he's not insane. And he is just a strong, you know, willed, compassionate person. And I feel like those things, it's all demonstrated in the acts out on the, you know, battlefield. But I guess these intimate moments of doubt and resolution in the middle come right to mind for me because they are about, you know, really his choice to do this.

Starting point is 00:22:03 Not only the conviction. like conviction is one thing because like arguably it's part of your like operating software but like you got to choose your convictions still and you got to hold fast to them and and there is as you pointed out like a you know staunch a stark contrast between the brutality of war and the purity of this guy's motivation and this is a super brutal movie like every war movie to some degree has carnage and brutality but this one felt especially brutal in some ways yeah and And, and, yeah, that, that beauty cuts through. And, let's see, in terms of my answer, in terms of what it means to stand by your beliefs when I were running around, you said you're wrong. And, yeah, like, that thing about just, like, who would I be? And, you know, I want to be, there is a personal aspect of, like, I want to be, you know, the guy that you deserve.

Starting point is 00:22:56 And even after she's like, you know, you can, I will love you no matter what, just like him then having to figure it out for himself, but also for the two of them. yeah yeah no those are great great point that was a great moment in the film too in the prison cell when he's letting out and then you know his wife's trying to plea with him and he's still standing by you know what he believes in so I wasn't thinking that moment but the moment I would and again I know this question was for you but I just really quickly I think the moment for me was in the barracks when Vince Fawn comes to him and finally is not like raging and screaming like the sergeant like he always does he's actually toned it down a bit and just human to human hey dude I get what you're trying to do but like

Starting point is 00:23:39 this is good for anybody this kind of needs to just stop and he's like oh no I can't do that I got I gotta be at the KP or whatever so I can't and then but Vince Fawn that tag at the end

Starting point is 00:23:52 he gives him that eye wink it's like I respect that man the fact that you're willing to still do all this it's not even just be ostracized and be you know like mocked you're being physically beaten now

Starting point is 00:24:05 and you're still willing to stand by what you believe in and continue and you it's kind of and not pass harm like you know that if he told them who did it they would be punished yeah yeah of course no no of course it's where like

Starting point is 00:24:19 I think it comes back to he doesn't pass judgment on that like he respects how they all feel even though he prefer to get beaten for it but still yeah but it kind of goes back to the Captain America thing if he could do this all day and yeah because he's got spirit yeah no for sure and just that's why i respect the character but that's where i really felt like

Starting point is 00:24:37 with with him like in terms of not the violence where he stood by his beliefs that's the moment for me that first hit i was going to say for for some to some extent the true answer this question probably lies just in the moments of the reaction because there are so many moments and this is a movie that had me teary most of the time which doesn't always happen in a war movie but like this one you know like the violence is shocking but a lot of the time because of who you're following and who is at the center of this story it takes on an even greater

Starting point is 00:25:08 emotional quality because you're like, God damn, this guy has so much compassion. So much radical compassion, this guy. Yeah, and the fact that he was not ever vindictive towards anyone in the midst of all this.

Starting point is 00:25:24 And then even when they got to the battlefield, it's like, I don't, I don't, again, I don't hold judgment on any of you for anything that ever happened in the past. I will still save your lives I love that yeah absolutely and I'm always I think one thing I am learning

Starting point is 00:25:38 is that I am you know everything can be done better or or worse but I am often I think struck by characters who are like courageous and brave but are like fiercely

Starting point is 00:25:55 loving or like who are courageous and brave but they don't have to like present in the normal, I think you hear like a brave guy and you think like a big tough guy who is, you know, good at fighting or good at, you know, the more physical displaying

Starting point is 00:26:11 of strength, whereas this is like this is a guy with huge courage and huge, again, conviction who, you know, is demonstrating that in a wholly other way, you know, and it's, yeah, it's like this courageous act of kind, of human,

Starting point is 00:26:27 truly like human, humanitarian kindness. and stuff like that I find very striking and yeah and very permeating yeah we can leave it there because that was the last that's the last one beautiful and from uh thank you by the way for the questions we appreciate it thank you logan and would love to hear any of if anybody's made to this point in the video and you're struck by any of these questions yourself please by all means chime in in the comments yes look guys it's summer which means more sweating more heat way more reasons to stay on top of your hydration

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Starting point is 00:28:41 You can go to Liquidiv.com and use code rejects at checkout for 20% off your first order. That's Liquidiv.com code rejects. Tear, poor, live more. Even Coy Chandra will attest he used it the other day. Thank you, Liquid Ivy for sponsoring this video. Andrew lag. We got an Andrew. Andrew. Andrew Laxton asks, and by the way, Andrew, thank you for being a royal reject and asking a question. We appreciate it. I was actually kind of annoyed with Desmond for the first half of the film. Like at the very least, have some sort of weapon to protect yourself. But then I ultimately came around to him by the end. I'm curious if you both have a similar feeling while watching or were you on his side pretty much from the beginning, do you want to go first? You want me to? Do you have a thought? I do. By the way, I respect.

Starting point is 00:29:31 And I think that's understandable. I think you were kind of in the of the mind and the thinking of his battalion. I think the movie wants you to be able to have that reaction to possible. And I did not feel that way. And the reason I did not feel that way. And I know we had not gotten up to the Hugo weaving scene yet with the gun. Yeah. But we had gotten to the point at the, you know, with the early scene with his brother,

Starting point is 00:29:57 where he literally almost took his brother's life with the rock. So because I understood what had happened there and that loss of taking another's life is just not in the cards for this guy. Yes, of course, I don't want anything to happen to this guy. And I'm also, to be quite honest, I'm a pacifist myself. I do not like to cause violence onto others. I am not a confrontational human being. So for these reasons, I was not annoyed with the character. but I can, again, I understood everyone else's reactions towards him

Starting point is 00:30:32 and why they felt the way they did and thinking like he needed to be in a psych word or at least very minimally needed to be questioned by a psychologist and find out what, like, does he feel he's better than us? What is with this guy? So I get all that, but that's why this character just resonates with me. I mean, he's very sympathetic and empathetic to, And he's also, he is very accountable for himself as well.

Starting point is 00:30:59 He sees kind of the errors of his ways to what he did at the beginning with his brother and almost what happened is with his father. And he didn't want to become that type of human being. That's just, again, not in his playbook. And for all those reasons and because I resonate with that, and that's just who I am as a human being, I was not frustrated in any way personally. What about you?

Starting point is 00:31:23 yeah i wasn't overly frustrated anyway i mean like i did have some level of debate in my mind i guess my frustration was probably more erring toward the side of like geez you need medics who i just let him go be a medic and i and i understand the argument here as you've laid out you know and i think it is a fair one to have and two i mean it depends on how you what version of the church you grow up in because like there is the you know the sort of turn the other cheek but even I remember as kids, I feel like we ran up against the sort of line of like, what does that mean, though, in terms of like a greater self-defense or like, what if your family? You know, it's like it's okay to steal a loaf of bread to feed your starving family or something, even though you don't want to steal for selfish, purely selfish reasons. So like, with that in mind, part of me is like, well, I get the argument that, yeah, you would want to at least know how to use one because you might have to cover somebody.

Starting point is 00:32:23 I get why you wouldn't want to only have medical skills and no other, you know, applicable wartime skills. But at the same time, I guess, yeah, part of me was like, God damn, like this guy just wants to be a medic. And I mean, I feel like when you're out in the field, you might have to use a gun. But a lot of the time, you're probably going to be doing medic stuff. And a lot of medics probably still die just doing their specific job that requires other people to cover them. So part of me, like I saw it, and I guess my biggest brush with the line would have been just those moments where it's like, oh, hey, you know, like, why don't you just do the target practice and not, you know, maybe, you know, probably you won't have to use a gun, you know, in battle. You can make that choice if you want to once you're out there. But yeah, like, you know, I could imagine myself arguing like, well, you know, you're firing on a target.

Starting point is 00:33:18 It just proved to them that you've got the stuff and save yourself a lot of suffering. But at the same time, you know, it's that added level of conviction of like, I don't even want to touch a gun. And then you get the context of what happened with his father fully. And then you're like, I see 100% why you would swear, why you would be so apt to go help out and to go serve your fellow man,

Starting point is 00:33:41 but absolutely drawing that line there. So I wasn't very much annoyed with him for not doing, you know, any sort of weapons training. But I think, again, it's kind of in the text of the film that you could be, and it's fair, because I think if you're with him, then you're just going to be that much more rewarded when everybody comes around to his point of view. But if you're not with him, you might have a similar, you know,

Starting point is 00:34:04 experience that the people who doubted him have. And that's a cool Rorschach test that this movie can present you with. For sure. And I think also, too, it kind of works on, until you get to that point with the flashback with his father, there's that temptation too as well with the gun because you also saw that look I like I love seeing that reaction when he even when he saw the playboy book like he's just he's a very religious man not it's just not for him when it comes to the gun when it comes to the the playboy that's just you know he doesn't even want to like touch those things that's again respect I'm not judging you but I know what I got to do yeah exactly and that's what I appreciate it from a guy like that I'm not going to you know push my beliefs onto you and you are an evil person

Starting point is 00:34:51 if you don't believe what I believe but this is what I believe and I'm going to stand by it. Yeah, perfect. And I think it's smart for the film to give you some very reasonable workarounds so that he can again

Starting point is 00:35:05 continually choose the conviction, choose the purest form of that. Yeah, very striking. Very striking movie overall. Thank you guys for all the questions and for being royal rejects. We appreciate it. Appreciate all. Appreciate all the love and support. Seriously.

Starting point is 00:35:21 Yes, MVP's. Thank you. Great questions, by the way. Seriously. Just really quick, some final thoughts here. And then we'll just get into some rotten tomatoes and maybe some trivia. If we have a little time, we'll see. I thought the performance, I mean, we talked already about how incredible Andrew Garfield was. And also, this was a totally different performance I'm used to with Vince Vaughn. I thought he brought a level of intensity that I'm not used to in terms of,

Starting point is 00:35:48 a more serious performance because obviously I'm more used to seeing him and more comedic performances like a lot of wedding crashers and stuff like that you know where he's just kind of playing more like himself yeah yeah but I'm glad like to see him be more versatile like I like actually seeing him in this type of role and again watching his arc too seeing that respect but I want to talk about Hugo weaving for a sec sure man I I think you're right and if there is you know let us know maybe I'll see and I be in a moment.

Starting point is 00:36:19 He's probably played it, but I don't think he would have seen it. Yeah, yeah, nothing's coming to my mind right now. If there is a movie where he had an American accent, either way, the way this character is, like, tormented from PTSD and how it's just, it really goes to the horrors of, like, what veterans have to deal with. And, again, it's not defending the behavior that they bestow on to others, but it is a real thing. And it's like the tragedy of what they have.

Starting point is 00:36:48 have to go through every day and when you see what they had to go through it's like you can understand a picture in their mind what is going on in there and you feel terrible for them and the others around them that have to kind of suffer with them it's really sad well and the lack of means at this time especially to address any of that stuff you know because it's you know obviously there's a lot better that society could do for soldiers today I agree. But especially back then, it's like, you know, the shock and the trauma is probably something that most people didn't have words for. And it was just a different time in terms of how you understood your emotional experience and what you did to express that.

Starting point is 00:37:32 And yeah, I thought you were, we're terrific. You felt all that pain, but you also could see, like, as a beauty, like at the start of it, you're like, oh, here we go. This guy's going to be a nightmare. And, like, they really presented him as this tortured, tragic person, this broken guy. And that doesn't excuse his behavior, but it does give you a different view than just like, oh, man, this kid had a real mean dad and it taught him what not to be. No, it's like it taught, I imagine it taught him about the nuances of struggle and hurt. And, yeah, in a way, I'm sure he gave some of that. even if it wasn't fully conscious,

Starting point is 00:38:15 just like, here's what war will do to you. Yes. You know. Yeah. And also, too, I thought that was a great moment for his character as well.

Starting point is 00:38:24 Like, we talked about the performance from Hugo Weev. We've been now talking about the actual character and everything he had done towards his family, you know,

Starting point is 00:38:31 up to the point, too, as well, we get to Desmond being court-martialed when he comes in there at the last moment. And I thought it was a fat, like, that was beautiful how he brought the letter.

Starting point is 00:38:41 And the compelling argument he made like, Hey, so I'm, I've served my country and that's it. I'm not allowed to be heard and everything else he said. I thought that was just so, so beautifully put. And I like how the other guy responded to him in a positive manner. But the fact that he wasn't able to, you know, talk to his son afterwards, I don't know, like, how did you feel about what his character was going through in that moment after kind of saving his son in that, from being court-martialed? What did you feel he was feeling in that moment in terms of he couldn't face him there?

Starting point is 00:39:13 just like he'd done his his duty now i i feel like it was more just i can't face him just after everything yeah it's like i feel like he wouldn't have the the words for that situation yeah it's like he does this thing that that seems to truly be out of love for you know again his son's convictions and and also too he probably has wanted to be like thrown in a military prison uh but yeah it felt like you know for him to don his uniform after everything we've seen that seems at the table when he's describing, you know, when Hal comes in in the uniform. And he's like, it looked great in that uniform.

Starting point is 00:39:49 And then my buddy thought he looked great too until, thank God he couldn't see. You know, all that stuff. Like, yeah, I really feel like, again, the way this is presented, it seems like it took probably every ounce of his I imagine he went home and just like crashed, you know, for days

Starting point is 00:40:05 on end just to, yeah, because it's seemed like it would have taken all of his resolve on top of just to be there at all. And then you get the idea that like there I thought that exchange was kind of deftly handled where he's like you know I've given the service to my country and now what I'm just cast aside I don't get any voice in here when it's my friggin son on the line who is also here of his own free will and is being you know put through this runaround like it yeah it seemed like absolutely something of a not something of is very much a gesture and one that's like indirectly to his son and yeah I think the fact that he couldn't stick around is just like, yeah, he's probably feel in all kind of ways and we know how he feels about Desmond being

Starting point is 00:40:49 involved at all. But yeah, like to be there even still in support of his son in such a beautiful way and and, you know, somewhat of a heart you know, not heartbreaking, but it's, you know, it's sad in a way that yeah, like, it's sad

Starting point is 00:41:05 and beautiful that he would step up and lend this hand and support his son even despite the fact that you know like every fiber in him as just a human being is like please no none of this no yeah he knows too if he succeeds his son's going to be out in a war zone but also the flip side if he doesn't succeed his son's going to be in in a prison so there's there's two ways about it i guess he's going to suffer either by his own choice or in a you know harsh unfair circumstance where people are going to be just further

Starting point is 00:41:34 you know persecuting him for his conviction yeah exactly and that could have been the the you know deciding factor between his legacy being remembered him having the legacy of a hero versus that of a coward or a crazy person. Yeah, which he didn't deserve. And I like to, this all goes back to

Starting point is 00:41:53 in terms of what he garnered from his unit and I guess any viewer that's watching in terms of DOS is, or Desmond rather, is that it comes back to this quote, respect is not given it's earned and this man earned. My respect, your respect,

Starting point is 00:42:11 and I can imagine many viewers. his entire infantry unit. Extremely brave. Any final thoughts? Will you get into a couple of things here? I thought the whole cast really did a lovely job and you have a few

Starting point is 00:42:25 again quite recognizable faces. Richard Roxburgh is also really good in L'En Rouge. Oh, okay, I never saw that one. But you'll have actors like him kind of pop up for a scene or two. So I like the way that they handled the casting because, yeah, aside from Andrew

Starting point is 00:42:41 Garfield, most of the privates are people who I may be recognized a little but don't you know they're not the name actors um but across the board and even Vince Vaughn like at first I was like okay Vince Vaughn's here and he's doing something that's actually not too far from what I associate with him but the further they got and the more they got out into the actual thick of things like the more I really bought him and really enjoyed what he was bringing in the movie like I thought he was really good in this too overall um yeah like the the casting is great um Teresa Palmer really lovely really loved

Starting point is 00:43:13 the early stuff in the film like the charm and just the you know being in his life for a little bit before we hop on to the war stuff big props to the second unit because these movies especially this genre has to be one that is hugely intensive in terms of B-roll and all sorts of stunts that are being captured um the effects like there's some stuff that you can tell as sort of vis effects for you know the modern time um but even with that um and i feel like you know not everybody notices those things, and that's good, because there's so much great practical work here, too. Like, you can't ever say that they didn't go the mile to make this feel tangible and harsh and heavy and true to form. I feel like most war movies show you some things that are particularly striking and, you know, arresting in terms of, again, what violence and carnage can be and look like in this movie.

Starting point is 00:44:05 Being that it is about somebody whose job it is to go patch and stitch people up and carry the wounded, you certainly get a, an up-close look at a bunch of different versions of that. But yeah, this was really rousing. This was really nicely, I think, written. And that's the thing, you know, like, obviously there's the Mel Gibson of it all. And obviously, a man of some problematic convictions to say the least. But, you know, as, as again, an effort pulled together of so many moving parts,

Starting point is 00:44:35 this was very rousing. And we watched We Were Soldiers. And I remember enjoying appreciating that movie. And he didn't direct that. Randall Walls did, right? You would probably know better than I. But yeah. Braveheart.

Starting point is 00:44:47 Yeah. And I mean, you know, that movie also has a lot of rousing, but brutal qualities about it and some beauty. And, yeah, like, he certainly knows how to, it's interesting, you know, like, you can bounce this movie off of him as the author in a lot of different ways. And, you know, I don't really want to take the conversation there today. It's not what we're here to do. But it is interesting to me always that, you know, he has had the journey.

Starting point is 00:45:11 that he has had and that he holds the place in the sort of public court of opinion that he does but makes these movies that are so heartfelt and so rousing and have again all of the you know emotional and thematic cylinders firing like this is a really well done movie and it is a very compassionate movie and it's interesting to see a take on a guy who yeah is just going with his conviction and trying to heal you know trying to do something very godly so as much as you know as much struggle as Mel Gibson has with his own conviction and his own, you know, uh, righteousness, uh, this is, I'm, I'm always interested by what he choose, as just the artist.

Starting point is 00:45:54 Yes, yes, I'm fascinated by what he chooses to do. And every one of his joints I've seen has been very, uh, you know, thoroughly conceived and is very, again, this was very emotionally resonant and, and it had me emotional throughout the whole thing. And there is so much violence and yet that's not really what i'm left to think about in the you know in the immediate moment afterwards yeah yeah the two films of his that i've seen him direct uh i thought like very well directed films and and the performances really striking yeah and they stick with you for sure all righty shall we do a little rotten tinnitus most of it all right what do you think this film got by the critics in your opinion it's a tricky one because i feel like you have

Starting point is 00:46:40 to handicap this by the fact that like the Mel Gibson of it all might affect the tomato meter score perhaps, uh, 89, 84. 84, okay, sure. Yeah. Really good score. And audience? 90. Hey, I'm back at action.

Starting point is 00:46:59 You were good. You were in the 80s and in the 90s. Within a few points. You were really good on that one. Thanks, mate. Solid, solid, solid job. All right, what do you want? A budget or box office?

Starting point is 00:47:08 What do you want to go for first? Let's go for budget. and then box. What do you got? Budget. I'm really impressed on this one. That should give a clue. I think I gave him too much.

Starting point is 00:47:21 What is it like 60 million? 40 million. 40 million. This is what we talked about the other day. Making your budgets count. Wow. Interesting. Yeah.

Starting point is 00:47:30 Making your budgets count. Okay. All right. And last thing, and we're going to wrap it up right here. Sure. How much did this movie make worldwide? worldwide total oh god 250 million

Starting point is 00:47:48 180 million 563 363 6366 dollars not quite on it but not too far not not crazy far out of the ring yeah no you're pretty close but nice job incredible film if there's other films like this you would like john myself any other members of the team to react to i'd like to see 1917 you know i still haven't seen that one but again let us know your comments down below if

Starting point is 00:48:15 you stuck with us this long we really appreciate again to the royal uh rejects who left us those incredible patreon questions we appreciate you and the rest of you as well much love stay safe take care

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