this was one of the most beautiful, inspirational, sitting on the edge of my seat the entire time, movies I've ever seen! There are a handful of movies that you want to be a better person after watching; this was one of them. thank you guys for recommending this one to me! any other war/historical movies we need to check out?! love you all so much! thanks for watching!

This is one of the only “based on a true story” films where they had to nerf the main character to make him more believable he saved way more people in real life but they thought people wouldn’t believe it so they nerfed him

Hey guys, Editor here! I really hope you guys like the reaction! This is one of my favorite movies of all time and this honestly might be one of my favorite videos on the channel as well, so I truly hope you enjoy it! Much love!

The fact the creators of the movie actually TONED DOWN Doss's feats still blows my mind. The army's number showed Doss saved close to 150 people. Doss humbly disagreed stating it couldn't have been more than 50. They decided to compromise on the number of 75 saved. Just at Okinawa. He actually served a lot longer than that, all without carrying a gun, while starving due to being a vegetarian. He was eventually discharged because his legs got shredded. He contracted TB while in recovery as well. At least two japanese soldiers experienced weapon malfunction while attempting to kill Doss. Everytime they would aim at him and pull the trigger the gun would jam. Aimed somewhere else and fired, gun worked, aimed back at Doss, weapon jammed. Then all the reports of men refusing to go in to the field without Doss praying for them. One time, two squads, one consisting of Doss went out. The squad without Doss, not a single man returned. When Doss's squad returned, they asked how many they lost. They couldn't believe it when 0 casualties were reported from Doss's squad. Near the end when he was officially removed from active combat, in his final battle, his legs were so shredded he could no longer walk, and he ended up with a broken arm. He splinted his arm with a broken rifle barrel he found. And while crawling, he continued to treat injured soldiers. He consistently surrendered his own stretcher for other wounded men. Including one time they were carrying him off the field and he demanded the medics stop and take another soldier first. At one point, he lost his bible in the field and was heartbroken. The men in his squad went straight back to an active warzone and searched for 3 days to find his bible. Go watch the Conscientious Objector documentary on YT. If you are interested in Doss, it is the best source of info.

"But you didn't kill him?" "In my heart I did." That line hits so damn hard.

Fun fact for ya Alex, you questioned how much of it was real because it's "based" on a true story. Well, they actually left out a LOT of what Desmond did in his time in the military in order to make it actually be more believable to the general public. He had already been on 3 different battlefields before he hit Hacksaw Ridge, and the members of his company had huge respect for him already by the time he got to that point. When they went to look for his bible, it wasn't just an instant thing, they had such respect for Desmond that they looked for 3 days to find his bible and get it back to him.

Garfield said he tried to do what he did and really carry bodies into safety... he was completely fucked after 2-3 tries... imagine the superhuman power the real man showed!

Met Mr. Doss a few years before he passed, in the town where he retired, Piedmont, AL. I was doing some IT work at a hardware store there and he came in to buy something. The owner introduced me to him as a WW2 hero. Mr. Doss kind of "aww, shucks" about the praise. I meant to look him up that evening, when I got home but as often happens, you forget about these things. It was not until this movie came out and I saw it that I remembered wanting to look him up.

Desmond’s father’s character is the embodiment of a hurt person is capable of hurting people, the mother says he was a good man before the war and the war ravaged is soul, took away his brothers, took away optimism in life and left him with nothing but survivors guilt and grief fueled by alcoholism, but at the same time is a man capable of respecting and honoring his sons dreams beliefs and decisions that directly conflict with his own beliefs and fears…and Hugo weaving played the character brilliantly.

Fun fact: Desmond’s true number of people saved was over a hundred but he didn’t want to take the credit and they negotiated with him to bring the official number down to 75 so he would accept the award.

I had to immediately click on this, genuinely one of my favorite movies of all time.

its funny Alex you said you were surprised Desmond didn’t get off the stretcher to help other wounded men… in real life he did. As he was being carried off he passed another soldier who was badly wounded and Desmond rolled himself off the stretcher and demanded the other soldier be taken first. While he waited for another stretcher, he crawled to another wounded soldier and helped him. This was also not the first battle Desmond had been in though it’s the one he’s most famous for, Desmond saved far more lives in other battles that the movie didn’t mention

If you pay attention to the first attack too you see that Smitty was born to be a soldier. He was the MVP there fr. From picking up a torso as a shield to get closer to the enemy, to blowing up the bunker when another soldier died trying, to going with Daws into the night to find other wounded. Guy was a beast

2:24 My man, your ancestors should be proud that you're able to live a relatively peaceful life. My grandfather served in the Vietnam war, and before he passed, he told me "If you never have to see war, I'll have done my job." He didn't fight so future generations would just keep it going. He fought so we wouldn't have to. Don't be ashamed of that, be proud of the foundations we're standing on.

The real Desmond Doss has been recognized as the greatest combat medic in the history of the US Army. This was not his first battle, but his last. Over his entire time in the Army he saved somewhere near 300 people. And while the officicial record says he saved 75 lives on Hacksaw Ridge, the actual number was closer to 150... its just that he only claimed 50 while several witnesses put the number at much higher. He really was one of the bravest humans to ever live. The hospital at Schofield Barracks in Hawaii was renamed after him, as was the municipal hospital of Lynchberg, Virginia. He's got a statue in his home town. Not bad for a kid who had balls so big he had to carry them in a wheelbarrow.

''I'm surprised he didn't get off the stretcher and save people...'' That's just it, he did!

"The Conscientious Objector" is a documentary about Desmond Doss that tells his story even better than this movie. The interview clips of him at the end of the film are taken from that documentary, which can be found on KZfaq btw.

Desmond's father was in WWI... the most horrific war in modern history. Easy to see his emotions around anything "war".

the performance of that war torn dad.. is one of the best acting in recent movie history... in my opinion.... you can really feel how he was shattered to see his son wear that uniform at the dinner scene like him and his friends, when they enlisted... young and proud and dashing.... he already saw his son like his friends.. dead. and that hurt him even more than the memory of hs fallen friends... yet he went to help his son fulfill his dream, putting back on the uniform, that made him endure so much loss... it only shows, how much he really loves his sons..... he just is too torn to show that everyday.....

You might interest you to know that Desmond Doss had tuberculosis at the time of hacksaw ridge so he had to stiffle his coughing so as not to give away his location while finding injured soldiers he was diagnosed while in the V.A hospital and lost a lung to it. I highly recommend his autobiography as its absolutely incredible as they had to tone it down and base it on only one battle he was involved in. It took nearly 3 days to find his bible and his brothers in arms would not rest till they found it other battalions joined in the search because of what he did for them all. His story is still taught to recruits to this day to show what one man is capable of if he truly believes he can. Honestly read or listen to the autobiography it will absolutely blow your mind.

Obligatory comment for this movie before I watch. He did so many amazing things that Mel Gibson chose to not add them into the movie because he felt the audience wouldn't believe it. In other words, this movie is the watered down version of what actually happened. His feats were that incredible.

He was not stabbed when playing dead, Alex. He checks himself to make sure, and he was okay....for the time being. Great reaction, glad you watched this one.

Do you know how fn refreshing it is to hear someone say "You know I can't even have an opinion on that scene ~ that seems so complicated."

KP is kitchen patrol, basically it’s a punishment by making you get up earlier than everyone else and help the cooks in the kitchen by cleaning dishes, setting up, handing out food, clean up and all that. Generally used to punish soldiers that are in trouble for minor things or it can be used as an inconvenience to that soldier to change behavior.

It didn't make your cut but when he's talking to his dad besides the graves, his dad says "and if by some miracle you survive, you won't be giving no thanks to God." Hugo Weaving absolutely nailed his role, that line is so powerful.

Haven't seen if this has already been said in the comments. Desmond was told he'd rescued over 100 men that night. He didn't believe it. He said it couldn't have been more than 50. So, they split the difference when they gave him his medal, making the official number 75.

Fun fact: the division/ company that Desmond was in were called “the old bastards”. The fat electrician made a video about them.

My father fought in World War II and died just 7 years ago. I have his old army jacket, medals and even some things from the enemy. The stories that I could tell. It’s heart-renching and inspiring. You’re correct, Alex, we have no idea how good our life is.

No matter how many times I watch this movie I end up a blubbering mess by the end. The fact that the movie downplays the things Desmond did because nobody would believe the full extent of it is just amazing. Also, it's a war crime to intentionally target medics, but the Japanese in WW2 were specifically told to do exactly that.

I postponed playing Helldivers 2 to watch this. This movie is so good, Hugo makes me tear up with his performance as Desmond's dad. You can just see the pain in the man.

Top tier movie. Best war movie. 1) Hacksaw Ridge 2) Saving Private Ryan 3) The Pianist 4) Schindler‘s list 5) Braveheart Honorable mentions: Jo Jo Rabbit, Blackhawk Down, The Patriot, We Were Soldiers, Jacob the Liar, Apocalypse Now, Full Metal Jacket, Inglourious Basterds, 1917, Fury, the boy in the striped pajamas, and Zero Dark Thirty

Easily my favorite Hugo Weaving performance. He should have been nominated for this, it's crazy he wasn't.

Now hold on just a minute...I know y'all did NOT use Dylan's face to censor Private Hollywood's ass 🤣

11 minutes in, and I’m confident declaring this your best reaction ever. Thank you.

Excellent 'Reaction' video Alex. USMC Veteran here, two Tours under my Cover (Middle East), and you've hit on practically everything this movie presents. They actually had to reduce all of Desmond's accomplishments, because he and they were so over-the-top extraordinary, the Producer/Director didn't think the audience would believe them to be true. A truly inspirational movie of an incredible Man who only wanted to help others, and proved he had the Heart to any and all who served alongside him.

I'm not sure if it's just me, but I've watched this movie countless times, but only am I now just noticing, that in the opening sequence the voice of the soldier helping Desmond is heavily distorted and sounds like his Father. So even on (what he thought was) his death bed, he was still thinking of him

They actually down played what Desmond did , he actually did get off the stretcher for a more seriously wounded man, treated wounded, got shot in the arm and crawled 300 meters to safety on his own. That is just one of the many instances not shown. Also not show are the 2 previous campaigns he served in with those being Guam and The Philippines where he was awarded the bronze star for valor under fire while saving men's lives there as well. He was 100% prime example of The Greatest Generation !

I actually was part of the same church Desmond was in (Seventh-Day Adventist), I met him quite a few times in church growing up. Super kind and nice person, this movie is amazing, and it still doesn't come close to depicting what an incredible person he was.

I served in the Navy Seabees. We went through a basic rescue course. That knot, the "bra" is still taught to this day. It supports the body weight by holding the legs and then circled around the chest to lower people down just like the movie

Desmond's unit was also known as the old bastards 77th, it was an experimental unit made out middle aged men, the military wanted to see if older men could be in battle just in case all the younger guys got killed, so they made the 77th just as an experiment and they ended up being the best unit out of all 😂

13:15 Caught me off guard with the @Dylanisintrouble face on the butt of Hollywood that i legit had to double back and make sure i saw correctly 😂😂😂

This is legit the only movie that makes me cry every time I watch it. Just the sheer sense of passion, emotion, and validation in your motives this movie/story portrays gets me

Good on you for treating this story with respect (well some anyway). And good on your Grandpa for being a badass. My father, my 2 brothers and myself all served from Vietnam to Desert Storm, to Bosnia, to the Pentagon on 9-11 and Iraq. It's a noble job and one I am proud to have served in. The Army makes lots of mistakes, but it's still a better place, with a higher purpose, to be a part of than most.

"The film omits his prior combat service in the Battle of Guam and Battle of Leyte. Doss was awarded the Bronze Star Medal for extraordinary bravery in both battles." He did it multiple times

I learned this story a little while ago and its one of my favorites. Its not considered a christian movie but i consider it one over most of them, Desmond Doss is a testament of never laying down your faith and God's will. People in the war that were on the other side of it testified to trying to fire at Doss and their guns jamming up, they would turn fire at someone else and it fire but when they aimed at Doss again they gun would lock up. Doss's testimony is one worth looking into because this story doesnt do it a justice. I love the way you talked about the resemblence between Doss and Christ because as we follow after God's heart and his will and believe and act as he tells us to we quite literally start to resemble Christ for others. Doss's story is up there with some of my favorites along with the preacher on the titanic who gave away his life vest to someone else and said "you need this more than i do, im not going under i know where im going" and he spent his last hours swimming around to all the people and making sure they were saved, and John G. Lake who went to people with the plague and healed them, people told him he was crazy but he challenged them and scientists on the field literally put some of the plagued tissue in his hand and watched it shrivel up and die. Truly remarkable what God can do through one person, never lay God down on the line of compromise and he won't let you go down without changing everyone around you.

This is genuinely one of my favourite movies

16:57 KP duty means "kitchen police" or "kitchen patrol". They work under the kitchen staff assigned to junior U.S. enlisted military personnel. "KP" can be either the work or the personnel assigned to perform such work.

As a veteran who was deployed to Iraq, I encourage to not feel bad for never serving. The thing you could feel is thankfulness for never having to go to war. I am thankful your grandfather did what he did so you could do what you do. I appreciate you, brother.

20:21 This is one of my favorite scenes in the movie. Given how severe his PTSD is, the strength and courage and love that it took to put that uniform back on is amazing. Maybe the first miracle done on behalf of Desmond’s conviction, to make his father do that even when he was so against his son’s decision.

I watched this movie two weeks ago and couldn't stop crying. It was such a good movie... I can't even put it into words...

I still remember watching this in theaters with my wife and father in law. When it ended I just sat there for 15 minutes sobbing. They literally were cleaning around us and I had to contain myself. It has become one of my top three favorite movies of all time.

I feel like your grandfather cannot only see you but all the peoples lives you touch. How you make people happy and bring them up when they're feeling down. He would be very proud of the positive effect you have on people.

The Fat Electrician did a video about the division Doss was a part of. Absolute badasses, highly recommend watching the video. All older men, average age when they went to basic was like 33, they were older than the drill instructors...They were so badass that the marines referred to them as the 77th Marine Division, which I cannot stress enough is a humongous sign of respect, these guys were absolute badasses.

Absolutely one of the best true stories and movies of all time. Mel Gibson has some amazing movies and Garfield is such an amazing actor!

"War is War and Hell is Hell, and of the two War is worse."- Hawkeye Pierce.

Biggest balls in the whole Pacific theatre right there.....that guy is the prime example of what someone with conviction is capable of..and like they say in the end..belief is not a joke...that is serious

oh ive been WAITIN for this one

No parents wants his kids to go to war now imagine someone who has been through it ... The dad for sure wouldn't want his sons to go through it too

Desmond Doss was a true G. I love how someone in the comments says they nerfed him in the movie, because that's exactly what they did. Dude was a badass through and through.

Yeah this movie is amazing. This one brings 100 percent of all the feels. One of my best friends told me that he was going into the military years ago. I was so mad at him, but he told me he was going as a medic. Thank the Lord he came back and I love him for his service. Thank you Alex for putting this out there.

KP stands for Kitchen Patrol, working in the Mess hall for duty usually in Basic training outside of basic there are people specific to that career field in the military.

My drill sergeant thought my issues with him were because he was black. He filed a complaint with the company commander. When asked why I hated black people I told the sergeant "Just because you're racist doesn't mean I am.". Needless to say, they transferred me to another company. Lol The first wave of soldiers are brave. The second wave are even braver. Being willing to charge into fire after seeing what happened to the first wave.

You should definitely watch the “Unbreakable”Trilogy the performance is so good and the cast is chef’s kiss

Im so glad you watched this movie I cried the first time all the way through. Desmond Doss was the epitomy of what these young medics did to save his fellow soldiers and he did it over and over until it was his turn to be saved Andrew Garfield was brilliant as Desmond Doss.

Interesting fact I recently learned from The Fat Electrician...the unit Doss was in is Unit 77, "The Old Bastards", which was an experimental unit that had an average age of 33 compared with conscripts' average age of 23. Their Unit Emblem is a Statue of Liberty patch. Doss was 26 when he went up on the Ridge.

Now watch the Fat Electrician video about the Old Bastards. It's about the men who went up hacksaw with Desmond. They almost all in their 30s when they joined. Desmond was one of the youngest with them.

It was one of the few movies I genuinely cried. I've read so many stories about Doss and other war stories lost in time. To hear the bravery and selfless made me proud to serve. This movie is a small glimpse of heroism in the war.

it is very important to their father's story that he was a marine and fought at the Batlle of Belleau Wood, look that battle up and it will explain everything. It is where the marines earned the moniker of devil dogs. What their father did and saw will shed light on where he is coming from.

"13 Hours" one of my favorite war movies of all time

The movie actually does not show the actual number of soldiers saved by Doss. It is actuallly about 75 men.

Alex! Idk if others mentioned but at 37:10 he literally saved a "blind" person. One of the best references I saw.

Haven’t even watched the reaction yet so damn glad you watched this movie. One of the best. Apparently my neighbors knew Desmond for quite a few years. Amazing man

It's interesting how you said about his father being a complicated man, I totally agree. My Great Grandfather came back from Gallipoli wounded, ptsd etc and when he found out his son was going to join the army, threw himself off a bridge in London. He son came back from war, ptsd, drink problems .. he died young and homeless. The next generation was my mum and I don't care what anyone says .. all that trauma and complexity flows down the bloodline. The powers that be have so much to answer for!!!! This is such a good film because it highlights the effects and brutality of war . I'm really glad you watched it!!

I would have to say that "Saving Private Ryan," Full Metal Jacket" or "Heartbreak Ridge" would have to be among my favorite war movies.

i agree 1000%. The acting is phenomenal. This is one of my favourite movies ever. This and Platoon are the best war movies, period.

this is the only movie that makes me cry every time I watch it. Couldn’t be more beautiful

"OMG I got 'gooch' bumps" had me ☠️🤣

Being from Okinawa, Hacksaw Ridge looks very different from what the movie shows

I'm a Marine, never in combat, and now work at a VA Hospital and I've seen and heard so many men and women and stories that are just unbelievable. So many people are real heroes. Of course not many WWII vets, I uncle was one and he passed recently, or even Korean war but lots and lots of Vietnam vets now. They got to the age they had to retire from their jobs, which they used to hide themselves away, and now they have to deal with what happened to themselves and others. It's heartbreaking to see. We have the ongoing wars now but most of those people aren't ready to deal with what they went through. I work with several but they only talk about shore leave and non combat things. This movie and Saving Private Ryan always make me tear up. Not in the same vein as this but other great movies with great performances are two Vietnam movies Apocalypse Now and Full Metal Jacket you should check out.

In order: Band of Brothers, The Pacific, Masters of Air (all ww2 mini series from the same people), Saving private Ryan, Dunkirk, 1917, Full Metal Jacket, Apocalypse Now, Platoon, JoJo Rabbit

Finally I love this movie so much, it makes me cry every single time I see it

This one is one of my all time favorites. So glad you reacted to it

Desmond is buried in my hometown, Chattanooga Tennessee in our military cemetery. I visited his grave a few years back. The stone is beautiful, white with gold inscribing

I highly recommend watching the video “old age and treachery the unstoppable 77th infantry division” by the fat electrician. The 77th infantry division is the division Doss was in.

13 Hours: The Secret Soldiers of Benghazi is my favorite movie of all time.

Speaking on the helmets, OG WW2 helmets were one size fits all (most), not very practical but was better than nothing. Nowadays we have different sizes which you get measured for, and if you're intermediate (I'm between a large and medium) they give you the larger size and extra padding so it fits securely on your head.

I remember seeing this movie with my dad when it came out. Knowing Mel Gibson as a director (funny how you use the word "passion" near the end of your video since Mel directed The Passion of the Christ only 12 years earlier) and Andrew Garfield as an actor from his Spider-Man movies, I knew I was in for something special. Such a beautiful movie that doesn't get the respect it deserves, despite leaving a lot of key story points out for the sake of a movie runtime.

Hacksaw ridge is an amazing movie.

Absolutely amazing movie. I’m glad you’ve watched this. One of my favourite reactors and one of my favourite movies. Let’s goooo

Desmond’s home town is where I live currently, and every day I drive Desmond T Doss Memorial hwy to work. I feel a sense of obligation to pay my respects every day I drive it. That man is a hero of all heroes.

Doss was part of the 77th ID, a highly decorated and valued unit. They were known as ''The Old Bastards'', average age 33, they so impressed the Marines at one point called them the 77th Marine Division.

oh ive been WAITIN for this one!

Waiting for this one such a good movie

43:40 oh he did EXACTLY that after he was wounded. He saw a soldier in critical condition and told the stretcher bearers to let him off so he can help him. He let the other soldier on the stretcher and started heading back with another soldier. THEN he got hit in the arm by a sniper and used a rifle stock as a brace. He crawled all the way back and survived.

This I my 2nd favorite movie of all time behind The Martian. A salute to your grandfather for his service.

Dude you've got to react to MIDWAY next it's one of the most important battles of the Pacific theater during WWII

FINALLY!!!! I've been waiting on his reaction to this movie. Hopefully he does 1917 soon.

the fact that you started evangelizing towards the end made me so happy. Watching this movie really made me keep thinking "Wow, God is so good" and you're so right, how can you see this unfold and still deny it

I just started watching your channel a couple weeks ago and had actually searched to see if you reacted to this movie because it is easily one of my favorites. Thank you so much for watching this movie!

It's not about religion It's about conviction