As soon as Mr. Beasley showed during assembly the trailer for Hacksaw Ridge, I was hooked. The whole concept of a movie based on the man, Desmond Doss, who I looked up to as a child elated me. I clearly remember around the age of five standing next to the statue of him on the Greenway and my mom telling me about how he, a Seventh-day Adventist, received the Congressional Medal of Honor—the highest award possible.

I developed a strong respect for the war hero who lived around where I grew up and made a huge impact on the world, enough to have a 45-million dollar movie made about him.

Doss stood up for what he believed in, even though it would have been easy for him to justify working on Sabbath and using a gun. He could have claimed that it was a mandatory draft and he didn’t have a choice, plus he was helping save America so killing the enemy didn’t matter, but he did not. No excuses.

Doss’ lack of weaponry did not in any way make him weak or unable to perform his duty. Desmond Doss saved 75 men in Okinawa from the front lines without any protection. His mission: save lives. That is why I admire him.

Recently, I googled Hacksaw Ridge (coming to theaters November 4, 2016) to show my parents the trailer and read the reviews from those who watched it before its release. I was shocked to see a looming rated R box sitting beside the name Hacksaw Ridge.

Usually there is an extremely valid reason why a movie receives a rating of that caliber. For this movie “intense prolonged realistically graphic sequences of war violence including grisly bloody images” are responsible (IMDb).

I have reached the age where I can legally go to a movie theater and watch rated R movies without an adult, but I have no desire. I don’t personally enjoy extremely graphic war movies and don’t plan on watching this movie in theaters until it comes out on BlueRay.

If you are under 17, this is a movie to talk to your parents about before watching. If you get queasy easily or don’t like graphic imagery of war, this is not the movie for you. However, if you are interested in seeing the powerful story of Desmond Doss and you’ve checked with your parents, this is adding up to be an excellent film.