Gallipoli: Starring Mel Gibson

"Gallipoli"was an early role for the controversial actor Mel Gibson, along with an unknown actor named Mark Lee. Gibson proved in his later years he knew how to play in the war roles; but war is more a sideline to this story than a major point.

The film is about two young Australians and their inevitable decision to join up with the British army, and fight in the First World War. Gibson is, initially, against the idea of going and fighting, and voices his opinion in early conversation with his friends. "You blokes want to get yourself shot go right ahead," Gibson says to them.

The initial part of the movie works on Mark Lee's character and, just when things get tedious, when nothing is really happening, Gibson is brought into the fold.

Lee is a talented runner (called the fastest in Western Australia) who is to young to join up in the army - which is his dream - but is able to lie and get past the screeners. Gibson, being so against fighting, ends up joining after running into Lee's character.

This epic is slow at first, but, as mentioned, Gibson's enlivens the movie, bringing his trademark touch to it. It is odd to see him as a man who really doesn't want to fight. After he befriends Lee, they march through the desert to the army camp and, after joining up, are immediately sent to Gallipoli, a peninsula in Turkey that the British were hoping to gain.

The story behind the battles of Gallipoli should be noted. The first man to propose the plan was Winston Churchill, who hoped to cut off valuable supply routes to Germany by defeating the Turks. Even with all the initial planning, things would get very bloody for the British forces trying to win. Churchill's plans weren't followed to the letter and he, so distraught over this, resigned his position in protest. This left the command to the British High Command, who decided not to give up, even though the Turks were well dug in on the peninsula because the British had waited so long to attack.