Windtalkers

Rating:
Summary: If you need the facts go read a book !
Review: This is all out WWII action ! If you have a T.V. bigger than 19 inches plugged into surround sound with a much needed subwoofer you will not be disapointed ! Go read a book if you need factual events. First Cage film I have liked. Now go see, "WHEN TRUMPETS FADE". Don't forget the home theater!

Rating:
Summary: Skip this one!
Review: I really like war movies, but this one was hard for me to sit through. The concept of the movie was fine but the movie was so poorly done. The battle scenes were cheesy and unrealistic. The musical score was like a cheap action movie. I would avoid this one like the plague.

Rating:
Summary: Needs more Navajo talking
Review: Why is it called Windtalkers? It only has about 2 scenes of Navajo talking. When I saw it I thought it going to have a lot of code in it. This movie should be called Notalkers!

Rating:
Summary: One of the Fifty Worst Films of All Time...
Review: If you really want to find out more about this film, go to the "See All Reviews" link at the end of the following reviews, select the link, and when the next page appears, Select "Lowest Reviews First" in the dialogue box. Then, hit the "Go" button. Needless to say, all of the reviews you'll see at that point say how awful this movie is much better than I can.

Incidentally, as of this writing, the VHS version of "Windtalkers" is going for $1.20.

Rating:
Summary: Windtalkers
Review: Disappointing to say the least. This WAS NOT a factual film....this was an insult to the Brave Men who gave their lives and saved thousands. The Navjo Windtalkers were the deciding factor in the Pacific Theater and their Nation should be given a formal apology by this entire nation as well as Nicolas Cage and John Woo. Both have lost a devout fan...how sad! Windtalkers is a disgrace!

Rating:
Summary: It blowed up real good!!
Review: I love World War II action films, but I can't tell you how much I hated this movie. There's absolutely nothing redeemable about it. From the bottom up, everything about this film is wrong.

To use an analogy, this film is like a $500,000.00 home in Malibu built from clapboard, thrown away furniture crates, and discarded soda bottles.

I'm not going to go into the specifics, all I'll say is that this film has nothing to do with an accurate portrayal of history, or any reality in this dimension!!

The acting stinks, the actions sequences are laugable, and the main characters seem about as real as Bert and Ernie. The pyrotechnics are so unreal, I half expected that guy from Second City to appear on screen and say, "It blowed up real good!"

If I were a Navajo code-talker, or even a relative of one, I would be totally insulted at some of the insinuations that this movie makes. It's too bad that these brave men couldn't have been honored with a more accurate picture of their heroism.

Rating:
Summary: Compelling story, good blend of action and character study.
Review: I was drawn to this movie initially because it's about WW2 and, well, I watch just about everything I can get on the subject. From the opening scenes, the tone is set for gritty action and graphic violence, both of which characterize every combat sequence in the movie.

The story revolves around Sgt. Joe Enders (Nicholas Cage), who is assigned to protect Ben Yahzee, a young and naive Navajo "code talker". Enders is carrying both physical and psychological scars from an earlier encounter with the Japanese that left him as the sole survivor after his squad was wiped out. He is portrayed as a quiet, sullen, and downright hard character. His no-nonsense demeanor and brutality in combat is contrasted by Yahzee's youthful freshness and healthy fear of enemy bullets. The two make a very unlikely pair, to say the least.

The other main characters are Sgt. Anderson (played by Christian Slater), whose charge is another code talker named Charlie Whitehorse, an older Navajo whose traditional roots run deep. Anderson is much more light hearted and conversational than Enders, having not shared the same hard combat experiences. Both sergeants, however, have a common mission -- "protect the code at all costs," which is translated as "kill your code talker if he is in danger of being captured." There are a couple suspenseful scenes where the sergeants are put to the test on whether to carry out this order -- 'nuff said.

With this stage set, the story carries forward as a depiction of four different men thrown into a common crisis, each dealing with it in his own way but unavoidably influenced by those around him. Generally speaking, the action is riveting, intense and realistic, and definitely does not glamorize war. Rather, it puts a horrific face on it in a way that has become much more the norm since the advent of films like "Platoon", "Full Metal Jacket" and, more recently, "Saving Private Ryan." Several of the combat scenes are absolutely sweeping (epic?) in their scale, and do a great job of capturing the magnitude of some of these large military operations.

My only criticisms would be these: first, the Marines' ability to dodge bullets while mowing down their enemies with return fire (compared to the lack of such ability in their Japanese counterparts) was unrealistic -- just a little Rambo-esque. Second, the characters of the code talkers were a bit underdeveloped and even somewhat stereotyped. Third, I thought the ending was a bit corny and cliche -- did not do justice to the rest of the film.

Overall I would rate this as a very good movie that missed an opportunity to be a great movie. Absolutely worth watching -- and rewatching. Well done.

Rating:
Summary: disappointing.......
Review: Shortly after the war we lived on Saipan and our father told us about the bloody battle for the island......the thing that the film never described was the way the 30,000 Japanese were hold up in caves throughout the island.....As a child I also learned about the code talkers......so it was with real interest that I rented this film......however, it was soon apparent that Woo did not have the same direction in mind.....
He spent entirely too much time developing the Enders character and little time was spent with the Yahzee, Whitehorse and their training. Too bad he did not do what Kostner did in "Dances With Wolves" and develop other characters......who became the meat of the story......
Hollywood once more underestimates the viewing audience and what they expect.

Rating:
Summary: Too much Nicolas--not enough Code Talkers
Review: Have any of you seen this film? It was awesome but left a lot to be desired at the same time. It was loud with lots of action, war violence, and graphic scenes. It was loud as war films are. Some scenes were reminiscent of the first half-hour of "Saving Private Ryan."

It was billed as being about the Navajo codetalkers of WW II-and yet I found there was little in the film about them even though there were two main characters who were suppose to be codetalkers.

The movie began with a battle scene in the Solomon Islands. The Marines were outnumbered and all but one survived this particular battle that was shown. Next Nicholas Cage, who portrayed Corporal (CPL) Joe Enders from Pennsylvania, was recuperating in a hospital in Hawaii. A Navy WAVE, played by Frances O'Connor, who cared for him helped him return to the front lines and yet he didn't appear to have any feelings for her. Throughout the rest of the film she sends him letters to which he never responds.

The film jumped to a group of Navajo enlisting into the Corps. Next they were going to class where they studied the code they would use. There was little really shown about their actual training. We know that they used their own language as a code the Japanese never broke during WW II. Here the audience is introduced to two Navajo: Ben Yahzee, played by Adam Beach, and Charlie Whitehorse-portrayed by Roger Willie making his acting debut. Both Adam and Roger are Native American Indians although Adam was born in Canada.

CPL Enders is given a special mission. He is to protect with his own life if necessary the life of the Navajo assigned to him and at all costs protect the code-in other words kill the Navajo if the enemy gets too close or captures him. At the same time he is promoted in rank to sergeant. He meets Sergeant (SGT) Anderson, played by Christian Slater. They have opposites outlooks on life but the same mission which neither are sure they can fulfill.

There was little shown in the movie about the relationship between the Navajo and the rest of the Marines. Except for a scene where one Marine assaulted Yahzee the rest of the film simply showed them being called names. SGT Anderson befriended Charlie. They even began playing music together, the Navajo on the flute and Slater using a harmonica. They struck a true friendship.

As much as I like Nicholas Cage and his films I felt like he was the vehicle for this movie and not the codetalkers. SGT Enders stayed aloof to forming a relationship with Yahzee. Perhaps it was that his platoon was cut to shreds in the first scenes of the movie. Perhaps he didn't want to become friends because he had orders to kill Yahzee if the enemy got too close to him. Perhaps he felt as though he didn't want to befriend another soldier. BUT I felt that Cage had too much screen time when I thought the movie was suppose to be about the Navajo.

The main thrust of the movie was supposed to be a battle on the island of Saipan in 1944. The American forces knew there were over 30,000 Japanese on the island and yet they attacked. It was yet another brutal battle from one end of the island to the other. Particularly disturbing was a friendly fire incident even though I know those things happened all too often.

But the few scenes of the Navajo using their codetalking was what the movie was suppose to be about. Maybe I didn't see it-I'm not sure now. Yes the Navajo used their radios to call in information to higher headquarters. They passed along info regarding locations, quantities, units, etc. Sometimes they chattered among themselves since no one else could understand them including their counterparts-the Americans.

There were breathtaking scenes in the film. I admit to shedding tears during it. It was a good movie but I expected to see more of exactly what the Navajo did. However I will say that what "Saving Private Ryan" did for the WW II generation and "We Were Soldiers" did for the Vietnam generation "Windtalkers" tries to do for our Native Americans who served during WW II in our Armed Forces. Their code was never broken. They deserved more credit than they received at the time and even since then. This movie was to be their vehicle for that acceptance.

Rating:
Summary: Remake of the Old War movies !
Review: The terrible soundtrack, the story, the plot made me remember some of the Old war movies like those with John Wayne, Richard Burton and other famous actors of the same period. Sometimes I even found Nicolas Cage very bad, even laughable. The fights with the Japanese are quite funny..kind of when you think they are all dead, there is more. The end of the movie is laughable. Nicolas Cage carries on his back one of the indian soldiers while the Japanese are shouting all over the place.A scene 10 000 times seen in movies. I will not forget to say that it's full of cliches about honour, pride...They are all real men in this flick and they are all american of course. John Wayne could have been great in this one.