SmugKitZine Tied for the best movie I have ever seen

Smartorhypo Highly Overrated But Still Good

Matrixiole Simple and well acted, it has tension enough to knot the stomach.

Rosie Searle It's the kind of movie you'll want to see a second time with someone who hasn't seen it yet, to remember what it was like to watch it for the first time.

Leofwine_draca John Woo's Second World War film is, it has to be said, no equal for his 1980s classic HEROES SHED NO TEARS, which pushed the boundaries of cinema whilst at the same time offering a decent war-time actioner. WINDTALKERS reunites two of Woo's previous heroes – Nicolas Cage and Christian Slater – into what is a generally effective war film, chronicling the lives of those courageous men who risked and more often than not sacrificed their lives in battle against the enemy. Woo charts the expected friendships, post traumatic stress, injuries, and racism with moderate success, and he's helped by a good quality cast – especially the unknown Beach as the sympathetic Native American hero. Cage is introspective and tormented, which is something a little different from his usual characters; I liked him, and I also liked Slater's work here immensely.But things never change and, as usual, the cinematography and action sequences are what work best in this movie. Woo offers tons of bomb-laden action and doesn't shy away from the full horrors of warfare either – there are decapitations, throat-slittings, and limbs being blown off, all shown in unflinching detail. The film does become a little repetitive as it shows Cage machine-gunning dozens of the Japanese enemy but hey, COMMANDO was a repetitive movie and still stands as one of the action genre's best. The special effects are tremendous – especially the CGI bombers flying over the lush countryside – and war fans will be left happy with what is a pretty good genre effort, and pleasingly old-fashioned in this post-modern era.

tomsview The premise behind this film is a worthy one. It purports to tell the story of the Navajo code talkers who served with the U.S. Marines in WW2. Unfortunately, what ended up on the screen does not do justice to those men on a number of levels.Nicholas Cage plays veteran sergeant, Joe Enders, who is recovering from serious wounds suffered in an earlier battle. He and Sgt. Ox Henderson, played by Christian Slater, are charged with providing protection during the battle of Saipan for two Navajo code talkers: Ben Yazhee (Adam Beach) and Charlie Whitehorse (Roger Willie).Navajos were recruited by the marines to transmit messages in their language, which the Japanese could not translate. This movie maintains that bodyguards were assigned to protect the code at all costs, even if it meant killing the code talkers to stop them falling into Japanese hands.This responsibility weighs heavily on Enders and he determines to keep emotional distance between Yazhee and himself. Nevertheless, the bond that grows between the two men provides the central story.The movie does explain the background of the code talkers; the opening of the film features spectacular shots of Monument Valley in Utah, part of the Navajo's homeland.However, the movie exhibits childish notions of combat and military life that one would have thought were well in Hollywood's past. It is as though the director, John Woo, purposely avoided viewing documentary footage of the Pacific War so as not to spoil his concept of the way it was.Towards the end of the actual battle of Saipan, the Japanese launched a massive banzai against the American forces. Woo's whole movie is like that banzai charge. U.S. Marines and Japanese soldiers charge up and down hill with the abandon of children on a vacant lot. Men are mowed down in swathes while real amputees are employed as gory casualties, however the whole thing remains unconvincing. That real-life last banzai by the Japanese isn't even featured in the film (it fell mainly on U.S. Army units), but in a movie such as this, it would hardly have stood out from the rest of the frenetic action.Modern day audiences probably have little knowledge of the Saipan campaign, so quibbles of a historical nature do not indicate the root cause of the film's failure. This has more to do with scenes that utterly destroy its credibility. When Enders has Yazhee dress as a Japanese soldier so they can infiltrate the enemy position, it's about as believable as this sort of thing ever was in Saturday afternoon serials and B westerns.Coinciding with the movie's release, President Bush paid homage to the surviving Navajo veterans in a ceremony at the White House. Cast members and crew from the film were in attendance. The sentiment was right – pity about the movie.

vchimpanzee I had heard about the Code Talkers and understood their efforts were important to winning World War II. I found the idea of watching a movie about their efforts interesting.I didn't really understand how Nicolas Cage getting in a jam in the Solomon Islands and acting heroically contributed to that, but I kept watching. Eventually, I made the connection. His flawed and damaged character was being put in charge of keeping a Code Talker safe. I hadn't considered the possibility of a Code Talker being put in a combat situation, and yet this movie made clear how vital their efforts were even on the battlefield. We also got to see how risky it was to be a Code Talker in this situation, since the Japanese somehow knew about these people and would find them valuable. Yes, the possibility of the code being revealed to the enemy has a tragic consequence. Many hard decisions were made here.Although I wasn't really prepared for battle and didn't like the violence that went with it, combat scenes were effectively done. Nicolas Cage, of course, is a Rambo or Schwarznegger which is good for movie audiences if not necessarily realistic. The relationships that develop between fighting men made the movie interesting.Adam Beach did a fine job and was quite likable. Whether he looked like an Indian or not, and whether he really looked Japanese (which became important in one scene), didn't matter to me. I went with my neighbors to the Cherokee reservation in North Carolina a few years ago and the campaign billboards, during a race for chief, showed a man who could have passed for white. Actually, Beach looked more like the other type of Indian. But the important thing was his character's pride in his heritage, and the scenes that showed his culture, particularly with his friend Charlie Whitehorse. The scenery in the American West is great. And the areas where combat took place also are nice to look at.I was impressed that one of the military bases somehow got a 50-star flag more than 15 years before there were actually 50 states. I wonder when that flag was developed? Still, a regular 48-star flag would have been better for consistency.If the objective was to tell people this film was about Code Talkers and to focus on a flawed but heroic white marine and show the Code Talkers' battlefield actions as a supplement to the main plot, then I believe the goal was achieved.

GeoPierpont What a disservice to Italians from South Philly! I watched this film between TWO other war movies and every single time I tuned in, all I could view was this supernatural flying circus with fireworks proudly displayed. The Script in the Crypt Keeper was working furiously overtime. NOT!I truly wanted to decipher ;}} more about the Navajo culture and how they may have influenced the average white supremacist, and what an education! NOT!Why would their most precious cargo be forced to hit the front lines for such extended time frames. For example, I recall orders to head up this 99d incline with bombs flaring through the tree line and see 'waz up'. Very sensible game plan. NOT! Let's face it I was not there, but catch a few Duke war flicks and you will see, albeit, a more sanitized version, but so much more watchable and entertaining.When I saw the cutaway scene of one soldier with hair highlights, bleach tips and shining bangs over his eyes, I laughed so hard and thought this had to be intentional. Was this film an attempt at comedy? Please tell me affirmative sir yes sir! NOT!Just watching scene after agonizing scene with good ol' St. Nick with his pained expressions, and that lovely blood gurgling from his lips in many different congealment configurations, also gave me a clue that Woo is WooWoo.Thanks for the history lesson and a high five for the commercials!