Simply A Masterpiece

Absolutely Fantastic

It was OK. I don't see why everyone loves it so much. It wasn't very smart or deep or well-directed.

I wanted to like it more than I actually did... But much of the humor totally escaped me and I walked out only mildly impressed.

Windtalkers is by far the most inaccurate and unrealistic war movie I've ever had the displeasure of seeing. I was a fan of the film growing up, as explosions generally attract young boys. Now that I've matured it's painfully obvious how generic it is. The acting is sub par for a war movie, the genuine emotions of war are vacant in this film. The amount of explosions almost make me think Michael Bay was really behind this film, using John Woo as an alias. Nic Cage is a one man army, which is truly the most irritating part of it all. His character is equipped with an M1A1 Thompson SMG. The Thompson holds 20 rounds a magazine, yet I don't believe I saw Cage reload a single time. Besides his infinite magazine and ammunition, he single handedly kills dozens upon dozens of the enemy, which makes the rest of his squad appear utterly useless. Adam Beach gives a rather a dry performance, which further proves my theory that he's nothing but a mediocre Michael Pena. How he landed a role in Flags of Our Fathers, a war film light years ahead of Windtalkers, is beyond me. In one of the final scenes, where Nic Cages character (Enders) dies, I couldn't decide which actor was less believable. For your closest companion on the battlefield sacrificing his life for yours, you'd think he'd have a little more emotion as he says goodbye. Two dull leading actors severely hurt the more dramatic scenes. This film is a textbook example of clichés, predictable outcomes, crucial scenes ruined by mediocre acting, and so much more. The only reason I rated it a generous 4/10 was for the entertainment factor. If you discard historical content and the near insulting portrayal of war, the impressive (although sometimes overdone) amount of explosions and the abundance of extras can result in some very attractive shots. The bottom line is this movie is a very poorly done film in regards to the war genre, but as far as action goes its enough to keep you entertained. If you're a history buff like I am, you'll want to rip your hair out in the first fifteen minutes. If you're just looking for a solid action movie, this might just be enough.

I did not expect too much of this movie, especially after looking at the IMDb ranking. I watched the film and I read the reviews and I noticed the reviews are packed with senseless prejudice.Windtalkers is, in my opinion, an excellent film. It describes the importance of Navajo code talkers to the US army during World War II. At the same time it describes the view of the American army to these same Navajo soldiers who were just as other minorities seen as inferior.The two main aspects why I thoroughly enjoyed this movie: the excellent combination of John Woo's fantastic direction and the editing and cinematography. Both in big, wide shots and in close by scenes the movie is brilliantly made with great eye for detail with fantastic shots. Of course a number of scenes are not very realistic. Of course John Woo goes over the top completely with explosions, according to some. But search for the described battle: looks like they went over the top there as well.Second reason: as the main character, a marine traumatized by previous experiences and always justifying his actions because he followed his orders and at the same time doubting that principle, Cage showed again that he is a great actor. He was impressive! Never mind the reviews of people who are negative about the film because they don't like Woo and/or Cage. Never mind the people who don't like the film because they only wanted to see Navajo heroics. This is a highly underrated film.

Sorry- this did not meet my expectations. First, i don't know much about war but i guess there is no armistice-button. Most of this is a massacre (if you watch the directors cut), and Nicholas Cage has a loss of memories (as he lies in the hospital with open eyes), is almost deaf, but suddenly his acoustic senses are intact, so he returns to war like all of what happened earlier was a bad dream, and also later he is mostly spared by the bullets. The twist of fate, what you find in history books, is, that the guy shooting with the flamethrower becomes a target himself and seriously burned, so one of the comrades has to give him the coup de grace. However, the shootouts look realistic but the airplanes seem to be slower than the bullets, like a simulation. But-what did i expect? i was watching movies like "enigma" and "a beautiful mind" which were sophisticated, but this was mostly like "saving private Ryan" with a few navajoes. In this genre i recommend rather "the killing fields", "full metal jacket", "the dirty dozen", "where eagles dare", "casualties of war", "black hawk down" or "apocalypse now". The final issue is, did the character of "joe enders" played by Nicholas Cage who tried to act coldblooded and taciturn like charles bronson, really exist? in fact i heard about "Carlos James Lozada", "Randall Shughart", "Gary Gordon" and "Chester Nimitz" on afn radio europe(you will find them on wikipedia) who did, because this should be a criteria. for evaluating a movie.

W i n d t a l k e r sDirected by John WooThe heroism of certain illustrious representatives of the species Homo Sapiens has never ceased to amaze me. Growing up as a boy in Umhlali I had heard people speak with pride of the incredible courage of people like Mahatma Gandhi and Fatima Meer and Alan Paton. I did not know then of the astounding bravery of people like Ismail Meer and Nelson Mandela or H. A. Naidoo or Dr Goonam or the Rev Beyers Naude. Why all this?I have just seen Windtalkers with Nicholas Cage directed by John Woo, possibly the best war movie I have seen this year. It is certainly up there with GLORY! and Saving Private Ryan. It is a superlative effort and has all the true grit of reality. Woo pays meticulous attention to detail and his camera pays loving homage to the American South West with its stunning landscape and its unearthly vista.This movie had been panned by certain critics. Since it is a movie about the indigenous American Indian contribution to the war effort against Nippon and since, like most South Africans, I had grown up on a diet of John Wayne and Alan Ladd, I decided that I needed some balance.I had also seen how some of the critics had panned brilliant epics like Michael Collins, The Patriot, The Legend of Bhagat Singh etc. and I suspected that they had another establishment agenda. So I decided to ignore the critics' comments; and seldom have I been happier with following my own Spirit!The film depicts both Japanese and American heroism - and American racism. The Navajo volunteered for this War - and there is honour and glory in the movie even though Ben, the one code warrior actually names his son, George for George Washington - it reminded me of a South African Indian who named his son, 'Clive'. He, of course, didn't know the significance of Robert Clive in India's history - and didn't care to know.One of the American soldiers talks of how his father remembered how the Indians were hunted like gophers and $3 was paid for each Comanche ear that was brought in. The devastation wreaked on flesh and blood by steel and explosive is demonstrated here in all its heart- wrenching reality as human beings behave worse than any force of nature, whether volcano, tornado or earthquake. These soldiers are not supermen, just very human men, trying to survive, trying to win, trying, in the end, to be human beings despite all the terror unleashed upon them by forces outside their control, forces which manipulate them like toys. This is a movie well worth seeing if one is interested in history and the kind of experiences our forebears went through. Victors always write history, but at last something of our own history is being written and shown. In a sense, that means we are winning too. And those uncomfortable with our history will always condemn what we know and what we write.Review By Deena Padayachee