Decent action, storyline was lacking

Rating: 4/10 (21 July 2013)

I was hoping for a good war movie with a storyline on the Navajo coders from WWII. What I got was an 80's style action flick where Nic Cage channeled Rambo against the Japanese. There is some subplot on how the soldiers interacted with their code breakers, but any time things got overly emotional or gave a character depth, there'd be an explosion. While this works for an action film, it cuts the war drama short by not allowing the characters some depth.
Also, I'm not sure where the $100 million budget went to, but it obviously wasn't cinematography. There were times when stock footage of battleships were used, which immediately took me out of the movie. Perhaps this was to give the movie a more "documentary" style, but it didn't mesh well with the rest.
In conclusion, if you want an action film with a smidgen of characterization, try the film. If you want a war drama with a good storyline, you should probably look elsewhere.