A flawed but above average war film

Rating: 7/10 (3 January 2003)

Windtalkers is a movie about the Navajo codetalkers that were used during World War II, in the United States' war against Japan. It is a good war movie that is filled with lots of action and explosions, although I would have expected nothing less from John Woo. Adam Beach also gives a good performance as Private Ben Yahzee, who is the codetalker Nicholas Cage's character, Sergeant Joseph Enders, is supposed to protect. But, unfortunately, despite the movie's strong points, it fails on several aspects.
I felt Nicholas Cage's performance in this movie was a little dry. His character does not show enough emotion, and as such his dialogue often comes out flat. Also, the Japanese soldiers in the movie seemed to be nothing than cardboard cutouts in a shooting gallery. The American soldiers could hit the Japanese soldiers with an incredibly high degree of accuracy, but the Japanese soldiers could not seem to hit much of anything. Now, I know that this is an American made movie, but it is unrealistic.
Still, because of the acting of Adam Beach, and the fact that the fight scenes were done fairly well, I feel that the movie is worth watching.
I give this movie 7/10.