Least enjoyable war film of late

Rating: 4/10 (16 July 2002)

John Woo should definitely stick to action films and steer clear of the niche market of war films. Sure, Windtalkers was eye candy abound, but it was a lightweight compared to relatively recent Saving Private Ryan, Thin Red Line, and Black Hawk Down. The plot was barely plausible as these things go, but the way the film was presented was just wrong for a war flick. Grenades that produce huge fireballs and wildly aimed shots with a pistol hitting targets galour just insults the audience's intelligence. And does no one know of such a thing as "taking cover" in the movie? Woo sure takes the easy way out in churing out casualty after casualty, making poor stunt guys take leaps of death left right and centre for the sake of showmanship.
I hope John Woo never makes another war film again. Hollywood is one thing, but Windtalkers throws Hollywood a shovel and tells it to start digging.