Wind Talkers as a Block Buster Flop?

Rating: 8/10 (2 March 2010)

Although I'm certainly not a big fan of Nicholas Cage, I am a big war-movie buff. What this movie may lack in complete historical accuracies, it greatly makes up in storyline and character development. Sergeant Joe Enders (Cage) is a devoted Catholic, Italian-American war veteran assigned to a Marine combat unit which will invade Saipan, June 1944. Enders is ordered to protect one of the American Indian "code talkers"--a young, cheerfully-smiling father/husband, Private Ben Yahzee (Adam Beach), while Sergeant Ox Henderson (Christian Slater) is paired with Navajo Private Charles Whitehorse (Roger Willie). Though the film as taken a lot of flak for its use of racism, it portrays an era of human-nature when this was more normally accepted--even promoted by propaganda efforts. By the end of the film, Enders gives his life for Yahzee in order to perform his duty to the fullest--going above and beyond the call of duty to its fullest degree. This is a near excellent film and a must-have for any war-movie buff.