A mediocre movie that could have been unique.

Rating: 3/10 (15 June 2002)

I went to see this movie, hoping that with John Woo directing, we might get a movie that would transcend the cliches of the second World War in giving us the story of the Navaho code talkers, who were real heroes of the war who are often overlooked when we speak of that era. However, what we got was the story of Nicholas Cage's character. We only saw Ben Yahzee and Charlie Whitehorse through the eyes of men who seemingly didn't really understand them . . . often characters took a mocking "let's hate the injuns" attitude to their compatriots.
I think this movie would have been a lot better and more interesting to viewers, had it taken the perspective of Yahzee, which could have given Woo the chance to give the Navajos the kind of tribute they really deserved. In the end, this turned into a cliche ridden gore festival, which in the end left me feeling cold. Where "Saving Private Ryan" featured a chilling portrayal of wartime violence that was artistic and haunting, "Windtalkers" was almost glorification of violence . . . in some scenes, Cage almost seems to relish his ability to slaughter the Japanese, while in other scenes, we are given brutally unnecessary views of violence that seemed almost simply for violence's sake. (Watch that scene with the decapitation, or the scene where Cage slits the throat of the man about to kill Yahzee and tell me those were necessary).
My final verdict: 5/10. The movie kept my attention despite its flaws, but I kept thinking afterward of what this movie could have been, rather than what it was. This is really a sad thing, considering how long I waited in anticipation of what I expected to be a quality film.