John Woo's homage to the Navajo windtalkers of WWII.

Rating: 7/10 (3 September 2003)

This is a fine movie about heroism on the battlefield. Directed by John Woo, the master of Hong Kong action films, it takes place during World War II, mostly involving the battle to take the island of Saipan.

The director takes an interesting angle, basing the story around the Navajo radio operators who used their native language and code to help the Marines coordinate their attacks without the Japanese being able to listen in. Windtalkers, that's what they were called.
Nicholas Cage turns in a surprisingly good performance as a gung-ho Marine sergeant assigned to protect one of the Navajos. Because of the danger of the code being broken were one of the radiomen to be caught alive, it's his job to kill his man rather than let him be captured.
I found some similarities to another recent war film, "Saving Private Ryan," however, with some important differences. John Woo embraces the culture of the warrior, while Steven Spielberg is obviously repulsed by violence. John Woo's films always have a strong sense of honor among men in conflict - the heroes live and die by a code. "Private Ryan" had a cynical edge to it - the men acted bravely but they questioned why they were there.
The director treats the Navajo culture reverently in this film. It is obvious that he has deep respect for his subject matter. The opening shot of a bus full of recruits leaving the reservation and the ending where Ben Yahzee, the radioman, honors his sergeant in a religious ceremony with his son present are both touching.
There's a lot of violence in this film, as you would expect from John Woo, and that might turn some people off. But it's necessary to chronicle the battles, and the director isn't the type to turn his eye from it. He doesn't glorify war, but he makes sure the depiction is realistic enough to highlight the heroism of the men.
A tad too long - they could have cut about fifteen minutes out without hurting the flow - but still a pretty good movie.