A warehouse of war movie clichés

Rating: 3/10 (16 June 2005)

If you want an idea of how predictable Windtalkers is, think about this. From about 45 minutes in, the only way my friends and I could be entertained by it was by placing bets on which standard war film plot point would come up next - and among the three of us, we each managed to successfully predict four of them. This movie may have the most arch-conventional plot I've ever bothered to see, and this from a director who not only made one of the most ridiculous plots ever written hold together (Face/Off) but gave that story actual emotional impact. Windtalkers, by virtue of being sort of a greatest hits collection for war movies, has no such power, no matter how hard it tries.
Woo doesn't direct war, he directs action - two very different things. Even at its most sweeping, Windtalkers never manages to reach anything like the grandeur of the great battle scenes in Saving Private Ryan, The Longest Day, Patton, etc. The best bits of action are the small-scale fights in close quarters, which there may be two of but no more. The calmer scenes are even worse, as the clichés really pop out. For a better handling of racism in war, see Glory. For a better handling of personal relationships in battle, see Platoon. For a better handling of noble sacrifices, see Saving Private Ryan. Instead of getting the greatest hits package, go rent the movies that this one ripped off. Two extra stars for production values and Woo's willingness to take this risk, but really, the Navajo code talkers deserve a far better movie. Not recommended.