Negative, but a few good points.

Rating: Null/10 (29 July 2002)

Did you know the Japanese bullets have absolutely no effect on Americans? Apparently John Woo does.
This movie, although it has its moments, is lousy. The plot is very interesting and quite promising, a dozen or so Navajo tribesmen are being taught how to use their native language as a code. It could then be used to communicate with allied artillery to take out enemy positions. Albeit interesting, John Woo seems more interested in blowing things up, and pretty much abandons the plot. Now I don't mind action movies, and I like John Woo's previous action movies (excluding Mission Impossible 2, total disaster.) However the action in Windtalkers is very disappointing. During a head on charge over open ground, thousands of American troops are subject to intense fire from an entrenched enemy. Thousands of Japanese soldiers have a clear view of their targets, and are firing like madmen, yet somehow, very few Americans go down. It seemed the only way they could be killed was by a nearby artillery piece. Other problems with the action include shaky cameras, reloading problems, (see goofs) and seemingly endless action scenes.
Now to add on to lousy action and non-existent plot, is the acting. Canadian actor Adam Beach acts Nicholas Cage off the screen, who appears to have one facial expression the entire length of the film. Roger Willie also does a good job has Ben Yahzee's (Beach) friend. Other then those two, most of the actors look like they are just reading cue cards.
Now don't get me wrong, I did enjoy some portions of this film. Being a bit of a history buff, the few minutes of historical explanation were nice. The Navajo traditions that were told in detail were also quite interesting. I was also impressed that the Navajo weren't made out to be savages or "in gins" as one racist soldier refers to them as, but real people. A nice change from John Wayne westerns.
So all in all, unless you like poorly done, constant action, dismal acting, (with a few exceptions) and nonexistent plot, this is one to skip.