Windtalkers (2002)
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2002's Windtalkers is the semi-fictional tale of two Navajo code-talkers and their USMC "protectors" during the Battle of Saipan in the Pacific during World War II.
The Navajo code-talkers were a very real and very effective weapon in the Pacific theater. Put simply, the Japanese just couldn't figure it out. Check out more in this Wikipedia article....
But that's about where it ends. There's been a lot of unfavorable reviews of Windtalkers, and for the most part I'd have to agree with a lot of it. At times the battle scenes and gunfire gets a little too outrageous to be believed. Taking out four or five enemy soldiers with burst from the old Tommy gun while standing up, and not getting a scratch. Noplace else but Hollywood. Granted a lot of that probably comes from Director John Woo's Hong Kong action flick history, but a little more thought could have gone into it.
I'm not exactly a huge fan of Nicholas Cage either. He brings the same wooden acting to Sgt. Joe Enders as he does to everything else. The whole flashback thing just doesn't seem necessary, except as a counterpoint to a situation he faces later in the film...which is also pretty unrelated to the core story.
On the other hand, Adam Beach's Navajo code-talker Ben Yahzee is an awesome character. He goes from the stoic stereotypical Indian, to just your average Joe, to knife-wielding berserker with ease.
Sure a lot in this film is on the hokey side. Planes flying in and dropping their bombs at an altitude of 30 ft. Huge explosions (actually there's just a few but shown from several different angles) and bullets that don't seem to hit anything. Plus enough World War II movie cliches to choke a horse.
They can't all be works of art, but Windtalkers is still a sound wartime-action movie, if you get past Cage's acting and the technical/effects snafus.
Technorati Tags: war movies, reviews, movies, windtalkers, world war ii, code talkers
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Description
In the brutal World War II Battle of Saipan, Sergeant Joe Enders (Academy Award(r) winner*Nicolas Cage) guardsand ultimately befriendsBen Yahzee (Adam Beach), a young Navajo trained in the one wartime code never broken by the enemy, the Navajo Code. But if Yahzee should fall into Japanese hands, how far will Enders go to save the military's most powerful secret? John Woodirects this "exciting" (Premiere),
Having earned Hollywood's respect with blockbusters like Face/Off and Mission: Impossible 2, Hong Kong action master John Woo lends his signature style to serious World War II action in Windtalkers. Recognizing the long-forgotten contribution of Navajo "code talkers," whose use of an unbreakable Navajo-language radio code was instrumental in defeating the Japanese, the film serves as an admirable tribute to those Native American heroes. Unfortunately, it falls short of importance with its standard-issue story about a battle-scarred sergeant (Nicolas Cage) assigned to protect a code-talker (Adam Beach, from Smoke Signals), with unspoken orders to kill him if Japanese capture is imminent. This allows for an involving drama of hard-won friendship, but cardboard supporting characters suffer in the shadow of nonstop action that's as repetitious as it is technically impressive. Windtalkers is best appreciated as a more substantial vehicle for Woo's trademark ballet of bullets. --Jeff Shannon
DVD Information
Binding: DVDAspect Ratio: 2.35:1
Audience Rating: R (Restricted)
Brand: TWENTIETH CENTURY FOX HOME ENT
Manufacturer: MGM (Video & DVD)
Original Release Date:
Actors:
- Nicolas Cage
- Adam Beach
- Peter Stormare
- Noah Emmerich
- Mark Ruffalo
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