Review of Windtalkers (2002) by Cal ( — 23 Dec 2007

One of the weakest American war films I have seen to date; 'Windtalkers' is a surprisingly underwhelming effort and a low point of John Woo's career. Sergeant Joe Enders (Cage) is taken off active duty when wounded in battle.

But after cheating on his medical test, he is reinstated and returns to the field. He is posted as part of a squad who are assigned to protect the Navajo codetalkers. Enders is initially frustrated with his assignment, but as time goes on he starts to respect the codetalkers who prove their worth at the brutal battle of Saipan.

The combat sequences, as always, are quite impressive and the performances are great...but it's very hollow and the plot appears to be almost non-existent. I suppose I watched 'Windtalkers' at a wrong time; after I had viewed some brilliant war movies such as 'Saving Private Ryan' and 'Black Hawk Down' I probably expected far too much from this film.

Still, not to say that it's a bad film. 'Windtalkers' is a decent addition to America's long list of patriotic WWII productions, but the result is very underwhelming.