There may be a great movie in this little-known (until recently classified) aspect of WW2, but Windtalkers ain't it.
Comment
07/23/02
Windtalkers (2002)
33
%
Tomatometer
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Reviews Counted:165
Fresh:54
Rotten:111
Average Rating:5.1/10
Consensus: The action sequences are expertly staged. Windtalkers, however, sinks under too many clichés and only superficially touches upon the story of the code talkers.
Runtime: 2 hrs 34 mins
Genre: Dramas
Synopsis: WINDTALKERS begins quietly--with widescreen aerial shots of clouds that gradually clear to reveal the beautiful mesas of Monument Valley. A bus collects Navajo volunteers Ben Yahzee (Adam Beach)... [More]
Starring: Nicolas Cage, Adam Beach, Christian Slater, Peter Stormare
Director: John Woo
Reviews for Windtalkers
It's the best new battle film since Black Hawk Down.
07/20/02
Feels flabby and long, an intimate story trapped in a big-budget body.
07/15/02
Disappointing in comparison to other recent war movies…or any other John Woo flick for that matter.
07/09/02
John Woo and Nicolas Cage do little to enhance their reputations with this one, which is not to say that an indiscriminate war film buff might not get a fix out of the action content here.
07/09/02
John Woo superficially glosses over what should have been the most interesting parts of his story to get to cliched drama and stylized violence.
07/03/02
Redundant action sequences and character types that have largely worn out their welcome.
06/25/02
Has more in common with Michael Bay than with the fever-dream lunacy and go-for-broke kick of Hard Boiled. Too bad.
06/24/02
As hard as Woo may try, some of this stuff falls below Bruckheimer/Pearl Harbor levels.
06/23/02
a film that would make Randall Wallace blush... an outrageous collection of war movie clichés
06/22/02
Undermines its purpose by becoming a movie about the code-protectors and not the code-talkers.
06/21/02
This is John Woo's worst film, a major letdown.
06/20/02
A relentless, bombastic and ultimately empty World War II action flick.
06/19/02
In Windtalkers, one of the most fascinating stories of World War II falls prey to the White Man Syndrome.
06/18/02
Next time, John, try concentrating on logic rather than logistics.
06/18/02
Strip it of all its excess debris, and you'd have a 90-minute, four-star movie. As it is, it's too long and unfocused.
06/18/02
Someone needs to break it to Nicolas Cage that World War II is over. First, Captain Corelli's Mandolin, now Windtalkers. And while Windtalkers has some things going for it, it's ultimately just another war picture tarted-up in ever-gorier effects.
06/18/02
It's a film so terrifically inept, on so many levels of direction, performance and intent, that it demands and receives its audience's full, stunned attention.
06/18/02
Woo probably expected that Enders' battle with his demons would drive the movie but, unfortunately, Rice and Batteer's hackneyed script constantly gets in the way.
06/18/02
If you allow yourself to be seduced by Woo’s unusual vision, you’ll be rewarded with two hours of rich irony: a war film filled with cliches unlike any you’ve seen before.
06/17/02
Latest News for Windtalkers
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This week at the movies brings us a supernatural romance ("Just Like Heaven"), a jaded arms dealer ("Lord of War") and two experiments in terror... More...
July 07, 2005:
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Legendary filmmaker Clint Eastwood ("The Outlaw Josey Wales," "Million Dollar Baby") has just started casting his next project, which is a WWII drama... More...
August 20, 2001:
Painstakingly choreographed battle scenes exposed actors and cameramen to as many as 280 bombs, and at least one close call. 
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