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Too much Nicolas--not enough Code Talkers, Janv. 29 2004
Have any of you seen this film? It was awesome but left a lot to be desired at the same time. It was loud with lots of action, war violence, and graphic scenes. It was loud as war films are. Some scenes were reminiscent of the first half-hour of "Saving Private Ryan."It was billed as being about the Navajo codetalkers of WW II-and yet I found there was little in the film about them even though there were two main characters who were suppose to be codetalkers. The movie began with a battle scene in the Solomon Islands. The Marines were outnumbered and all but one survived this particular battle that was shown. Next Nicholas Cage, who portrayed Corporal (CPL) Joe Enders from Pennsylvania, was recuperating in a hospital in Hawaii. A Navy WAVE, played by Frances O'Connor, who cared for him helped him return to the front lines and yet he didn't appear to have any feelings for her. Throughout the rest of the film she sends him letters to which he never responds. The film jumped to a group of Navajo enlisting into the Corps. Next they were going to class where they studied the code they would use. There was little really shown about their actual training. We know that they used their own language as a code the Japanese never broke during WW II. Here the audience is introduced to two Navajo: Ben Yahzee, played by Adam Beach, and Charlie Whitehorse-portrayed by Roger Willie making his acting debut. Both Adam and Roger are Native American Indians although Adam was born in Canada. CPL Enders is given a special mission. He is to protect with his own life if necessary the life of the Navajo assigned to him and at all costs protect the code-in other words kill the Navajo if the enemy gets too close or captures him. At the same time he is promoted in rank to sergeant. He meets Sergeant (SGT) Anderson, played by Christian Slater. They have opposites outlooks on life but the same mission which neither are sure they can fulfill. There was little shown in the movie about the relationship between the Navajo and the rest of the Marines. Except for a scene where one Marine assaulted Yahzee the rest of the film simply showed them being called names. SGT Anderson befriended Charlie. They even began playing music together, the Navajo on the flute and Slater using a harmonica. They struck a true friendship. As much as I like Nicholas Cage and his films I felt like he was the vehicle for this movie and not the codetalkers. SGT Enders stayed aloof to forming a relationship with Yahzee. Perhaps it was that his platoon was cut to shreds in the first scenes of the movie. Perhaps he didn't want to become friends because he had orders to kill Yahzee if the enemy got too close to him. Perhaps he felt as though he didn't want to befriend another soldier. BUT I felt that Cage had too much screen time when I thought the movie was suppose to be about the Navajo. The main thrust of the movie was supposed to be a battle on the island of Saipan in 1944. The American forces knew there were over 30,000 Japanese on the island and yet they attacked. It was yet another brutal battle from one end of the island to the other. Particularly disturbing was a friendly fire incident even though I know those things happened all too often. But the few scenes of the Navajo using their codetalking was what the movie was suppose to be about. Maybe I didn't see it-I'm not sure now. Yes the Navajo used their radios to call in information to higher headquarters. They passed along info regarding locations, quantities, units, etc. Sometimes they chattered among themselves since no one else could understand them including their counterparts-the Americans. There were breathtaking scenes in the film. I admit to shedding tears during it. It was a good movie but I expected to see more of exactly what the Navajo did. However I will say that what "Saving Private Ryan" did for the WW II generation and "We Were Soldiers" did for the Vietnam generation "Windtalkers" tries to do for our Native Americans who served during WW II in our Armed Forces. Their code was never broken. They deserved more credit than they received at the time and even since then. This movie was to be their vehicle for that acceptance.
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Special Edition a slight let down, Jui 25 2003
This special edition 3 disc set could have easily been pared down to 2 disc. Disc 2 only runs 40 minutes total and the 3 features on that disc do not go into a lot of detail about the real code talkers and "the music of windtalkers" is basically a 5 minute commercial for the soundtrack CD. The commentaries and behind the scenes footage are interesting to watch and listen to but compared to the excellent 3 disc editon of BLACK HAWK DOWN, this dvd is a slight let down. The filmmakers could've thrown out Disc 2 completely. definitely a "padded" job. Overall it's worth getting even if you have the old version of the DVD because of the rebate. Good movie...so-so special edition. The whole package just seemed a little watered down to me.
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"Saving Private Navajo", Mai 11 2003
Seriously, sometimes while watching this movie I fealt like it was the Pacific war version of Saving Private Ryan. It had its good points, don't get me wrong, but in the end the story behind this movie is over-dramatic fluff. The idea is a good one...hell, its a great idea for a film! The true story about how the Navajo language was used as a code against the Japanese in WWII? I'm surprised no one had tried this before (or have they, and I'm just ignorant about it?). Even with the good acting, and amazing battle scenes (still not as graphic as SPR, but still quite good), it falls WAY short of its intended mark. The backdrop of the story is, of course, the use of Navajo's and their language to help win WWII. The actual story in the film, however, centers on two Marines, played by Nic Cage and Chris Slater, who are ordered to protect two Navajo code talkers (two actors who's names I didn't catch...sorry). Thats all well and good, but it gets really kinda sappy and melodramatic, and it feels a lil too much like we're watching a Hollywood movie, and not enough like we're watching a serious war story about an important part of American history that is long overlooked. The comparrison of this movie to Saving Private Ryan come from the fact that Cage has to do everything he can to protect the life of a younger soldier. The main differences here are that its through the whole movie and not just the last 30 mins, as in Private Ryan, and in this story if the Navajo is caught, the protector must kill him to protect the code. Anyway, I think if you watch this movie you'll pick up on what I'm getting at. This is a movie that had a lot of promise, but who's sappiness and over-dramatic Hollywood style of story telling almost ruined.
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allcanadianguy@shaw reviews * * *, Avril 18 2003
Star rating (out of 5):3
Who would like this:weekend warriors,history buffs
Worth seeing...
-in the theatre:no
-buy it:no
-rent it:yes
*very real/no lack of bullets here
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A story that needs to be told, but needs to be told better., Avril 9 2003
I have the greatest respect for the Dene (Navaho) culture, and their important contribution to the U.S. winning the second world war. It is a story that very definitely needs to be told. If I were going to tell this story in the best format, it would have been a "Band of Brothers" type format with the real veterans being interviewed at the start of each episode. The movie should have a real gut feeling for the experience, like "Band of Brothers." The same treatment of this story would have made for an exceptionally good movie. The closest this movie comes to this standard is the Native American actors. Their camaraderie felt real, as off screen it probably is real.
I also have to credit the excellent traditional Native American flute playing. Thanks must go to National Geographic for a excellent documentary of the same topic as a follow up to the release of this movie ( 5 stars in my book). The movie alienated me from the first extremely fake battle scene, and it was hard to recover. A Japanese soldier chops off the hand of an American, who has it placed and motionless conveniently on a log. This is followed by a cheap Prom date scream. An American hoses the area with a machine gun and Japanese soldiers eager to die jump into the line of fire. I never heard of this form of "Sepukoo" before. Maybe they were embarassed to be in such a bad action sequence? To be fair, the action sequences improve the farther into the story that you get. However, at times, it feels like the script is being written specifically to chain together the action scenes. John Woo continues to do films with excessive violence. A contrast would be the "designer action" sequences of Corey Yuen in "Kiss of the Dragon" or "The Transporter." Corey has my vote for best action director. In terms of Nicholas Cage's long and interesting acting career, "Corelli's Mandolin" can be used as a contrast to when he is really putting his heart into his acting. I could walk out of the theatre forgiving the shortcomings of the movie due to the importance of the story. But then I am left feeling hungry for the same topic being treated correctly in the future.
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Action in war, but it is missing something else..., Avril 7 2003
The Marine Joe Enders (Nicolas Cage) is the sole survivor of previous combat where his whole platoon was massacred after which he had to take command upon the death of the platoon leader. At a military hospital he regains his strength, but he suffers from permanent hearing loss and a damaged balance system. However, a caring nurse helps him cheat on a hearing test, which enables him to regain his combative status. His survival in combat is observed as useful by the Marine Crops and they assign him on a mission to protect the Navajo solider, Ben Yahzee, whose objective is to send code in his own language. This code is an unsolved enigma for the Japanese forces, however, they are attempting to capture and torture anyone who knows the code in order to help themselves. Thus, it is essential that Joe protects the code at all costs as they invade the island of Saipan. Windtalkers is a fascinating story and the moral dilemma which Joe faces is equally interesting. However, the score in the film is played all too frequently and it generates a cheesy atmosphere that seems contradictory to the dilemma. In addition, there is some awkwardness in the combative scenes that resembles Achilles' godlike presence, which seems far fetched and similar to the shooting scenes in John Woo's earlier films. The enemy also seems to be far too stupid, in comparison to what they really were, which diminish the feeling of realism. Lastly, Windtalkers provides an action packed cinematic experience, which fails in addressing the questions at hand and leaves the audience with an empty reaction.
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Look at it as just entertainment, Fév 26 2003
For all the expectations and hoopla surrounding this film, I was never quite sure what the point was. As a war film, it's the usual Hollywood shoot-em-up-bang-bang extravaganza, with meatball waving Japanese soldiers and digital aircraft making precision bombing runs that even modern JDAM weaponry would be pressed to beat. As a story about the Navajo "windtalkers," it starts off decently and then sidetracks into an exploration of racial bigotry - not an unworthy subject, but it just hangs there. Cage is Cage, proficient acting - but the character "Joe" could have been played by almost anyone - no serious dialogue. The story explored in the most depth, unfortunately, is Joe's - silently weighing whether to treat his "Windtalker" as a fellow human being, let alone a fellow Marine, or whether to treat him as a military commodity that must be kept away from the Japanese at all costs. Woo and Cage work their way through the usual Hollywood themes as the film meanders along. All in all, not the best Woo film I've seen, and "We Were Soldiers" is much closer to real combat life. But, an entirely acceptable film, if you look at it as just entertainment - offers no special insight into the Navajo code effort, the military or the WW II in the pacific.
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Good Movie but a Mediocre Tribute, Fév 8 2003
As a kid in the 1960's, before the advent VCR's, let alone DVD's, I would scour the TV listings for my favorite war films. One such favorite was "Battle Cry" (1955) staring the late Aldo Ray. In that film there is a cameo shot of a Native American sending a radio message that baffles a Japanese soldier intercepting the message who cannot understand the strange language he is hearing. My step-father, a navy veteran of the Pacific, told me that the Marines utilized "indians" (he did not specify Navajo) as radio operators because the Japanese could not understand their language (he also did not specify a "code"). John Woo's "Windtalkers" finally brings to the silver screen an awareness of the Navajo code talkers who played such a vital role in winning some of the bloodiest campaigns in the Pacific during World War II. I used the word "awareness" instead of "tribute" because any tribute to these brave men was buried beneath the dramatic storyline of the movie. The Navajo code talkers certainly deserve as fitting a tribute that other films depicting the contributions of American servicemen who were then considered racial minorities have bestowed on their subjects. Films such as "Go For Broke" [1951] (the story of the 442 Regimental Combat Team made up of Japanese-Americans, Neisai) and "Tuskegee Airmen" [1995] (the first fighter squadron comprised entirely of African-American piots) paid homage to these gallant, but, in 1940s America, socially unaccepted individuals. The Navajo "Windtalkers" did not get as good a voice as their African-American or Japanese-American comrades in John Woo's film.The plot centers around Sgt. Evers (Nicholas Cage), a tormented, battle fatigued marine who is assigned to protect Yahzee, a "Windtalker" (Adam Beach) and the code, no matter what. Christian Slater is also given the same assignment. Cage, who had previously gotten a squad of marines killed because he chose to follow orders to the letter, is excellent at portraying a man haunted by ghosts from the past. He is a loner, lives for the moment, avoids getting too close to people, including Beach, and goes berserk in combat, racking up the enemy body-count. Beach also does a fine acting job as Yahzee who must make the inevitable transition from naive patriotism to the horrible realities of war. Slater's character provides a contrast to Cage. He quickly becomes interested in Navajo culture, has plans for the future, and forms an emotional bond with his "Windtalker," named Whitehorse. Slater is not at his best in this film. His performance is the weakest among the cast. When Whitehorse is killed by Evers to avoid the code talker's capture, Yahzee's transition is complete as he seeks revenge on the enemy by taking on the evil personae of his protector, Evers. The film contains big battle scenes that are well done except the pyrotechnics are so overdone it becomes annoying. Every explosion, including those from hand grenades produce huge gasoline explosions; their mushroom clouds rising to the heavens. Historically, the main battles take place on the Japanese island of Saipan in June, 1944. Although the film never mentions it, our platoon of Marines probably belonged to the 2nd Marine Division. The 2nd attacked a well dug in Japanese position on high ground fortified with artillery and tanks as accurately shown in the movie. An old modus operandi in war films was to keep the unit being portrayed anonymous as not to offend other units such as the 27th Infantry Division (Army) and 4th Marine Division that also fought bravely on Saipan. Woo resorted back to this old tactic, but managed to insert a superimposed map to show the battle's progress. The computer graphics of American dive-bombers supporting the Marines added great realism.Directors of war films today are faced with the dilemma of drama versus historical depiction. With "Windtalker," Woo tried to combine both. Woo fulfilled his purpose but the Navajo code talkers deserve a better forum for their valiant efforts. A good movie but a mediocre tribute.
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3 Stars = 1 each for Cage, the Navajo Idea, & the Explosions, Fév 3 2003
I admire John Woo for taking a chance here on a WW2 film about the Navajo "code talkers". Too bad it just doesn't work on the silver screen. Sure, Woo implements lots of bang for the buck (computer generated airplanes coming right at you into your living room, lots of army men being hosed down with random bullet sprays, assorted stabbing and throat slashings, explosions galore), but the acting is dry and almost canned. I usually rave about Nicholas Cage... with such movies as "Moonstruck", "Raising Arizona", "Family Man", and "Leaving Las Vegas" to his credit. But since Cage has turned high roller with some of his movie picks... I just have to question who is reading these scripts when he accepts them? Cage is at his best in a comedy or playing an off the wall character. He's also a better actor with a good supporting cast around him. I'm starting to think that maybe Cage can't carry a film by himself. The only other household name here is Christian Slater - and what has he done in the last decade? With the exception of "Family Man", most of Cages recent flicks have been extremely dark and have for the most part missed the mark in Hollywood ("8MM", "Bringing Out The Dead", "Face/Off", "Gone In 60 Seconds"). In "Windtalkers", Cage plays the role of Sergeant Joe Enders assigned to protect at all costs a young Navajo code talker (Adam Beach). Christian Slater ("Ox") co-stars trying to do the same thing with another code talker... but all you see the sentimental Ox doing is playing his harmonica with the Navajo reedsman. Cage walks through countless explosions and infinite numbers of Japanese soldiers (all heavily armed mind you) day in and day out to guard, serve and protect his man... Sure, the storyline behind the idea of this movie is noble, but Woo should stick to his semi-brainless action movies that have brought him mild success (i.e. "Mission Impossible 2", "Broken Arrow", "Face/Off", "The Killer"). Replay value = Minimal.
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WINDTALKERS: Long on Spectacle--Short on Logic, Fév 2 2003
There were two big budget war films of 2002--WINDTALKERS and WE WERE SOLDIERS. The latter was unquestionably the finer of the two even though both had similar action sequences. What differentiates them was the presence and careful development of the theme of soldierly solidarity that was present in WE WERE SOLDIERS. Director John Woo stamps WINDTALKERS with his trademark over the top battle sequences of explosions, bullets flying, and bodies leaping. Nicholas Cage is Sergeant Enders, a man who is scarred mentally and physically even before the main action of the film begins. He alone has survived while his full platoon had been killed by the Japanese during World War II. He carries what he believes to be the scarlet letter of guilt on his burned ears and within his soul which requires frequent sake to soothe over if only for the moment. There is the hint of a romance with a navy nurse that intrudes in rather than enlarges upon his daily struggle to find equanimity. Of far more interest is his relation with a Navajo marine (Adam Beach)who is a 'codetalker,' one who speaks in a cryptic variation of his native Navaho tongue to confound eavesdropping English-speaking radio listeners. Enders and his Navajo share more than a buddy relation. As if Enders has not enough guilt to carry, he is ordered to shoot the Navajo if the Japanese are likely to take him prisoner and have the opportunity to torture him to learn the code. It is precisely here that WINDTALKERS goes seriously astray. Why would the top brass go to the trouble of training valuable codebreakers only to expose them at every chance to possible death or capture? Further, there are several scenes in which the Navajos use the code in situations that do not require code. In fact, had plain English been used in those situations, it is arguable that fewer American casualties would have resulted. What director Woo gives the viewer is a slam-bang action war film that delivers a high body count but a low level of logic. The insanity and illogic of actual war need not be replicated in movies about war. In this case, it was.
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