Windtalkers

[Eternal Padawan]

Oh, like everyone is saying, the battle scenes were really intense and great if that's what you are looking for, but it got kind of boring to me after awhile, since Woo had this great idea for a story about having to "protect the code" and missed many oppurtunities to explore that theme, instead sticking to the battle scenes or the heavy handed "racial" cliches. Lackluster overall.

I keep thinking about a friend of mine who did a great imitation of Woo after we saw Face/Off. He kept running around yelling in a thick Asian accent "More bullets! More explosions! More napalm!" and said that's how Woo directs his films. That's exactly what I saw here. using the violence of the war as a crutch for subpar storytelling. And I know Woo is capable of really good characterisation. I just didn't see any in this movie, mostly because of Cage's Ham...

[Obi-Don]

After reading these post. Iwant to see this movie more. Thanks guys.

[bigbarada]

Originally posted by Eternal Padawan
the heavy handed "racial" cliches.

I don't agree with this comment at all, most people of our generation are imcapable of understanding just how bad the racism was back in the 1940s. Here in the southwest, much of that racism still exists (try getting a good job in New Mexico if you look hispanic and don't have a powerful family). So would a movie showing a KKK rally in the 1960s be heavy-handed? Would a movie made about the African-American kid who was dragged behind a truck until his body fell to pieces back in 1995 be heavy handed? This stuff really happened and as still happening now, just because we are uncomfortable watching it on a movie theater doesn't make it the fault of the movie maker. Of course, reality is pretty heavy-handed too. Just like the Hispanic girl who was raped, strangled and had her fingertips cut off with garden shears last year; but you don't want to hear about heavy-handed stuff like that.

[Tycho]

I just watched Windtalkers as part of my World War II viewing spree. I'd seen it before, but not right after watching most of the other WWII films at the same time.

All I can say is wow! Windtalkers has some of the most intense battle scenes of any of the WWII movies out there. Yes, it relies heavily on special effects and so forth, but it does tell a story and explores history and racism themes.

I really like this picture and am tempted to watch it again immediately. I think Nick Cage actually did alright. I'm not really a fan of his, but this character (Enders) was the right role for him.

I agree that the Navajo (were they really Navajo in real life?) who played both Charlie and Ben Yahzee were excellent - especially Ben's character transformation through the course of the film into a real Marine.

Christian Slater who is often a one-note actor (his typical character-type is Arkansas Dave from Young Guns II and he never seems much different, even in a Starfleet uniform) - well he did alright as well.

This movie is about the Battle of Saipan which the Marine Corps had to take so that we'd be that much closer to actually being able to hit Japan. The year was 1944 and Hiroshima was in the late summer of 1945.

Great movie. I'm glad to hear a lot of it was historically accurate even if major plot points were fictionalized - so was Saving Private Ryan.

[JimJamBonds]

I love the idea of this movie but I'd rather see more about the men and not the white officers imho.

[Rocketboy]

Ugh, Windtalkers was horrid.
And not just because of Nicolas Gage.

It has been a while since I've seen it and can't remember too much about it (thank goodness), but I do remember thinking it felt like a bad, by-the-numbers, made-for-tv Vietnam movie.