Windtalkers (2002)
Genre: Action / War
Duration: 134 minuten / 153 minuten (director's cut)
Alternative title: Wind Talkers
Country:
United States
Directed by: John Woo
Stars: Nicolas Cage, Adam Beach and Christian Slater
IMDb score:
6,1 (78.085)
Releasedate: 14 June 2002
Windtalkers plot
"Honor Was Their Code."
During World War II, the language of the Navajo Indians was used to encode top-secret messages, as the Japanese could not break it. They're trying to do something about this by kidnapping Navajo soldiers. A Marine is appointed as a bodyguard. His task is to kill him if the Navajo soldier threatens to be captured.
Actors and actresses
Sergeant Joe Enders
Private Ben Yahzee
Sergeant Eric Hjelmstad
Corporal Charles Rogers
Pappas
Harrigan
Private Nellie
Charlie Whitehorse
Rita Swelton
Sergeant Peter Henderson
Reviews & comments
knusse stoel
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- 3410 messages
- 4697 votes
The "Windtalkers" was one of the better war movies I've seen in recent weeks. Thanks to a good acquaintance I have access to quite a few war films at the moment and I am busy watching them during the week because my girlfriend is not that fond of this genre. The story is about Navajo Indians who have learned in a code based on their own language and therefore cannot be understood by the Japanese opponent. Every Navajo code speaker has a "guardian" to look after them. It even goes so far that if a code speaker threatens to fall into the hands of the enemy, the "protective" marine will kill him, so that he cannot reveal the code to the Japanese through torture, among other things. Ben Yahzee (Adam Beach) is the name of the Navajo Indian and he is "protected" by Sergeant Joe Enders (Nicolas Cage).
June 16, 1944, the marines attack Saipan, an Oceanic island, and in total more than 5000 American soldiers lose their lives there.
The code speakers form an important link in the whole and that is what this film is about.
Personally, the story appealed to me, the environment was fine and the actors play properly. What I sometimes find difficult is the fact that the camera is often too busy in motion. It is therefore good to watch and follow by the viewer(s).
A nice 7 as a result.
Translated from Dutch · View original
Shadowed
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- 12083 messages
- 7064 votes
Woo on the warpath.
Never really been my director, so I wasn't eager to watch a 2 hour war film from him. Still, I often give films within this kind of framework a chance and, moreover, a full-blooded action director can certainly mean something in the middle of the war. For me, it just taps Woo's standard rather.
I continue to appreciate Cage as an actor, but in the roles where he is a bit more energetic and loose. These kinds of films limit him in his qualities. Logical too, because ultimately there must be people of flesh and blood, but Cage's special appearance does not really fit in that. You have forgotten about other roles such as Stormare and Ruffalo. Via Beach some themes come together on a cultural level, but that too is worked out rather unsubtly.
The war scenes often change. The environments are presented pretty useless. Ugly camera work especially, a Woo that explodes everything around him but then looks at everything from a distance. Yet it is put down explosively and bombastic enough, so that you can easily find the entertainment in the noise. Since there are also enough sequences, it is no problem to sit out the film.
Unfortunately, the film is long and doesn't offer much more than some entertaining war moments, but for a film that mainly has to show the wrong side, I rather get the impression that it is all nice in the jungle. I have seen them less of Woo, but the fact that this is one of his better films in my opinion also says enough for me.
Translated from Dutch · View original
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