Windtalkers

R

Released Jun 14, 2002

2 hr. 14 min.

War

History

Drama

List

33%

166 Reviews

Tomatometer

50%

50,000+ Ratings

Audience Score

Marine Joe Enders (Nicolas Cage) is assigned to protect Ben Yahzee (Adam Beach) -- a Navajo code talker, the Marines' new secret weapon. Enders' orders are to protect his code talker, but if Yahzee should fall into enemy hands, he's to protect the code at all costs. Against the backdrop of the horrific Battle of Saipan, when capture is imminent, Enders is forced to make a decision: if he can't protect his fellow Marine, can he bring himself to kill him to protect the code?

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Critics 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.

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DanTheMan 2

Woo's heightened maximalist style doesn't always translate smoothly to a rugged war movie and at no point is it more clear than with Windtalkers. I've definitely gained a better appreciation for it upon a second more expanded viewing as I'd seen this once before, but it was the rather lacking Theatrical Cut, so when gearing up for this mini US Wooathon I knew I wanted to give the Director's Cut the time of day it deserved. While it definitely lacks the raw emotional power that underlines Bullet in the Head, it feels more tonally consistent than Heroes Shed No Tears, but Windtalkers is replete with Cage's finest angsty acting, James Horner's gorgeous score, John Woo's exceptional attention to detail and requisite concerns of friendship and rivalry staring in the face of violence. This is not a story about heroes. It's a story about a man and his own demons, trying to redeem himself from war. Windtalkers is far from perfect, but heavily underrated for what it is, the kind of film where you think you can predict everything that's going to happen upon the first shot and you spend the rest of the film praying that you're wrong.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

11/24/23

Full Review

Matthew M

bad..........................................................................................................

Rated 1 out of 5 stars

10/30/23

Full Review

Red B

Perfectly Satisfactory War Film. Everything about this is just ok. The main issue that holds this back is Cage who just isn't that likeable and seems out of place overall. The 2 code breakers are just ok and not as memorable for better or for worse than Cage who dominates each scene with the code breakers. The other soldiers just blend in and are very forgettable. White Horse doesn't even get that much time either. The action is solid in this and the best part. However it can be over the top at certain points and can drag at times. The battles also aren't really that different from each other and kind of blen in except the attack on the village. If you've seen one attack you've seen them all basically. The special effects are good overall. The music is kind of generic and forgettable except the whistle kind of. The editing is just ok also. It feels like between fights stuff just kind of happens between the squad loosely. We get some minor devlopment followed by action. Rinse and repeat. I also am not sure at times who the main focus of this film is. Sometimes its the Code Talkers, a lot of times Cage, and than the Squad. This could've been a really good film that should've focused more on the drama of the code breakers rather than Cage and trying to emmulae Saving Private Ryan/Michael Bay with loud action. Something along the lines of the Imitation Game. Instead we get a very run of the mill nothing we haven't seen before and done better by the numbers war movie. If your a die hard fan of war films or any actors in this it may be worth checking out. Otherwise skip it.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

09/26/23

Full Review

Andrew L

Thought i'd watch this as i'm a sucker for anything Cage appears in. Watching the film in 2023 really shows its age. I can't even imagine watching this at the time of release that it wouldn't feel incredibly cringey. It's full of war move cliche moments that come across as satire (you know, when you're watching a film about an actor and the film cuts to the terrible movie the actor did) - the film is full of those moments. It's not well made at all, which is really disappointing, because I wasn't aware of Native Americans using tribal languages to send coded communications on the battlefield during the Second World War. Like many war stories, it deserved much, much better execution.

Rated 1 out of 5 stars

08/26/23

Full Review

S B

Well made, well acted but only scrapes the surface of it's main subject matter. Recommended viewing for it's genre.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

04/20/23

Full Review

steve d

Well-made but miss-focused and lacking insight.

Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars

03/30/23

Full Review

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John Woo

Director

Nicolas Cage

Joe Enders

Adam Beach

Ben Yahzee

Peter Stormare

Hjelmstad

Noah Emmerich

Chick

Mark Ruffalo

Pappas

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Windtalkers: Official Clip - I Blew Him Up

2:10

Windtalkers: Official Clip - The Death of Sgt. Enders

2:13

Windtalkers: Official Clip - Call in the Code

2:11

Windtalkers: Official Clip - Hold The Position

2:13

Windtalkers: Official Clip - Saipan, June '44

2:12

Windtalkers: Official Clip - Yazhee Fights Chick

2:12

Windtalkers: Official Clip - Camp Poker Game

2:13

Windtalkers: Official Clip - Yahzee Meets Ender

2:12

Windtalkers: Official Clip - Farewell, Home

0:55

Windtalkers: Official Clip - Navajo Ceremony

1:40

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Joshua Rothkopf

In These Times

Woo reminds us that wars are fought by people; this is what makes his film great.

Mar 16, 2020

Full Review

Nell Minow

Common Sense Media

War film relies too much on relentless violence.

Rated: 3/5

Dec 29, 2010

Full Review

Richard Schickel

TIME Magazine

The energy and conviction of the action sequences don't quite compensate for Windtalkers' emotional cliches and historical heedlessness.

Sep 19, 2008

Full Review

Ed Travis

Cinapse

It's a great director doing what he does best but ultimately not really doing justice to the Navajo code talkers story.

Nov 17, 2018

Full Review

Daniel Etherington

Film4

Replete with Cage's finest angsty acting and John Woo's requisite concerns of friendship and rivalry in the face of violence.

Sep 19, 2008

Full Review

Todd Gilchrist

IGN Movies

With Windtalkers, the glaring refutations of time, space and reality impress upon viewers the simple fact that Woo is at his best when he isn't attempting anything more significant than the most emptily satisfying explosion you're likely to enjoy - a scat

Jul 2, 2008

Full Review

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Synopsis

Marine Joe Enders (Nicolas Cage) is assigned to protect Ben Yahzee (Adam Beach) -- a Navajo code talker, the Marines' new secret weapon. Enders' orders are to protect his code talker, but if Yahzee should fall into enemy hands, he's to protect the code at all costs. Against the backdrop of the horrific Battle of Saipan, when capture is imminent, Enders is forced to make a decision: if he can't protect his fellow Marine, can he bring himself to kill him to protect the code?

Director: John Woo
Executive Producer: C.O. Erickson
Screenwriter: Joe Batteer, John Rice
Distributor: Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Production Co: Metro Goldwyn Mayer, Lion Rock Productions
Rating: R (Pervasive Graphic War Violence|Language)
Genre: War, History, Drama
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Jun 14, 2002, Wide
Release Date (Streaming): Nov 1, 2016
Box Office (Gross USA): $40.9M
Sound Mix: Dolby SR, DTS, Dolby Stereo, Surround, SDDS, Dolby A, Dolby Digital
Aspect Ratio: Scope (2.35:1)

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