WINDTALKERS

Windtalkers is a serious, beautifully filmed war movie with strong performances and exciting battle sequences. John Woo puts you close to the action, while Nicolas Cage and Adam Beach give the central relationship emotional weight.

The film’s moral question is difficult: Should soldiers obey orders to kill the Navajo code talkers if capture would expose the code, or allow them to be tortured by the enemy? Its answer emphasizes sacrifice, heroism, saving lives in a just cause, and recovering a Christian heritage.

That goodness comes at a real cost. The movie contains very strong, bloody violence, excessive foul language, and religious elements that may reflect pagan ideas. See it only if you are an adult—or choosing for an older teen—who can engage those concerns with discernment.

During World War II, the United States uses Navajo Marines and their unusual language to secure secret communications in the Pacific. Marine attendants are assigned to protect the code at all costs, even if that means killing their assignments in the event of capture.

Troubled Sergeant Joe Enders is assigned to protect Private Ben Yahzee, a Navajo code talker. As they and their fellow Marines enter fierce battles near Japan, loyalty, prejudice, courage, and moral responsibility collide.

Three stars means a well-made, thought-provoking film with notable weaknesses. Windtalkers is beautifully filmed and masterfully directed. John Woo brings viewers into the action and creates genuine involvement in the characters’ fates.

The script raises serious ethical questions, and several scenes involving Joe’s trauma are poignant. Nicolas Cage effectively portrays Joe’s rage and isolation, Adam Beach is good as the inexperienced but talented Ben Yahzee, and the rest of the cast is strong. However, a relationship between Joe and a nurse who befriends him remains unresolved.

The film stresses sacrifice, family, heroism, moral truth, and the recovery of Christian faith. Joe remembers being confirmed as a child in a Roman Catholic church and school, and at a crucial moment recites a Christian prayer. Those references ultimately shape the film’s worldview.

That Christian foundation is weakened by the movie’s limited focus on God and Jesus Christ, its Romantic treatment of the Navajo characters, and its presentation of Navajo ceremonial chants. The chants are not translated, but they appear at times to address the earth, sky, or sun rather than God. The review also notes that the film’s ideas may include syncretistic and pagan elements.

The movie presents the Navajo code talkers as brave, charming, educated, reasonable, patriotic, and tolerant, while many white soldiers appear troubled, ignorant, or heartless. This suggests the Romantic notion of the “noble savage,” which conflicts with the Bible’s teaching about original sin. The film also contains some revisionist history and mild politically correct elements.

At its center, Windtalkers asks how people should respond when human orders conflict with moral truth. Christians are called to put on “the whole armor of God” (Ephesians 6:11).

Windtalkers is a beautifully made, morally serious war film with strong performances and a Christian heart. But its violence, excessive profanity, and pagan elements make it unsuitable for children and young teens. For discerning adults and older teenagers, the answer is WORTH THE TRIP — ADULTS ONLY. For a gentler family choice, see.