What can I say about the new dramatic war epic Windtalkers? Well it's certainly a step up for director John Woo (his last flick was the dreadfully dull sequel Mission Impossible 2), but it's a step back in terms of this particular genre (this is no match for Saving Private Ryan, Platoon or even this year's engrossing We We're Soldiers).

Taking place during World War 2, Windtalkers tells the story of a decorated soldier (played by Nicolas Cage) assigned to protect a new recruit (played by Adam Beach), a wide eyed soldier of Navajo decent whose area of expertise happens to be talking in a code that the enemy cannot understand. This, of course, makes him a valuable asset during the war.

Cage is passable here--he's restrained to be sure, but is unable to create a fully textured character. While Beach's character is equally underwritten, he brings a warmth and likability to the part that is most welcome. The rest of the cast is comprised of major talent including; Mark Ruffalo, Peter Stomare, and a low key Christian Slater. All are adequate but there is nothing particularly memorable about these all too familiar characters. I did like Roger Willie, the Navajo who is paired with Slater. Like Beach, he brings a certain likablity factor to a underdeveloped role.

And there lies my big problem with Windtalkers. Rather than giving us a larger glimpse into the Windtalkers themselves, the focal point seems to be on Cage's character and his battle with personal demons (all too obvious ones I might add). That's a shame, because the code talking element of this picture could have really been interesting. Instead, Windtalkers bombards us with familiarity. Racial confrontations between soldiers, themes of honor, and a plethora of death and carnage. We've seen it all before, and much more effectively.

The best I can say of John Woo's direction is that had I gone into the picture not knowing he was the director, I never would have guessed it. Windtalkers doesn't seem drowned in his trademark slow motion shots and I didn't count one dove (although there is a shot of a pelican). However, Woo seems a little out of his element here. His Windtalkers lacks the visceral charge and patriotism of Steven Spielberg's Saving Private Ryan, and can't match the realistic brutality of Platoon. Woo also seems to have a problem with drama. At the screening I attended, I noticed audience laughter during scenes that were supposed to be serious.

I guess part of the blame should fall on screenwriters John Batteer and John Rice. Aside from one rousing, adrenaline pumping sequence in the middle of the film, very little in this movie is as effective as it aspires to be. And while it's well shot, it isn't all that confident. How else can it's makers explain all those Nicolas Cage flashback sequences. It's simply a lack of faith in the material. Woo is better than this, even though his Hollywood works have never been able to really showcase his talent. I did enjoy Broken Arrow and Face Off, but they can't hold a candle to his earlier works (Hardboiled is one of the best action films I've ever seen).

Windtalkers does have some exciting action sequences but none of the cast is ever given a chance to shine. And ultimately, I never really felt like the film makers were telling the right story. That's a shame, because this could have been a really interesting film instead of a fairly forgettable one.