A fegyverek szava

Még egyszerű, de hatásos akciófilmként is (lásd Rés a pajzson) A fegyverek szava című film manapság túl lassú és nehézkes lenne. De nem akar egyszerű akciófilm lenni, és a lövöldözések és robbanások közé keveri az indián szellemet és a humanizmust. Olyannyira, hogy az eredménynek olyan íze van, mint egy rothadt almának. Ez az indián szellem valójában eléggé hiteltelen, és ellentétben áll a hősies akciójelenetek öncélú komolyságával (lassított felvételek Nicolas Cage-re sikeres egyszemélyes akciói után). És a film egész humanista szintje is küzd az akciójelenetek öncélúságával, aminek azt sem tesz jót, hogy a japánok a kárhozatra méltó fajként vannak bemutatva. Egyszóval, sem A Sólyom végveszélyben című film stílusában előadott kiadós akció, sem "valami plusz" a Ryan közlegény megmentése című film stílusában. Valaki itt vagy nem tudta, hogy mit akar lefilmezni, vagy csak elszúrta. (2002.08.19)

A solidly directed film that became a huge flop. It’s hard to say what went wrong. Perhaps it needed a better script, but what it certainly lacks is at least one scene that would grab the viewer by the heart, though some scenes, especially the ones that present the Indians more closely, e.g. while making music, are sensitively filmed. And Nicolas Cage? He's not a bad actor, I can easily believe him as a soldier, but he is, let's face it, a bit jaded of late and doesn't have the potential to help hold a film commercially anymore. (2002.11.30)

I'm pretty disappointed in this. Pretty much. The action doesn't have the bite that the other John Woo films have, Nicolas Cage doesn't really fit, and the story of Christian Slater and Roger Willie was much better and more emotional than the story of the main characters. If I wanted to compare it to Woo’s Hong Kong work, it would be even less so. As it is, it's a slightly above average war movie and a big step down in John Woo's career. (2002.08.06)

John Woo is a director of action films and clearly does not feel comfortable in any other genre. War, in his interpretation, lacks sufficient impact. The only, but crucial, problem is that he behaves as if he is shooting his next action masterpiece and tries to insert almost balletic scenes into the film, which, however, have no chance of appealing to me when it comes to the soldiers who have just been killed. The brutal dose of detachment, characteristic of his previous works, only seems ridiculous here. When the main hero in The Killer or Hard Boiled stands against multiple adversaries, it is exaggerated but also stylish. But when Nicolas Cage charges into the trenches like an unguided missile in Windtalkers and starts mowing down enemies without receiving any harm, I can only shake my head. Moreover, the Japanese are portrayed as complete idiots here, popping out of hiding with their weapons lowered and their hands flailing, running directly in front of American cannons. The refined form and planes passing by the camera or a series of exploding tanks take your breath away. However, the content is desperately trivial. 50% (2007.07.08)