On Rotten Tomatoes the film has an approval rating of 32% based on reviews from 168 critics. The site's consensus states: "The action sequences are expertly staged. "Windtalkers", however, sinks under too many clichés and only superficially touches upon the story of the code talkers." On Metacritic the film has a score of 51% based on reviews from 25 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews". Audiences surveyed by CinemaScore gave the film a grade B+ on scale of A to F.