Tears of the Sun is a pretty standard action movie. It has some good action sequences, but it doesn’t have any real drama or interesting characters. It’s also loaded with all of the usual war movie cliches. Despite these problems, the film is still worth watching for its excellent 1080p image and uncompressed soundtrack.
The Story
Tears of the Sun is a tough and brutal war movie that delivers a solid message. It is a reminder of the atrocities that can be committed during war and is a warning to not get involved in any conflict. The flixtor film also serves as a great lesson in self-respect.
It stars Bruce Willis as Lieutenant Waters, the leader of a team of Navy SEALs who are sent into war-torn Nigeria to rescue a doctor (Monica Bellucci) from a missionary camp where genocide is being committed by Muslim maniacs. The mission proves to be a very difficult one and Waters has a hard time following his orders as he witnesses the slaughtering of villagers.
Director Antoine Fuqua combines a Rambo-style revenge movie with a political polemic in his directorial debut. He lingers on the close-ups of the grizzled military men and is able to capture their sense of duty and honor. Unfortunately, it all comes together to form a very dull movie that is not as entertaining as it should be.
The Cast
Tears of the Sun has a lot of close-ups on grizzled military men. Even my non-tech-savvy grandmother could spend hours just examining every follicle on Bruce Willis’ five o’clock shadow. Antoine Fuqua’s wet jungle aesthetic is effective and the action sequences are pretty rad. But as drama it fails to engage on any level, culminating in a laugh-inducing rah-rah finale.
Monica Bellucci plays field doctor Lena Kendricks, who is sent to a remote mission in the heart of war-torn Africa to save the lives of her patients and villagers. But it’s a little more complicated than that.
The film’s noble intentions to raise awareness of the suffering in Africa are noble, but a feeble script never strikes the right tone. The movie has no interest in exploring the complex moral issues of the situation or in allowing viewers to think about it from different angles. Instead, it merely pushes buttons and amplifies the heroism of its white rescuers while showcasing the suffering of its black victims.
The Rating
Bruce Willis stoically leads his Navy SEAL team into a war torn region of Nigeria in this tough, action-packed special ops film directed by Antoine Fuqua. After a military coup, American citizens are advised to evacuate the country, and SEAL Lieutenant A.K Waters is sent in to rescue a doctor, Lena Fiore Kendricks (Monica Bellucci), who is being targeted by genocide maniacs.
Training Day director Fuqua succeeds in bringing this harrowing tale to life, thanks to strong performances and vivid combat scenes, but Tears of the Sun ultimately fails to rise above a straightforward action flick. The movie strains to be a moral drama, but the characters are two-dimensional ciphers, and the clash of cynicism and idealism is never fully realized.
The Final Words
Antoine Fuqua’s film isn’t one of the best war movies to hit the big screen, but it is a solid action flick. The film has plenty of cool guns and the grizzled actors deliver believable performances.
The PCM 5.1 uncompressed soundtrack is impressive as well. Gunshots ring out from all sides of the soundstage and explosions are a constant presence throughout the movie. The dialog is crystal clear and every word is enunciated.
Tears of the Sun is a solid action movie with a noble message about the atrocities committed in Africa. The movie falls short in other departments though. The characters are two dimensional and the story is just standard war action fare. The movie is worth checking out for the action and a great soundtrack. There are also a few extras included on the DVD. The first is a short behind-the-scenes featurette. The next is a short documentary called “Voices of Africa.” Lastly there is a set of eight deleted scenes presented in non-anamorphic widescreen.
