Directed by:
Antoine FuquaCinematography:
Mauro FioreCast:
Bruce Willis, Monica Bellucci, Cole Hauser, Eamonn Walker, Johnny Messner, Nick Chinlund, Paul Francis, Tom Skerritt, Malick Bowens, Akosua Busia, Sammi Rotibi (more)VOD (3)
Plots(1)
Navy SEAL Lieutenant A.K. Waters and his elite squadron of tactical specialists are forced to choose between their duty and their humanity, between following orders by ignoring the conflict that surrounds them, or finding the courage to follow their conscience and protect a group of innocent refugees. When the democratic government of Nigeria collapses and the country is taken over by a ruthless military dictator, Waters, a fiercely loyal and hardened veteran is dispatched on a routine mission to retrieve a Doctors Without Borders physician, Dr. Lena Kendricks. Dr. Kendricks, an American citizen by marriage, is tending to the victims of the ongoing civil war at a Catholic mission in a remote village. When Waters arrives, however, Dr. Kendricks refuses to leave unless he promises to help deliver the villagers to political asylum at the nearby border. If they are left behind, they will be at the mercy of the enormous rebel army. Waters is under strict orders from his commanding officer Captain Bill Rhodes to remain disengaged from the conflict. But as he and his men witness the brutality of the rebels first-hand, they are won over to Dr. Kendricks' cause and place their lives at risk by agreeing to escort the villagers on a perilous trek through the dense jungle. As they move through the countryside on foot, Waters' team, experts at evasion and concealment, are inexplicably and ferociously pursued by an army of rebels. They are confounded until they discover that, among the refugees, is the sole survivor of the country's previous ruling family, whom the rebels have been ordered to eliminate at all costs. Waters and his small band of soldiers must weigh the life of one man against their own and the refugees they feel obliged to protect. (official distributor synopsis)
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Reviews (7)
At the beginning it drags on slowly and the only thing that looked any good is the surrounding jungle and Bruce Willis in camouflage kit holding a machine gun. The African jungle seemed to be asleep all the time. Where are the snakes, the spiders and other critters that could make this group’s journey a little more unpleasant? Take a look at Rescue Dawn and you’ll see what I mean. It’s all so artificial. Tears of the Sun tries to touch us with humanity and good deeds by hard guys who until now behaved like robots. And the only thing that Fuqua gave to this movie are lens filters, amazing views of African nature and a solid action ending which digs this picture up from the gray average. 3
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Fugua can deliver, but here he struggles with a lousy script and half-baked dialogue. Really, the only worthwhile thing in this film is the scene of the ethnic cleansing in a Nigerian village, which is both excellently shot and makes the ignorant realise that Africa is a world where human life has no value. If the rest had been in a similar vein, this would have been a great anti-war film. As it is, it's just another useless Hollywood crap that's dull in thought, with not much action either, and a typically Hollywood clichéd ending. So, sorry, this didn’t work out.
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A lot of angry Willis, unbearably wooden Monika, jungle, shots, dust, and injustice. To top it off, one big and very unbelievable twist against orders, sometimes annoying cliches, and an annoyingly optimistic message that hurts. Everything in the packaging of Zimmer's surprisingly tired composition and big black-and-white peace propaganda. I occasionally quite like Antoine Fuqua, but the claim that he can direct empty pictures well has never been more true.
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The biggest problem with this movie is that it pretends to be a deep drama reflecting cruel actual events in the African jungle. And though it does depict those events in a really naturalistic way (I hadn’t had such a knot in my stomach in a long time!), it seems to lack credibility due to the combination of American bombast and Bruce Willis’s famous face. Tears of the Sun can also be seen as a pure action flick that wants to be something more, but because of the slow and boring screenplay, it’s not even a satisfying action movie.
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A very good action film with McClane in the service of the military, but very weak as the drama with a strong humanistic message it wants to be. Monica Bellucci rolls helplessly on the ground and tries in vain to touch the inner emotions of the viewer who, mouth full of popcorn, wants only proper action and the traditionally gurgling Zimmer soundtrack. But the grimy visuals are just so naturalistic and haunting that I can't completely dislike it. 65%
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