Rating: 
Summary: Decent action flick
Review: "Tears of the Sun" tries to be a big commentary on the plight of Africa, and in some instances it does do that. You get to see the execution of civilians and the persecutions and violations of missionaries, civilians, and otherwise unarmed, unthreatening individuals...events that are altogether too real, especially in areas such as the Congo today.However, it does suffer in overdramatizing some parts or just drawing things out. Monica Belucci's character was really annoying, and in the middle of the movie I think Bruce and the gang should have left her for the Nigerian commandos and kept the civilians.... REGARDS TO THE DVD -- The notes on Africa are fun to watch, as long as you have some free time. My dad and I watched this movie the whole way through then watched it again muted and with the little pop-ups coming up. The good news is that you learn some facts about Africa and the crisis involved in many nations and some of the recent events that "Tears of the Sun" speaks about. The bad news is two-fold: it goes into heavy detail about women being raped to the point where you can only imagine they're making up facts. Also, my father is military background and found a few errors in the notes' input: -- The SEALS were the *Navy* equivalent to the Green Berets, not the *Marine*. Maybe thats why they're called the Navy SEALS...
-- The operation in the movie is called an NEO and not an NCO. NEO stands for Non-combatant Evacuation Operation. NCO stands for Non-Commissioned Officer.
Rating: 
Summary: FLAWED IN SEVERAL WAYS, BUT STILL A GREAT MOVIE
Review: Bruce Willis plays the leader of a Navy Seal team sent into Nigeria during a fictitious civil war to rescue an American citizen/doctor, a priest, and two nuns working in a remote Caltholic mission. His mission is complicated by the doctor's insistance that he rescue the patients in the mission as well. Willis ends up doing so against his standing orders and thus prolongs the stay of his team in-country and placing them in danger from encroaching rebel troops. You could make a lot of complaints about this movie; the cliches, the warm-and-fuzzy big-bang ending that is a perenial redundancy in all action films, and certain procedural actions taken by the SEALS that would never happen in real life (Tom Skerrit running a special forces operation from the busy deck of an aircraft carrier comes to mind). Be that as it may, the cinematography and soundtrack was top rung, Willis & Co. were convincing as Navy SEALS (NOT Marines, G. Liao from Ellicot Md.-please pay better attention), and above all else, the scene in the village was one of the most haunting images of war and the victims of war (in my opinion) that's ever been put on the screen. It brings back readings of such places as Bosnia, El Mozote, Germany during the Thirty Years War, Cambodia under the Khemer Rouge, The Crusades, the Islamic conquest of India under Tamerlane, the T'ai Ping Rebellion, and the inter-tribal wars of the American Indians, just to name a few. Hopefully, without sounding too maudlin, for those of us who are lucky enough never having had to experience such incidents at first hand, the village scene invokes the feeling of, yes, that's what it must be like. For a few final comments, I'd only add that Cole Hauser (Red) would have played Willis's role much better, it was nice to see a Hollywood production in which military men were NOT automatically portrayed as robotic, sociopathic, homicidal morons, and for those who think this movie was bad, you should read some of the preceeding reviews which are much worse. One dippy "army wife" thought a major point of the film was whether the doctor was French or Italian (she was, in point of fact, Italian, although why it should really matter, I can't imagine). And it wouldn't have been un-realistic, especially in a special forces unit, for Willis to request the opinion and approval for his actions from his men (they were NOT taking a vote, dippy "army wife"); whether as a platoon leader or a corps commander, an officer who thinks he has all the answers and isn't answerable to his men is arrogant, idiotic, and a very dangerous liability to his command. Omar Bradley elicited the opinions of the rank and file, so why not a SEAL team commander, especially being that he had placed his men in danger by going off the reservation? And if there wasn't enough "action" in this film for you, you missed the main point of the film and I can only suggest that you should go back to watching cartoons if you need non-stop explosions and shoot-outs to sustain your attention. So, in closing, while pieces of this film are better than it's whole, it's still (again, in my opinion) one of the more intelligent and (despite several glaring inconsistancies) realistic war movies out there.
Rating:
Summary: ACTUALLY GOOD
Review: I'am going to be honest, the only reason I watched this is because the director was the director from TRAINING DAY. I was surprised to see Bruce Willis doing such a good job. Don't get me wrong he is great in others but he also isn't in others. The casting for this film was pretty good, every one was real belivable. Antonie Fuqua did a good job directing it, and Alex Lasker & Patrick Cirillo wrote a good script. But the thing that made this film so good was that it was very bloody, and was also so depressing to see these people in the villiges being tortured and killed. Why is that good you ask, well it's because that is what really happens. The harsh reality of it is that those things really happen, in fact it's probably happing right now. All the extras in this film were crying on set because it brought back memories. On a better note the setting in Hawai was a great choice for location, it looks like the real places in Africa. Also on another note Joe Roth Executive Produced this, you might know him very well from works with Billy Crystal
Rating:
Summary: well acted familiar theme
Review: Like so many before, such as Blackhawk down, and others, this film once again pits American special forces in some third world hell hole. What makes this film work is that they dont have to be there at all. The film could have been a half an hour if it stuck to the mission, which was to extract three missionaries, led by the beautiful Monica Bellucci, remember here in Under Suspicion, wow. Anyway, the forces led by the incomproable Bruce Willis is almost home free, except she will not leave without 70 of her people who will die at the hands of a brutal regime if they stay, and in a moment of decision, defies his orders and turns around, loading 12 of the oldest and handicapped and children and walk to Cameroon, what follows is survival, soul searching, and the horrors of war and violence on oppressed people. The film is well acted, especially Willis, a combat hardened vet who follows his heart rather than his mission, and is determined to take them like Moses leading the children of Israel to the promised land. I did enjoy the film despite the sometimes graphic brutality.
Rating:
Summary: better than expected, but a bit simplistic
Review: A Film by Antoine Fuqua This is a different kind of war movie and was very different from my expectations. I had seen the previews for this movie and all I saw were the action scenes and the bombs exploding and I had thought this would be a heavily actioned movie, and thus one that I might not want to see. I decided to rent it anyway, and it was far different than what I expected. If you think of it as a military drama out in the field, you will have a more reasonable expectation of what Tears of the Sun is (though no better idea of what the title might mean). Lt Waters (Bruce Willis) is given the mission to go into Nigeria and extract an American (by marriage) doctor named Lena Kendricks (Monica Bellucci). Waters and his men are told that the situation in the country is turning extremely dangerous for any foreigner (as well as most natives) because of rebel forces taking control of the country. Bellucci is less than cooperative and demands that all of the patients and people at the mission also be rescued before she'll leave. Waters accepts (though we know he is lying) and thus begins the trek to the extraction point. When they finally make it to the helicopter Kendricks finally realizes that she has been tricked and that all who followed her will be left behind. She is angry and saddened. As they fly away they pass over the mission, which is now in flames with the missionaries slaughtered. Since we are not very far into the movie, we can guess what happens next. Waters disobeys his orders and goes back to rescue everyone who followed Kendricks. This begins the real meat of the film as they now have to make it across Nigeria and into Uganda to be able to make it to the next extraction point as the helicopters can only take so many and Waters' superior officer cannot authorize more choppers. As I mentioned earlier, this is more drama, and from this point on the tension heightens. Because of the technology the military possesses, they know that they are being tracked by a platoon or more of rebel soldiers and that it is almost a race against time to make it out alive (and with all the refugees). The film only becomes a typical action movie near the end (all those explosions and the fighting comes in the last third of the movie), and I was pleasantly surprised by this film. While it will suffer in comparison to Black Hawk Down, as a movie Tears of the Sun is a whole lot better than I had expected. Antione Fuqua is turning out to be a talented new director and one to watch. While the story is a bit simplistic and contrived, Fuqua does a great job presenting this film and I look forward to his next movie (and the one after that).
Rating: 
Summary: Great Movie
Review: Tears of the Sun is an amazing picture. It is one of the few movies that makes you a better person for watching it. If you like War movies, this needs to be in your collection. If you don't like war movies, watch it anyways because it not just a testosterone filled blow stuff up movie. It's a real movie with a real plot that will touch anyone.
Rating:
Summary: Good.
Review: 'Tears of the Sun' is a good film starring Bruce Willis. I liked how the movie protrayed Africans as real people, something which the American media normally does not do. The athmosphere of the flick is great, making one really feel like they are in the jungle. Worth the watch.
Rating:
Summary: A War Worth Fighting
Review: First, the DVD appears to be an excellent transfer--gorgeous colors and photography and good sound really show off a home theater system. The extra features are excellent and explain the purpose behind the movie.
Second, this is a great story with first rate direction. It is patently an action movie that "cares" about people, and does a very good job of explaining why. The director does a great job of doing this by creating characters we care about in an intriguing plot, and avoids preachiness. I thought this was a great performance by all the actors, especially Bruce Willis whose character is laconic but nonetheless conveys the conflict raging between obedience to orders and a moral imperative to protect the helpless. Finally, I would advise that this movie depicts brutality and violence with frankness, and it is also suspenseful so I would not recommend this as "mere entertainment". To call this an action movie, while technically correct, denigrates the great emotional stakes this movie plays for.
Rating:
Summary: Super movie - Willis is Surprsing
Review: Like Kevin Costner, we expect Bruce Willis to play Bruce Willis and unlike Keven Costner playing Kevin Costner, we actually ENJOY Willis when he plays his usual role. This is one of those only he's set in the jungles rescuing some medical workers and their patients and friends. Bruce's change-of-nature to compassion is expected and although he does show this humanity, he still maintains a reality of the dangerous situation they are in. The center-of-movie conflict where the secret is revealed about one person he's protecting is handled well. Although we understand why it took place, we, like Willis, are angry and we for a few seconds wouldn't mind seeing Willis shoot the guy. The ending is nice, only SLIGHTLY too tidy of an escape when it's all over with. It's a war movie that is also a feel-good movie and that's a rare combination.
Rating:
Summary: Amazing movie
Review: "Tears of the Sun" is more than just another military movie about a snatch and go operation. I'm not the biggest fan of Bruce Willis but he did a very good job in this movie. The conscience is a very powerful thing and this movie showed that. Defiance of orders due to a sudden onslaught of conscience is an actual in the military on occasion. Monica Bellucci is a beautiful and sexy actress and she did an amazing job in this movie. This is a good movie which shouldn't be overlooked.
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