Rating: 
Summary: I can't leave them
Review: Although Bruce Willis never comes out and says it it is obvious he cannot leave behind the African refugees even if his orders say otherwise. After viewing a village that has had an ethnic cleansing is it any wonder? I wish they had given more of a role to some of the African villagers. Their part of mostly defenseless natives is unrealistic. Somewhat graphicly this movie demonstrates plenty of action and drama. When a group of Navy Seals are told to go in and pull out an American teacher, a couple nuns, and a priest, it looks like a straight forward extraction. When it is obvious the American (by marriage, now widowed) won't leave without those in her care the mission becomes far from simple. You can tell the firefights were made by the people that brought you Blackhawk Down. Very well staged. I have been to Oahu, HI and seen the sets where much of the filming took place. It is easy to see why they used it to represent African jungle. Good supporting cast, action sequences, and music make this worth owning when the price drops below ten dollars.
Rating:
Summary: Could Have Been Better
Review: Tears of The Sun is not a bad movie, but it could have been so much better. While it shows the brutality that is ongoing in the various African civil wars, it sets this against a plot that is hard to believe, specifically.... Why would the Priest and older Nun allow the younger nun to stay behind to face certain rape, torture and death? Some will argue that they believe their faith would protect them, but I just don't buy this argument. And would the US actually send in a Seal team to rescue one doctor and some nuns? I seriously doubt this. Once the rescue is underway, Bruce Willis character decides to disobey direct orders, thus compromising the mission, and enddangering his men. Would a Navy Seal commmander do this to save a group of African villagers? Highly doubtful. Once Willis and his men are on the move, they are told that the air space is too hot for an airbourne rescue. Excuse me, but why is the air space too hot? The Nigerians don't have an air force, and the men in pursuit of the Seal team are miles behind. Would the Navy risk losing an entire Seal team that takes years to train rather than sending in a few helicopters? I don't think so. Later in the movie Willis and the Seals are ambushed by the rebels. The Seals bravely march straight toward the rebels who are hiding in the jungle, with guns blazing, and tossing hand gernades that seem to kill twenty of the enemy with each blast. Would the Seals attack this way, exposing themselves to hostile fire from concealed forces that are superior in number? Maybe in a Hollywood script, but not in the real world. I also agree with some reviewers that having an attraction between Willis and the doctor really added nothing to the plot. I give this movie 3 stars for the action, and the acting, but the plot only rates 1 star.
Rating: 
Summary: Surprisingly Good
Review: Tears of the Sun recieved mixed reviews from critics and audiences. Some said it was bad, some said it was good, some said it was OK. Well I am a huge fan of war movies and I really enjoy Bruce Willis's work, so I had to see it for myself. I saw it in the theater with a few friends and I walked out wondering why this had not gotten only good reviews! It wasn't at all near as bad as critics say it is. It wasn't the greatest war movie I have ever seen, but it was definatly very good. It is not based on a true story, which is good because every once in awhile, we need a war movie with an original story to it. Tears Of The Sun is about Navy SEAL Lt. Waters(Bruce Willis) who is sent on a mission to Africa to rescue a docter who is running a mission in Africa. But what she dosn't know is that a group of rebel forces is closing in on her and her group and will kill them all when they find them. When Lt. Waters arrives and rescues the doctor, she tells him that she will not leave behind her group of Africans to be killed. So now Waters is at conflict with his orders and his conscience. He decides to lead the doctor and her group out of Africa, while being hunted by the rebels. Him and his small group on SEALs are now facing an almost impossible mission behind enemy lines. Directed by Antoine Fuqua (Director of Training Day), he puts together a very well acted, scripted, and all around good movie packed with intense war sequences and drama. Ignore the critics. Tears of the Sun is definatly not something you want to miss. "Tears Of The Sun" runs for 2 hours. It is rated R for strong graphic war violence, some brutality, and some strong language.
Rating: 
Summary: I don't usually do this
Review: I watched this movie until Bruce Willis decides to turn back the helicopters to "save" the people he left behind. At that point I turned the movie off. why would he do this?? Because Monica Belluci is sooo beautiful? Because this hardcore career black ops military guy suddenly felt bad? At that moment I felt cheated. I first felt cheated when Wilis let all the people come along-but was redeemed when I saw what he was doing-and then he goes and spoils it all by going back for them and putting his own men in unnecessary danger. Mutiny anyone? Don't buy this movie-don't rent it-don't waste your time. You want to see a great war movie kids-watch Apocalypse Now, Deer Hunter, even 3 Kings was better.
Rating:
Summary: Saw it twice, bought the soundtrack and cried.
Review: I was deeply moved by this movie. Here in NYC its 10 dollars to see a movie and I saw this twice and bought the soundtrack----a [big]investment. I do like Bruce Willis as an actor and Monica Belluci who I first saw in Under Suspicion, here and now in the Matrix Unloaded is a total knockout, not just because she's pretty but because you can see her thinking. Much the way Catherine Zeta-Jones acts in flms----you can see even if this person is pretending they are thinking about this scene as if it is relaity and their characters are infused with the hesitation, the deliberation of intelligent people who don't blurt al they know or suspect.
Willis as always is yet another shade, another degree, another facet of an accomplished actor who is striving for a versatility that is ingratiating. The film was incredible because it so accurately dealt with the murky complexity of war. Suddenly on a simple mission to snatch 4 missionaries out of a hospital village that is in the line of the now killer spree military, Willis' small force finds themselves with loads of moral dilemmas. Belluci won't go without her patients, three of the missionaries refuse to go at all so strong is their commitment to the African people they tend. To get them moving Willis lies to Belluci and then can't live with the lie when they leave behind dozens of helpless people. What drove me in this film is what would I do, what is teh military's responsibility, what is a human being's responsibility to another? Do we just abandon each other on "orders" or political ties that may not even touch us personally or is every life valuable.
When this film came out, the Iraq attack was on and people were literally screaming in the streets about kill, kill, kill.
War is an abomination. It is literally the raping of the human race as an action to take against another. And yet we not only do it but produce it as entertainment. What made thsi film stand out, I generally don't go to war films nor gangster films, is that the very message of this film is about the people who are caught inbetween all of this drama. People who are just drinking a glass of water, raising their families, tending their fields.
The film also demands a conclusive answer to a central question, a presupposition of war----you must be able to kill women and children. Put a gun to their heads or allow them to die. And there comes a point when the soldiers can not do this, nor watch it be done. That's what makes thsi film stand out and why I heartily reccommend it to people who don't get off on war, on gore, on watching the pantomime of people dying.
I cried during the movie because I knew that a few thousand miles to the East people, just normal folk, were being slaughtered much as the people in the film were, simply for being caught between two armies/ideologies.
Aksua Busia plays one of the rescued villagers, she was Celie's sister in the Color Purple and did a heavy re-write on Beloved the screenplay. She is a commendable actress though her part here has to embody such positive African sentiment that it does seem maudlin, or too "cloying" of gratitude. She is an excellent actress and the best twist of all is how Belluci's character makes it infaticly clear, without regards to race, that these are HER people and she will not be safe if they aren't safe.
And it soon becomes apparent during the film that she will even lie to the American soldiers to protect her adopted people. That form of not simply heroism but diverging from the norm stance----a character willing to die, to put it all on the line without even having a weapon for the racial "other" is wondorous thing to see.
I also recommend the soundtrack which is moving and haunting and foreboding and as lush as the jungle these people move through. I enjoyed Fuqua's direction, particularly the African military being portrayed as a force so intent, so massive that literally the only thing that saves anyone from them is a deux ex machina. The title Tears of the Sun literally refers to the final ten minutes of the movie when the whole world has gone to hell and a battle breaks out that can't be won. I also like a good chase film, where someone is being chased and must compensate for the fact that they are outnumbered or outgunned. This is a classic film and I don't use that lightly----particularly for the timeframe that it's come out in.
Rating:
Summary: PREACHY ACTION = MIXED SATISFACTION
Review: An intense and yet not fully satisfying war movie, TEARS OF THE SUN didn't really connect at the box office on the eve of our invasion of Iraq. Bruce Willis and his platoon of Navy Seals are dropped into an African mission outpost to rescue Monica Belluci, an American national. Moncia has 70 persons in her mission who will be slaughtered if they are left behind. Willis disobeys orders, puts himself, his platoon and his charges at risk to do what he believes is the morally right thing. This is a powerful film that is message laden (it's aganist genocide, duh) but is often as harrowing and realistic as "Black Hawk Down." Recommended.
Rating:
Summary: Boring at start but gets better at end
Review: I found this movie to be boring at start but gets better action at the end. So boring I almost fell asleep. I did wish that Movie was in DTS ( especially like DTS ES 6.1's ).
Rating: 
Summary: Meaningless Rumble in the Jungle
Review: The film ends on Burke's quote "Evil triumphs when good men do nothing." (or something like that) That's what this movie is; good men doing nothing for two hours. But are they really good men? Since we learn NOTHING about ANY of the characters we are left to guess. As you've seen in the trailers, the plot is this: super soldier Buce Willis saves an Italian bombshell and her hospital staff from evil rebels in Nigeria. That's it. No really, THAT'S IT. We learn nothing about who these characters are. All the diologe consists of is, "We have to save these people!" After about two hours this gets old. But there's action right? Wrong again. I was hoping for at least some jungle action sequences. But all we get is one ten minute action sequence at the end. This is the type of choreographed scene where Americans fire blindly and yet are able to kill hundreds of Africans who march blindly into gunfire. This movie got much fan fair due to direction by Antoine Fuqua after his hit 'Training Day' another bad movie. But this is the type of screenplay punched out producers not writers. I recomend Fuqua's very underated film 'Bait'. Even Roger Ebert had to confess to liking that.
Rating: 
Summary: Watch this movie...
Review: I am no movie critic, I am no soldier, I am an ordinary man. This movie mad me evaluate my view on war and my place in the world. Never forget who you are, where you came from, and what you stand for. Do not back down from what you believe in. Stand up for what you believe in. Know that what you believe in is RIGHT. Embrace your fellow man, woman and child. Never let evil triumph, through peace or war. I love you Shannon and Madison. Thank you to all who serve good and peace, to all who fight war and evil, and all GOOD people.
Rating:
Summary: Action With Emotion
Review: Much too often Hollywood creates action films for no other reason than to kill people and have lots of explosions (think "XXX," and every Van Damme movie ever made). But once in a great while, an action film is produced that actually has some emotional baggage to it. "Tears Of The Sun" is a wonderfully produced film about the plight of tribal warfare in Africa, in this case specifically Nigeria. A lot of people have said 'if you liked "Black Hawk Down," you'll love this movie;' when that statement couldn't be farther from the truth. "B.H.D." was about a mission that had gone wrong and the struggle of our heroic fighting men who fought for their lives; whereas "T.O.T.S." was about a small band of Navy SEALs who stray from their mission and try to do teh right thing. The film actually seems to be more of a mixture of "The Wild Geese" and "Three Kings." Director Antoine Fuqua, fresh off the magnificent "Training Day," injects the script with emotion and turns it from a standard action fare into a action film with heart and a message. You can formulate any number of messages that you want from the film - and I won't politicize my views here - but the one that seems to stand out the most is: EVERYONE CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE IN THIS WORLD. By doing the little things, such as leading a group of refugees to safe haven, one can stop all of the evil and hate in the world. The film brilliantly combines drama with explosive action sequences and a wonderful performance from Bruce Willis. Critics lambasted him in this film, but he was actually quite realistic - a SEAL who wants nothing but to complete his mission, but along the way he realizes the consequences of his mission. The film is also a stunning reminder of the professionalism and the courage of our men & women serving in the armed forces - especially Navy SEALs, the best of the best! A great film to enjoy again and again, but lets hope that the message of the film is not lost!
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