Tears of the Sun (2003)

Director:

Antoine Fuqua

Writers (WGA):

Alex Lasker (written by) &
Patrick Cirillo (written by)

Release Date:

7 March 2003 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Drama | Thriller | War

Tagline:

He was trained to follow orders. He became a hero by defying them.

Plot:

Bruce Willis plays a Special-Ops commander who leads his team into the jungle of Nigeria to rescue a doctor played by Monica Belluci who will only go with them if they agree to rescue 70 refugees too.

Plot Keywords:

Refugee | Rebel | Doctor | Jungle | Nigeria

Awards:

2 nominations

Cast

Bruce Willis	...	Lieutenant A.K. Waters
Monica Bellucci	...	Dr. Lena Fiore Kendricks
Cole Hauser	...	James 'Red' Atkins
Eamonn Walker	...	Ellis 'Zee' Pettigrew
Johnny Messner	...	Kelly Lake
Nick Chinlund	...	Michael 'Slo' Slowenski
Charles Ingram	...	Demetrius 'Silk' Owens
Paul Francis	...	Danny 'Doc' Kelley
Chad Smith	...	Jason 'Flea' Mabry
Tom Skerritt	...	Captain Bill Rhodes
Malick Bowens	...	Colonel Idris Sadick
Awaovieyi Agie	...	Musa
Akosua Busia	...	Patience
Hadar Busia-Singleton	...	Amaka
Ida Onyango	...	Lasana

Also Known As:

Hostile Act (USA) (working title)
Hostile Rescue (USA) (working title)
Man of War (USA) (working title)
Rules of Engagement (USA) (original script title)

MPAA:

Rated R for strong war violence, some brutality and language.

Runtime:

121 min | 142 min (director's cut)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | Dolby Digital | SDDS

Certification:

USA:Not Rated (director's extended cut) | Iceland:16 | Malaysia:U | Spain:18 | Argentina:16 | Australia:MA | Brazil:14 | Denmark:15 | Finland:K-15 | Germany:16 | Hong Kong:IIB | Netherlands:16 | New Zealand:R16 | Norway:15 | Peru:14 | Philippines:PG-13 | Singapore:NC-16 | Singapore:PG (cut) | South Korea:12 | Sweden:15 | UK:15 | USA:R | Canada:14A (Ontario)

Filming Locations:

Dole Plantation - 64-1550 Kamehameha Highway, Wahiawa, O`ahu, Hawaii, USA

Company:

Cheyenne Enterprises

Trivia:

The U.S. Navy SH-60B "Seahawk" helicopters used during the filming are from HSL-37 "Easy Riders" stationed at Kaneohe Marine Corps Base Hawaii, Oahu.

Goofs:

Factual errors: While marriage to an American citizen has certain benefits and may ease the path to citizenship, a person cannot become an American citizen "by marriage".

Quotes:

[first lines]
Female news reader: [voiceover] The tension that had been brewing for months in Nigeria exploded yesterday as exiled General Mustafa Yakubu orchestrated a swift and violent coup against the democratically elected government of President Samuel Azuka. In a land with 120 million people and over 250 ethnic groups...

Movie Connections:

Featured in Action Heroes: Under Fire (2003) (TV)

Servicable, though the human angle is undernourished

It's not hard to see why John Woo was attached to this project for a while - it has a lot of similarities to his earlier (and underrated) movie HEROES SHED NO TEARS. (The intense climax, in fact, feels extremely John Woo-ish.) I can only wonder what it would have been like had he been in control... though considering the general quality of his American movies, maybe that might not have been a good thing. Anyway, the movie as it is ends up being not bad. It's paced pretty well, and even though there's not that many action scenes (though they are all well-staged), it's never boring, and that fact will be enough for most people. The biggest weakness is that the characters are not very strong - Willis' character hardly says that much and you don't get a feel for his character, Bellucci's statements and actions eventually resemble that of a broken record, and the rebel commander pursuing the protagonists is given no personality at all. But if you are looking for more for jungle action, look for HEROES SHED NO TEARS. And if you are looking more for this kind of thing with more of a human element (though no less exciting) to it, seek the equally underrated DARK OF THE SUN.