Tears of the Sun
Review by
Clint Morris
 It's a funny story how Bruce
Willis's latest movie came to be: Perhaps even an ironic one, at that.
About five years ago, following the success
of Die Hard: With a Vengeance, the studio came out
with an idea for a fourth chapter, one that would centre on Willis's
cop, John McClane, and three others cops, who end up in the Amazon -
with only their fists and savoir faire as weapons
to guard themselves against the hard-nosed mercenaries on their tail.
The name of the script on which the movie
was to be based upon? - Tears of the Sun.
Needless to say, a tweak was made here and
there. Suddenly John McClane was excised from proceedings, cops became
soldiers, and Ben Affleck [originally touted as a Die Hard 4
co-star] was told he'd no longer be needed. The studio believed they
had enough here, that riding on the coattails of a popular franchise
wasn't needed.
And thank god they didn't go down the first
route, because once you get a look at the harsh terrain and the faces
of the ferocious villains on the heroes tail in this film, one's all at
sea wondering how John McClane would have made it out of here without
his walkie-talkie and bar TAB.
Lt. A.K. Waters [Willis] Seems a lot more at
home here. He's a hard-nosed, indomitable piece of military that's got
nothing but the mission at hand as his first and only priority.
His latest mission is a rescue. Seems the
Civil war is tearing Nigeria in two and infidels have assassinated the
country's leader and family. Amidst the political cataclysm, the U.S
government orders a U.S. Navy SEAL platoon led by Waters (Willis) to
creep into the African jungles and haul out Dr. Lena Kendricks (Monica
Bellucci) and her assistants.
Problems arise when the good Dr refuses to
leave her friends, the wounded villagers, causing Waters and his men to
re-think their mission, and circle back for the locals. Unfortunately,
an unconquerable army of rebels are hot on their tail.
Die Hard in the Jungle,
if you will, Tears of the Sun is a lot better a
film than it needed be. Or should I say, many would expect it to be.
Not only is it pretty much brimming with action, but it's also got a
convivial emotional core masked near the shell.
Director Antoine Fuqua [Training Day]
has rewarded audiences who've seen it all when it comes to war movies
(and there's been an abundance of them over the last couple of years)
by dishing out something slick, well shot - the jungle backdrop and
cinematography are a standout - and fundamentally, entertaining.
Willis is as commanding as always, despite
never playing anything far from any other action character we've seen
him play before, and is a large part of the movies appeal. His
character's conversion from case-hardened leader with only the mission
at mind to compliant bear with scruples gives the movie a much needed
human element - especially after an hour and a half of almost non-stop
gunfire, explosions and decapitations.
Tears of the Sun isn't
the best film of its type, nor the best offering of late from its star
or director, but it does succeed, and largely because it's got as much
heart as it has firepower.
3.5 out of 5
Tears of the Sun
Australian release: Thursday August 14th
Cast: Bruce Willis, Monica Bellucci, Cole Hauser,
Tom Skerritt.
Director: Antoine Fuqua.
Website: Click here
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