neumu [ cinematronic ]




	Tears of the Sun
	Antoine Fuqua Bruce Willis, Monica Bellucci, Cole Hauser, Tom Skerritt, Eamonn Walker, Nick Chinlund, Fionnula Flanagan 2003		The script for "Tears of the Sun" — an action film about U.S. military maneuvers in the Nigerian jungle during a civil war — gives in to the occasional cliché, and a few lines are outright clinkers, but director Antoine Fuqua ("Training Day") smartly keeps the venture moving along. He also leans on his lead actor — Bruce Willis, an ingratiating Hollywood star who's become the gung-ho, modern-day equivalent of John Wayne — and his leading lady — Italy's Monica Bellucci ("Malena"), one of the most gorgeous actresses in the world — for audience appeal. Willis plays a Navy SEAL lieutenant who leads a unit into the wilds of Nigeria to save a doctor (Bellucci) in charge of a Christian missionary hospital. The healer won't abandon the refugees in her care, so the lieutenant orders his squad to shepherd the sick and injured, under rebel fire, to safe refuge in Cameroon. Tighter editing and a less patronizing attitude toward the natives might have made for a better finished product. Yet "Tears of the Sun" is grounded by compelling performers and works as an exciting, violent trek through some beautifully photographed African landscapes.