Bruce Willis’Tears of the Sunwas much more popular with audiences than with critics and was saved by its excellent final battle.Bruce Willis' greatest action movie charactershave often had a military or law enforcement background, including Korben Dallas inThe 5th Elementand the iconic John McClane in theDie Hardfranchise. While many ofBruce Willis' action movieshave a funny side, Willis has proven himself a great actor in the more serious and hard-hitting war genre too. That said, he was disappointed with his 2003 movieTears of the Sun.
Tears of the Sunis about a rescue mission in Nigeria.Willis plays Lieutenant A.K. Waters, whose mission is to lead his Navy SEAL team to a U.S. doctor’s campand rescue her before the rebels reach her. The production was troubled, with director Antoine Fuqua having a different creative vision for the movie to the studio, and not getting along with Willis.Tears of the Sunmay not be one ofthe best Navy SEAL moviesof all time, but it was saved by Willis' committed performance and a hard-hitting final battle scene.
Tears Of The Sun Is Saved By A Fantastic Final Battle Sequence
Fuqua Clashed With The Studio Over Tears Of The Sun
The action inTears of the Sun’s final battle is unrelenting, with the scene crossing several locations and lasting over ten minutes. Though Willis rarely dies in his movies, there are times during whichTears of the Sunlooks set to kill his character during this sequence. While Lieutenant Waters survives,Tears of the Sun’s shocking and brutal final action scene sees many of its main characters diein a hail of gunfire. The film was criticized for its overuse of military tropes, but the finalbattle scene saved this otherwise forgettable war movie.
Fuqua had intendedTears of the Sunto be an unflinching look at the suffering caused by the African genocide and hired extras who had been affected by it. However, the studio had other ideas. Fuqua toldAin’t It Cool: “It got very real, and… people started saying, ‘Wow, we want to make sure this makes money… it needs to be more of an action movie.'” This creative struggle affected the script, which was not finished when Willis signed on, leading toTears of the Sunbecoming one of themovies that Bruce Willis regretted making.
Tears Of The Sun Would Have Been A Lot Worse Off Without Bruce Willis’ Performance
Bruce Willis Only Starred In Two War Movies (& Neither Were Hits)
Tears of the Sun’s critical ratings are poor, with just 34% from Rotten Tomatoes critics. However, the movie earned a 69% positive audience review. This is likely due to Willis himself, who might have struggled with Fuqua’s original vision but thrived in the action sequences.Roger EbertdescribedTears of the Sunas “a film constructed out of rain, cinematography, and the face of Bruce Willis,” giving the movie three out of four stars.Willis' action star power was a major draw forTears of the Sun, and it would have been a worse movie without him.
2002
60%
48%
Tears of the Sun
2003
34%
69%
While Willis has regularly played former soldiers throughout his career as an action star, he has only starred in two war movies.Bruce Willis' first war moviewasHart’s War, in which he plays a colonel. The movie is extremely different fromTears of the Sun, but also received mixed reviews. However,Hart’s Warwas more popular with critics than audiences, whileTears of the Sunis the opposite. The tone ofHart’s Waris similar to Fuqua’s plan forTears of the Sun, and both are worth watching, especially for the battle scenes and Bruce Willis.
Cast
Tears of the Sun is a military action film directed by Antoine Fuqua, featuring Bruce Willis as Lieutenant A.K. Waters. The plot centers on a U.S. Navy SEAL team sent into the Nigerian jungle to rescue Dr. Lena Kendricks, played by Monica Bellucci, amidst a brutal civil war. The mission evolves as Waters encounters moral dilemmas, challenging his orders and sense of duty.
