"Tears of the Sun is one of those films that left me feeling gutted after seeing it. It's been a while since a film has left me feeling so many emotions. I had a lot of mixed feelings going on throughout this film. Many of them being disgust, anger, saddness, horrified, and lastly proud. I know these characters are fictional, but the events that take place to these unfortunate people is very real. Just knowing that people have lived through these kind of events really is sickening and terrifying. So when you see A.K. (even if he's not real, I'd like to think someone would have done what he did) turn the plane around and take his group of solidiers to a fight that is not theirs just because it might save lives and is not only the right thing to do, but the human thing to do, is greatly satisfying. I was sickened with what these armed guerillas not only did to these poor people, but to these women and children. I was even more horrified by what they did to nursing mother's. It really just broke my heart and made me cry. I can't imagine seeing this in real life let alone living in it. It's truly a film that makes you not only feel grateful for the life you have and the country you live in, but that their are people out there fighting for these countries and sees that it is wrong and want to help prevent these things from happening anymore. We are all human and deserve to be treated as such. It's really scary knowing these things are still happening. See the film. You won't be able to get it out of your head days or weeks after seeing it. I know I won't."

There's a lot to admire about Antoine Fuqua's Tears of the Sun amidst the "Ra Ra America" sentiment, and the weak storyline about a hard as nails Lieutenant who never disobeys an order until now. I really enjoyed the first hour of this film. Unlike most action war pictures that find a conflict to exploit, Tears of the Sun immerses itself in the horror of the political situation, and the horrific genocide that is currently taking place. Nigerian rebels have successfully overthrown a democratically elected government, and before the entire country descends into complete chaos (which it pretty much already has), the US Navy SEALS have decided to extract all American military and personnel in the area. Bruce Willis plays a commander whose team has been ordered to find and extract an American doctor, played by Monica Bellucci. Things get complicated when this doctor refuses to leave without many of the nearby Nigerian civilians she's been treating. Against his orders, Willis agrees, and soon after, he and his team become pursued by the Rebels as this doctor seems to be more important to them than anyone could have realized. Genocide is a horrible thing. Even more horrible is how so much of the world watches in dismay, yet does not lift a finger to help save these people. Wars between African tribes seem to always end in mass genocide, and this script means to put these American soldiers into a situation where they are forced to look face to face at the human cost they will have to bear by leaving the innocent Nigerians to fend for themselves. For the first half of the film, the violence is kept at a minimal, and we get to know all the soldiers in the platoon, as well as many of the innocents that are being led to safety. Of course, this being a studio film, the second half of the film dissolves into an action packed firefight between the American soldiers and the African Rebels. Fuqua isn't the strongest action director either, and many of these scenes lack real excitement. Amidst these war sequences, the film pauses to focus on how grateful these civilians are that these soldiers are there for them and that God will bless them. There's nothing particularly wrong with including one or even two such scenes, but there are too many to count, and the "Ra Ra" undertones become a little too obvious for my tastes. And because the film starts off as a darker, more intellectual narrative, it's disappointing that the filmmakers opted for a typical action movie showdown as opposed to a proper and much more daring follow through.