“Tears of the Sun” is a well-rounded action flick with explosions, political mishaps and a plot questioning the moral choices made in war.

Leading a band of refugees through the Nigerian jungle is a fitting role for the veteran actor Bruce Willis, as he portrays a Navy Seal leader torn by what he feels is right and what he has orders to do.

“Tears of the Sun” kicks off with Willis trying to extract American missionaries from Nigeria because a band of ruthless rebels is overthrowing the current government and is likely to kill them next.

The doctor, played by Monica Bellucci, refuses to leave her “people” behind, which forces Willis to have them tag along. While ditching the refugees and only taking Bellucci to safety, Willis has a sudden change of heart when he sees the aftermath of a massacre of the peaceful missionary by the rebels and decides to defy his current orders and save them.

Being the downfall in most action movies, the background of the refugees and the American Seal team is hazy at best. Yet, in this movie, it works best for them. It allows for a feeling of being impersonal at first, then it enables the characters to develop personal endeavors as the actions become reality.

The action sequences in the movie are predictable, and for once it is a good thing. It keeps you in place as the strong and successful visual imagery stays true to the unspeakable horrors of war.

Viewers beware: You likely will squirm while forgetting how to breathe during ghastly scenes of ultraviolence. The point of this imagery is to show that rebellions of the Third World often don’t just overthrow the current government as said in the news, but turn to nothing more than genocide for no better reason than hate.

Often, an action flick will do the best to entertain you or show you magic with special effects and leave little time for thought. “Tears of the Sun” inscribes feeling through thick action and puts feeling behind it.

Coincidence or not, the movie has been released during the situation in Iraq; it definitely speaks about the current times. The movie is summed up at the end with a quote by Edmond Burke.

“All that is needed for the triumph of evil is for a good man to do nothing.”