Tears of the Sun

A commando team led by Bruce Willis parachutes into civil-war-torn Nigeria to rescue an American doctor (Italian model Monica Bellucci), but she won’t leave without her patients—and the ragtag band of refugees is not quite what it seems. Alex Lasker and Patrick Cirillo’s script is practically a silent movie; the dialogue is little more than lock-jawed, tough-guy grunts from the soldiers and some indignant, heavily accented squawks from Bellucci. (There’s also Tom Skerritt as Willis’ commander, standing on a carrier deck miles away and bellowing, “I hope you know what you’re doing,” into a cell phone.) The rest is jungle noises, gunfire and Hans Zimmer’s rackety music. Director Antoine Fuqua punches the familiar story across with fierce efficiency, though things get a little muddled at the blood-and-thunder climax.