iRankMovies
Tears of the Sun

Tears of the Sun (2003)

He was trained to follow orders. He became a hero by defying them.

Release:2003
Runtime:2h 1m
Country:United States
Director:Antoine Fuqua
Language:English

Genre

ActionDramaWar
See the best action movies →

Keywords

Civil WarWar CrimesRefugeeVillageEvacuationBorderRescue MissionUs Army
iRank54

Tears of the Sun rating: IMDb, Rotten Tomatoes and Metacritic

IMDb6.6/10· 137K votes
Rotten Tomatoes34%
Metacritic48%
TMDb6.888/10· 3K votes

With 34% on Rotten Tomatoes, backed by 6.6/10 on IMDb and 48/100 on Metacritic, critical reception of this film has been modest.

About Tears of the Sun

Navy SEAL Lieutenant A.K. Waters and his elite squadron of tactical specialists are forced to choose between their duty and their humanity, between following orders by ignoring the conflict that surrounds them, or finding the courage to follow their conscience and protect a group of innocent refugees. When the democratic government of Nigeria collapses and the country is taken over by a ruthless military dictator, Waters, a fiercely loyal and hardened veteran is dispatched on a routine mission to retrieve a Doctors Without Borders physician.

Cast of Tears of the Sun

  • Bruce Willis

    Bruce Willis

    as Lieutenant A.K. Waters

  • Monica Bellucci

    Monica Bellucci

    as Dr. Lena Fiore Kendricks

  • Cole Hauser

    Cole Hauser

    as James 'Red' Atkins

  • Eamonn Walker

    Eamonn Walker

    as Ellis 'Zee' Pettigrew

  • Johnny Messner

    Johnny Messner

    as Kelly Lake

  • Nick Chinlund

    Nick Chinlund

    as Michael 'Slo' Slowenski

  • Tom Skerritt

    Tom Skerritt

    as Captain Bill Rhodes

  • Akosua Busia

    Akosua Busia

    as Patience

  • Peter Mensah

    Peter Mensah

    as Terwase

  • Malick Bowens

    Malick Bowens

    as Colonel Idris Sadick

  • Chad Smith

    Chad Smith

    as Jason 'Flea' Mabry

  • Charles Ingram

    Charles Ingram

    as Demetrius 'Silk' Owens

Tears of the Sun facts

Budget
$75M
Box office
$86.5M

Ranked by the iRankMovies editorial teamUpdated August 2026MethodologyData sources

Audience opinions

What the audience liked

  • •gritty war drama tackles serious themes
  • •action sequences feel visceral and impactful
  • •character sacrifice creates emotional weight

What the audience disliked

  • •brutal violence may overwhelm some viewers
  • •moral complexity gets oversimplified in execution

Trailer

Where to watch Tears of the Sun(US)

View on JustWatch →

Subscription

YouTube TV

Rent / Buy

Amazon VideoApple TV StoreGoogle Play MoviesYouTubeFandango At Home

Availability may change. Data by JustWatch.

Looking for movies similar to Tears of the Sun?

We've ranked 50 similar movies using 8 weighted content dimensions.

See all similar →