AaronCapenBanner Roger Donaldson directed this undercover police thriller as small town southwest deputy sheriff Ray Dolezal(played by Willem Dafoe) finds a body in the desert with a suitcase full of cash, and no idea how or why it got there. Ray then goes to the extraordinary length of taking on the identity of the dead man in order to get to the bottom of the matter, and finds himself involved with rogue agents of the FBI(Samuel Jackson) & CIA(Mickey Rourke), and also involved with a beautiful woman philanthropist(played by Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio), despite being happily married... Mediocre film has a good cast and director but an unconvincing and convoluted story that leaves the viewer unsatisfied.

Lechuguilla At least this film has some terrific desert scenery, especially at the beginning and at the end. But the spectacular New Mexico vistas are not nearly enough to overcome a garbled storyline about a good-guy cop named Ray Dolezal (Willem Dafoe) who investigates the death of a man clutching a suitcase full of loot. Implausibly, Dolezal then assumes the identity of the dead man, to track down the villain or villains. The plot contains several potential villains, but their real identities and their various motivations are terribly confusing. About halfway into the film, I gave up trying to figure out who was doing what to whom. None of the characters are especially interesting.The story also suffers from various standard film clichés: tough guys who talk tough, characters who spend a lot of time pointing guns at each other; the obligatory nude shower scene, a gory autopsy, and so on. Another big problem here is the casting of Willem Dafoe. With his heavy-duty Northern accent, he is not at all convincing as a redneck sheriff.Lacking thematic depth or significant originality, "White Sands" is just another film about some cop who tries to solve a crime alone, and in the process encounters assorted characters and risks. The only thing that made the movie halfway interesting to me was the expansive New Mexico landscape.

Boba_Fett1138 Roger Donaldson always distinct itself by making mediocre films. Just think of movies like "Cocktail", "Species", "Dante's Peak" and the remakes of "No Way Out" and "The Getaway". Now most of this movies showed some great potential but yet somehow Donaldson manages to not let this movie pass the mark of average. I really liked his movie "Thirteen Days" though, which was just great but this mostly was due to its compelling historic tense story. Even that movie shows great flaws in the directing. Even though he doesn't make that great movies he still makes well known wells, which also really is an accomplishment, I must admit.I'm afraid that this movie is also a typical example of a Roger Donaldson movie. The concept of the movie sounds just great and shows more than enough potential to create a tense and original thriller with, with perhaps even noir elements in it. And also just look at the cast, how could you go wrong with this? The movie is still a decent one but it leaves lots of potential unused. The movie is not really ever tense or mysterious, mostly because of the reason that the story always stays way too vague and overcomplicated with twists that don't always seem to make credible sense. In the end you just simply stop caring about the story and its characters.It's an amazing cast if you look at it. It features stars such as Willem Dafoe, Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio, Mickey Rourke, M. Emmet Walsh, Miguel Sandoval, James Rebhorn and also actors who weren't big stars yet at the time such as Samuel L. Jackson and Maura Tierney. The actors all do their very best but at times they're obviously struggling with the confusing script and formulaic dialog. See it or don't. It's not a bad movie but it ain't a recommendable one either.6/10http://bobafett1138.blogspot.com/

ssbuk I had no intention of watching this film,I just had nothing better to do.However,it's worth a watch.There are faults,as there are with most films,but the film is worthy of praise.Willem Dafoe as the small time cop caught up in the mess is a great choice for such a versatile actor.With strong support from the ever-reliable Samuel L.Jackson and the controversial Mickey Rourke.The film works well,it just tries too hard to captivate the audience.Still,I am only one person,I still say this should be watched Enjoy The Film Sean