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White Sands

R 1992 1h 41m Crime Drama List
44% Tomatometer 16 Reviews 41% Popcornmeter 2,500+ Ratings
Small-town New Mexico sheriff Ray Dolezal (Willem Dafoe) stumbles upon a corpse clutching a suitcase containing half a million dollars. Assuming the dead man's identity in an effort to track down his killers, the sheriff gets drawn into a complex FBI sting operation masterminded by hot-headed agent Greg Meeker (Samuel L. Jackson), who is attempting to take down international gun runners Gorman Lennox (Mickey Rourke) and Lane Bodine (Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio).
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White Sands

Critics Reviews

View All (16) Critics Reviews
Owen Gleiberman Entertainment Weekly Rated: C- Sep 7, 2011 Full Review Steve Davis Austin Chronicle Rated: 3/5 Jan 1, 2000 Full Review Entertainment Weekly Rated: C- Apr 24, 1992 Full Review Brian D. Johnson Maclean's Magazine The greatest mystery in White Sands is the casting. Mimi Rogers has an embarrassingly marginal role as Ray's wife. Oct 11, 2019 Full Review Dennis Schwartz Dennis Schwartz Movie Reviews A baffling thriller, filled with double-crosses, but is absorbing and mostly a fun watch. Rated: B Apr 22, 2016 Full Review Rob Thomas Capital Times (Madison, WI) Not a bad little noir, but not exactly memorable, either. Rated: 3/5 Jul 6, 2006 Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

View All (69) audience reviews
Brian O The narrative is solid - it's just rough in it's telling. There isn't enough serendipity or cunning to provide that "aha" moment the viewer wants. Too many plot twists are laid out for Sheriff Dolezal (Willem Dafoe) in words by this or that character, making the overall experience rather dull. The film is still worth seeing for the latent ambition in its story and the top-notch cast. Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 02/01/24 Full Review Steve D Not a whole lot here. Rated 2 out of 5 stars 02/22/23 Full Review Audience Member The premise that kicks off this narrative, with a local cop taking on a murder victims identity in order to discover it, was fairly intriguing but the story asks you to suspend more of reality as it progresses into a mess of multiple identities and unexplained motivations. The cast was decent, starring Willem Defoe with a bunch of recognizable faces from the 90s, and Mickey Rourke. I definitely appreciate the way films from this era look, along with the charmingly nostalgic feeling I get while watching them, even when the plots are messy and the conclusions overly predictable. Samuel L. Jackson Binge: Jackson's performance started out straight forward and dull so I assumed this would be another early role where he was not given a chance to show off his capabilities. Thankfully though his character became more developed and involved which allowed him to display more of his talents as the movie progressed. SLJ January #40 Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars 01/20/23 Full Review Audience Member A small town deputy starts trying to solve a murder and falls into a criminal conspiracy. This is the kind of movie where the hero has no real motivations to undertake the enormous risks and violations of procedure he does. A more charismatic actor may been able to pull it off but Wiilian Dafoe just can’t. See 1984’s Flashpoint to see how this should be done. Rated 2 out of 5 stars 04/03/21 Full Review brendan n This was an interesting take on the mid budgeted thriller story, and it does work at times. Rourke is essentially a name here and only shows up at varying moments to service the storyline. Dafoe is excellent as normal, but he can only service a story so far and his overall arc isn't earth shattering. High concept 90s films were a dime a dozen and this had a lot of talent behind it. It isn't the worst, but the absurdity of the storyline grows too much by the end. 04/09/2019 Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars 03/31/23 Full Review william s With this star power we get this movie?????? Rated 1 out of 5 stars 03/31/23 Full Review Read all reviews
White Sands

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Cast & Crew

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Movie Info

Synopsis Small-town New Mexico sheriff Ray Dolezal (Willem Dafoe) stumbles upon a corpse clutching a suitcase containing half a million dollars. Assuming the dead man's identity in an effort to track down his killers, the sheriff gets drawn into a complex FBI sting operation masterminded by hot-headed agent Greg Meeker (Samuel L. Jackson), who is attempting to take down international gun runners Gorman Lennox (Mickey Rourke) and Lane Bodine (Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio).
Director
Roger Donaldson
Producer
Scott Rudin, William Sackheim
Screenwriter
Daniel Pyne
Production Co
Morgan Creek Entertainment
Rating
R
Genre
Crime, Drama
Original Language
English
Release Date (Streaming)
Jul 15, 2019
Box Office (Gross USA)
$8.2M
Runtime
1h 41m
Sound Mix
Stereo, Surround
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