"White Sands" is a stylish thriller with numerous twists and turns and a collection of characters who frequently aren't who they appear to be. It's also a great looking and atmospheric film with stunning scenery and marvellous cinematography by Peter Menzies Jnr. The story begins as an investigation into a mystery which could involve murder and then develops into the uncovering of a great deal of corruption and even a conspiracy which may be politically motivated.When a dead body's found in the desert and Deputy Sheriff Ray Dolezal (Willem Dafoe) goes out to investigate, he isn't sure whether the dead man, who had a gun in his hand and a suitcase with $500,000 in it, had committed suicide or been murdered. Dolezal discovers that the man's name was Bob Spenser and then decides to pose as Spenser in order to continue his investigations. Dolezal rings a telephone number found on a piece of paper in Spenser's stomach during the autopsy and this leads to him arranging a meeting at a motel where he gets attacked and robbed of the money in the suitcase. The two women who attacked him then give him instructions to get in touch with Gorman Lennox (Mickey Rourke).Before he contacts Lennox, Dolezal gets abducted by an FBI agent called Greg Meeker (Samuel L Jackson) who explains that Spenser was working for him and agrees that Dolezal should carry on posing as Spenser in order to try to recover the lost money.After meeting with Lennox and his associate, Lane Bodine (Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio), Dolezal finds himself embroiled in a deal to buy some illegal weapons from a couple of dealers who unexpectedly demand a further $250,000 to complete the sale. Meeker is unwilling to provide the extra money and so Dolezal gets romantically involved with the wealthy and well connected Bodine as a means of getting her to raise the extra money.Further complications arise when two FBI officers from Internal Affairs pursue Dolezal because they think that he killed Spenser and stole the money and also one of Spenser's girlfriends provides Dolezal with some potentially helpful information. Furthermore, when he realises that he's become involved in an even wider conspiracy involving the CIA, he then takes an unconventional course of action which leads to what he regards as a satisfactory conclusion.This movie features a cast of top quality actors whose excellent performances are vital to its success and the pace of the action is great, especially considering the plot's many complications and unexpected developments. Ultimately, it's an extremely enjoyable and absorbing tale of a man whose boredom with his mundane life leads him to take the opportunity for some excitement by taking on a case where he soon finds that he's completely out of his depth.

There is absolutely nothing wrong with this movie and it is an excellent rental option when you are undecided on what to get in your favorite movie rental service/place. Very good plot, the dialogs are great and the ending is definitely not predictable. Rourke was in his downhill after a flash rise to fame due to 9 1/2 weeks (if you are an 80s guy like me, you know what I mean), but he still gives a good performance and one of his lines was just the best of the whole movie. Samuel Jackson was solid and Dafoe balanced as always. As a bonus the sexiest performance of Mastrantonio in her career. The movie has ups and downs and does not keep you nailed to your chair, but that is the story telling style of the director and I am cool with it.

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.

Here is another modern-day film-noir, featuring interesting characters played by a diverse cast. That cast is led by Willem Dafoe, who reminds me a lot of another noir actor, Dan Duryea.There is the usual corrupt government/military officials angle but the plot does have a few neat twists and is generally a non-nonsense kind of story. However, I did find the storyline a bit confusing, especially in the last half hour. On a second viewing, five years later, a few things cleared up but not a lot. I guess it will take looks to figure out everything, especially the very end.I'm not usually a fan of Elizabeth Mastrantonio, but I thought she was exceptional in here: by far, the best and most interesting character. The movie has a nice soundtrack. Overall, the good outweighs the bad and the somewhat confusing story helps draw me back for future viewings.Aside notes: this must have been one of Samuel L. Jackson's first films because he was listed as "Sam Jackson" in the closing credits. Unbilled were three always-interesting actors: Fred Thompson, Mimi Rogers and Jack P. Ryan.