This is one of the most action packed movies ever. Great cast, great plot, great storyline to boot. "White Sands"is awesome. And it's a blast. Here you have a small town sheriff (Willem Dafoe) who uncovers a big mystery. An undercover FBI Agent, and suitcase with half a million dollars. That to him is a big break from the small town life. He goes out to the motel where the victim was staying at. Gets more information, decides to fill in the role of the dead-man, and find himself way over his head. He later meets fellow agent Meeker(Samuel L. Jackson),CIA Lennox(Mickey Rourke) , and Lane Bodine (Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio),a woman of means join in on the fun. The question is simple, Who to trust? Well, we know it's not Lennox. He's violently murderous. He had the two internal affairs men killed in the desert. And Meeker is no good. He is bound by greed. Big money equals big ego. If I was a Fed, I would stave off temptations. Only Lane was the one he could trust. During the shower scene, she was the one who could return Dolezal back to his regular life. But when convince him that she's very helpful, he had to live it up! And does he ever. Lane's persuasive actions makes Dolezal more intrigued than ever. For the record, Meeker's greed got the best of him. That made him the dirtiest FBI Agent ever. For the sheriff deputy, I think he had enough fun in his life. As long as he doesn't mention this whole scenario with his family. Awesome, totally awesome, what more can I say? 4 out of 5 stars!

This interesting cop thriller has a convoluted plot that gets a bit out of hand in the second half, with improbable, needless twists added only to provoke a surprised response on the audience's part (consider, for example, Mickey Rourke's true identity),but it has been stylishly directed by Roger Donaldson (who has already shown his competence with the first-rate "No Way Out") and acted with restraint by the three leads; Rourke is particularly magnetic. Samuel Jackson also has an amusing supporting role. (**1/2)

Deputy Sheriff Ray Dolezal (Willem Dafoe) investigates a dead body with a suitcase full of money found in the middle of the desert. Medical examiner Bert Gibson (M. Emmet Walsh) finds a phone number on a piece of paper swallowed by the dead man. He goes to a meeting where the money is taken and a meeting with Gorman Lennox (Mickey Rourke) is set up. FBI agent Greg Meeker (Samuel L. Jackson) tells him that it was an undercover FBI operation. They want their half million dollars back. FBI Agent Flynn (James Rebhorn) is also chasing after the money claiming a rogue element stole it from a court case. Dolezal meets the underworld partner Lennox and then Lane Bodine (Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio) who knew the dead man, Bob Spencer. At White Sands, Dolezal and Lennox are shown state-of-the-art weapons.

It's an overly complicated hard-boiled police undercover investigation. There are a lot of annoying little problems. Dolezal is careless with a half million dollars evidence. There is no way a non-idiot police detective would walk out with that much money and no back-up. Once it's taken, there's no reason for the bad guys to return it in one of the silliest request. I also really need somebody to call FBI headquarters to check on some of these agents popping up demanding their money back. It's simply bad writing and doesn't survive in-depth examination. The first class actors try to make the material work as best they can.