Blood Diamond Reviews

[Highly rated reviewer]

Most Over-Rated Film of the Year

So many gushing reviews, such an important subject, and what a godawful movie.

As others have remarked, Leo - whatever his acting skill, and whatever the accent - is completely miscast as a battle-hardened African mercenary. And Jennifer Connelly is every bit as unconvincing and out of place playing a tough magazine journalist.

The script is pure Hollywood. We've seen the structure a thousand times before. When Leo portentously says, 'This is Eff-rica,' early in the film, we all know we're going to hear that line again. And when Arnold Vosloo scoops up a handful of dirt and waxes poetic, you can hear the pay-off coming even with the sound turned down.

And this film is looooonng. When Leo and the Noble Savage start their journey into the heart of Sierra Leone, it feels like it's being shot in real time.

There are some positives. The big-buget pyrotechnics are cool (Hollywood does that sh*t well). And David Harewood leaves nothing behind as the psycho rebel leader.

But however worthy the subject matter, this a predictable and over-praised piece of Tinseltown pap.

Don't miss this one

Blood Diamond is set in Sierra Leone in 1999 where Rhodesian-born Danny Archer (Leonardo DiCaprio) smuggles diamonds out of the country and sells them on to the diamond merchants. Sierre Leone is in the middle of a bloody civil war and the sale of the diamonds, known as ‘conflict diamonds’ raises money for weapons and thus supports the violent war. Djimon Hounsou is remarkable as Solomon Vandy, the fisherman whose life is turned upside down when his family are torn away from him, his son is taken by the rebels to be trained as a child killer, and he is forced to work in a diamond mine where he unearths a rare pink diamond. When the mine is attacked, he buries the diamond. DiCaprio hears of its existence and sets off with Hounsou to recover it and split the proceeds. DiCaprio’s motives are at first purely financial whereas Hounsou’s objective is to find and reunite his family. The story is gripping, the characters are strong, and Leonardo DiCaprio gives a tremendous performance as the mercenary who reveals a compassionate side. The film was shot in Sierra Leone, Mozambique and South Africa and everyone, particularly the children, gives such convincing performances it is easy to forget they are acting. Very highly recommended.

Fantastic film. Don't get hung up on the accent

This is a truly gripping and intense story about the horrors surrounding the 'conflict' diamonds of Sierra Leone during the civil war. The scenes involving the child soldiers are at times so intense it was hard to continue watching. No real need to describe the story line as others have already done this so well. Also pointed out is DiCaprio's not so perfect accent. But please don't get hung up on the accent thing. This film is amazing and it should be seen by all.

[Highly rated reviewer]

The brilliant Di Caprio at his very best.

Take Leonardo Di Caprio out of the Titanic equation and what are you left with? Yeah, right.

What makes this film so very good, as well as Ed Zwicks sense of direction, wonderful scenery and a very good screenplay, is the fact that Di Caprio gets excellent support from the rest of the cast. Something not always apparent in films such as Titanic and even The Departed (when you consider the talent on dislay).

Djimon Housoun is outstanding with his heart-rending portrayal of Mende fisherman Solomon Vandy. Jennifer Connelly's character, idealistic journalist Maddie Bowen, undergoes a particularly subtle metamorphosis.

For all those (and there are very many) who criticised Di Caprio's South African accent, he is playing the part of a Zimbabwean mercenary and his accent is ver good indeed.

Oh to be a 'fly on the wall' at the various premieres attended by the usual vacuous subjects dripping in diamonds! Sleep well.

[Highly rated reviewer]

Excellent from start to finish

A real gem of a film folks. Action packed, disturbing and through out, the acting is faultless. Dicaprio is marvellous but then so is everyone concerned in this sterling effort to highlight the tragedy and injustice surrounding illegal diamond trading. Watch it now as its a stunner!

Powerful and thought provoking film!

I really enjoyed watching this film as it was a well put together effort.Stellar acting from all concerned: especially Di Caprio, who is still in top form. He was spot on and very convincing as a 'Rhodesian' (as Archer called himself in the film) with a really great South African accent (he even looked the part of one).I am South African and I was convinced! Hounson and Connelly were just as good. If nothing else, see this film for superb acting and also because it reels you in to a very gripping story of what was and still is happening in the world around us. A surprisingly good film, excellently cast! Watch it!

[Highly rated reviewer]

All this and Africa too

Hollywood has re-discovered Africa, releasing two films, Blood Diamonds and The Last King of Scotland, in as many months. While the continent has more of a backing role in The Last King, it is brought center stage in Blood Diamonds. Spectacular aerial shots of the shanty towns really hit the solar plexus. The vitality of African life is vividly portrayed, as is the cruelty and barbarism of war. The answer to the question why? is a fatalistic one: “this is Africa”.

But whatever the setting, the classical Hollywood narrative always wins in the end. The family, rent asunder, is reunited … and two rebel hearts at last find true love just before death parts them forever … and a ruined childhood is given back to the next generation … and the people of Africa will always live in its soil … and the journalist gets her big scoop … and the guilty do meet their retribution … and the hero shall carry the torch of truth to the World … and evil shall not hide behind ignorance: all the resolutions any one film could possibly need.

Shocking Truth. A must see

Blood Diamond provides a powerful insight to a world, corrupted by violence, instinct, threats, money and the most worthy of all - diamonds.

Leonardo DiCaprio portrays the rebel as someone that wants a piece for himself. The character comes to see that although T.I.A (This Is Africa), the diamond trade is something he needs to stand up against and stop supporting. Because, families are being torn apart and children exploited - forced to be killers, to stop others killing them. Danny Archer (DiCaprio) is a diamond smuggler, who comes to companion an African, who has lost everything but is trying just to get his family back, and also a journalist that is desperate to open the eyes of money-greedy companies back home.

A violent, yet thought provocative, experience, this film is worth seeing. I say rent it!

[Highly rated reviewer]

Blends action thriller with serious drama. 8/10

It is quite rare that a movie delivers exactly as expected, especially in a positive way but this one did in almost every aspect, we simply could not understand the mixed reviews. Set in Africa Blood Diamond tells the story of Danny (DiCaprio), a Rhodesian ex-mercenary and some what of an entrepreneur, after he meets Solomon Vandy (Hounsou) an African fisherman/villager whose family is split after he is taken by rebel forces. Using the cunning and determination of journalist Maddy Bowen (Connelly) the pair set out to rescue Solomon’s family and recover a rather big diamond. That’s the basic plot anyway however during this film you will pick up and enjoy much more, you will see glimpses of the horrors endured in parts of Africa, perhaps not at the level of past films such as Shooting Dogs but enough to generate enough emotion. You will see bonds building and breaking, almost non stop action and even a slightly soppy ending! The acting is good throughout and the pace just right as Blood Diamond admirably blends action thriller with serious drama, slightly slower and a little cheesy towards the end but overall very good, recommended. 8/10. 4 Stars.

[Highly rated reviewer]

An interesting film with action...

A really interesting film, with plenty of action, a bit of romance and a tale where the truth is probably worse that the fiction (see the child soldiers indoctrinated into the Sierra Leone militia). As it is said in the film, leaders in africa take over countries to bleed the wealth, until they and their cronies have enough money to go into exile, leaving the poor poorer, and this film gives an interesting portrayal of the greed and violence that was/is part of the way of life in some African nations. It is long but there is a good deal of truth and interest in this (wait for the end credits which are an eye opener).

Definately worth a watch.