Blood Diamond

Don't be fooled by the long exposition into an important and dangerous topic. What will follow is worth it. Edward Zwick proves that The Last Samurai was no fluke. The harsh scenes of the ruthless R.U.F. group, Djimon Hounsou's breathtaking determination, and the uninterrupted tender love story symbolizing undying hope. On top of that, Leonardo DiCaprio as Danny Archer is a properly angry Rambo, and the scene where he wades through muddy water in the camp amidst explosions and bullet salvos is an unexpected action thriller. Give Blood Diamond a chance, no matter what you think about the subject and genre. And you will feel pain for Africa. (12/09/2007)

Strangely enough, quite an imaginative backstory and the whole plot of the main line, something you don't see that much nowadays. In addition to that, there is a good acting duo and nice naturalistic shots. For a higher rating, however, it lacked more momentum, twists, or anything that would have grabbed me for more than just average. (07/02/2024)

Visually refined viewing that is intended to provoke that proverbial chill down your spine. Unfortunately, just showing is no longer enough these days, so no chilled spine. It needs more. The trailers were much better at it (I would even place one of them in my golden trailer fund). Even so, Zwick did a perfect job. It’s been a long time since I saw such wonderfully filmed scenery (locations, landscapes). In terms of acting, hats off to the great Hounsou, the gorgeous Jennifer Connelly and especially to DiCaprio who very pleasantly surprised me. So that’s a solid 4 stars and if Edward Zwick intends to continue in this direction, I’ll make very sure I don’t miss his pictures. (04/07/2007)

The epic production design, brilliant technical side and the suitably booming soundtrack by James Newton Howard are the indisputable pluses here. The makers achieve the almost impossible for most of the movie, successfully balancing on the edge between an adventure movie in Romancing the Stone style, while also having enough time to highlight the problems in Sierra Leone, and perhaps most of the African continent. The action scenes are intense, and the dramatic storyline has balls. What prevents Blood Diamond from getting a better score is the closing quarter hour where the hitherto well-constructed characters turn into one-dimensional cutouts. Everything ends up as expected and we even get a moral at the end for those who managed not to understand what Zwick is saying the whole time using “movie language". An ending like that might be okay for family viewing, but in a politically engaged movie this is absolutely at odds with the rest of it. And that is doubly disappointing in a movie of this quality. (26/01/2007)

As far as the plot structure is concerned, it is meticulously constructed, smart, and sufficiently action-packed – Edward Zwick handles these combinations perfectly, see The Last Samurai – and it captivates not only with refined the visuals and the excellent intensity of the action scenes, but also with top-notch performances, which is very unusual in, let's say, a slightly adventurous film. The action is sometimes quite confusing, but with its grandeur and gripping rawness, it will surely get the blood flowing for most mainstream-minded viewers. There's nothing complicated about it, politics are only briefly outlined, so as not to interfere too much with the story of an (un)redeemable smuggler and a caring father. The best part of the whole film is the relationship between Leonardo DiCaprio and Jennifer Connelly – I haven't seen anything so suggestive in a long time. (13/06/2007)