Blood Diamond

[MacGuffin]

International Trailer here.

Release Date: December 15, 2006

Starring: Leonardo DiCaprio, Jennifer Connelly, Djimon Hounsou, Arnold Vosloo, Ato Essandoh
 
Directed by: Edward Zwick (Glory; The Last Samurai)

Premise: Set against the backdrop of civil war and chaos in 1990's Sierra Leone, Danny Archer, a South African mercenary, and Solomon Vandy, a Mende fisherman are joined in a common quest to recover a rare pink diamond that can transform their lives. While in prison for smuggling, Archer learns that Solomon--who was taken from his family and forced to work in the diamond fields--has found and hidden the extraordinary rough stone. With the help of Maddy Bowen, an American journalist whose idealism is tempered by a deepening connection with Archer, the two men embark on a trek through rebel territory, a journey that could save Solomon's family and give Archer the second chance he thought he would never have.

[modage]

mmm... not so good.   

[Redlum]

I'm not sure why people are turning their noses up at this. To my mind it's this years Constant Gardener but more entertaining - and thats the important thing with these types of films if you want people to actually get your message. Because as much as I admire films like Syriana which try to give the issues they're tackling their due in terms of narrative complexity, I can't help but think that films like Blood Diamond which are conventional in their approach, end up being more successful overall.

Acting wise, all involved were solid. Leo did a particularly good job of carrying a film that was trying to marry two tasks that are not easily reconciled in films - inform and entertain.

As Mark Kermode said: this is as issue-taining as issue-tainment gets.

[ᾦɐļᵲʊʂ]

I saw it and I turn my nose up at it essentially because of lines that are even in the trailer.

The "I am NOT your partner!" and "In America it's all about the Bling-Bling, here in Africa it's all about the Bling-Bang!"

The dialogue tries to be witty or snide sometimes, but it's a movie about families falling apart over diamonds, so let's be a little more conscious of the material here.

[SHAFTR]

Ugh.

It is entertaining and Leo is good, but overall it is probably forgettable.  I wouldn't praise it as a great film, but one could do a lot worse.  I will say that in the context of the film, Leo's accent works..but in the trailer it sounds silly.  It is far from subtle, but the scenes with the children with guns are pretty rough and gory then expected.