Review of Blood Diamond (2006) by Jim S — 06 Jan 2016

THIS IS A REBOOT OF A REVIEW I WROTE BACK IN 2007.

Let's be honest right up front, I'm not a fan of this movie. Not that it's a bad movie, not at all. Some might say it's a good movie, but it can't be called a great movie, although that's what it seems to strive to be.

And take note...it is long, almost two and one half hours long. And those two and one half hours take what seems like 3 days to play out. Some heavy duty snipping was required in the editing room the day this baby was put to bed.

My biggest problem with this motion picture is the screenplay, which lays out a multitude of genres and asks the viewer to go ahead and pick one...or two or three if you're going for the daily combo special. There's a little bit of political thriller mixed in with a whole lot of war drama and action-adventure. It offers up a plate of melodrama along with some threads of a buddy film. And to top it off, there's some sweet romance for desert.

The films backdrop is 1999 Sierra Leone, where a brutal civil war is raging and innocent children are forced into battle and grown men are forced to dig for diamonds to fuel the coffers of the rebel forces that are using the "Blood Diamonds" to pay for their black market arms and artillery.

Now, let's see if I can explain the plot in one paragraph; a rogue diamond smuggler (played by Leonardo DiCaprio), is caught smuggling diamonds out of the country and is sent to jail. There he over hears two other prisoners talking of a lost pink diamond the size of a birds egg. One of the prisoners he overhears (played by Djimon Hounsou), is searching for his family, who were captured by the rebels. Umm...I'm running out of time here...Leo get out of prison and also arranges that Djimon is released as well. Leo tells Djimon that he now owes him a favor and basically extorts him into taking him to where the pink diamond is buried. Meanwhile, Leo meets a hot American journalist (played by Jennifer Connelly), and they...of course...develop a love hate relationship. Oh...wait...did I mention that Djimon's son has been taken by the rebels and converted into a 9 year old killing machine...nasty. Phew...that's all I feel I'm at liberty to say at this time.

There are several things that I did like about this movie. The cinematographer is fantastic and it looks damn fine playing on an HD LCD flat screen. Djimon Hounsou gives a heartfelt performance as the shattered man desperate to reunite his family. And the visual effects are terrific.

Now, the things I didn't like...sorry...this is like a shopping list...well, the aforementioned screenplay; the freaking length of the film; Jennifer Connelly (although I'm thinking her boobs put in an award winning performance), and the completely contrived ending which had me yelling out "NO, NO, NO".

Now, let's talk about the big fish of the movie, Leonardo DiCaprio. Leo was nominated for an Oscar for his portrayal of the smooth talking, hard edge South African Danny Archer and, even though it's not nearly the same caliber of performance he gave in The Departed, I think I know why he was nominated. This performance is flashy, with a fancy accent and lots of he-man, hard hitting action...the type of high octane performance that Hollywood seems to love. However, I kept feeling that I was watching Leonardo DiCaprio on screen, putting on an accent and getting all macho. I didn't feel that he got under Danny Archers skin like he did with the role of Billy Costigan in The Departed. I feel that Billy was far more deserving of the Oscar nod than Danny.

That being said, DiCaprio has become one of the finest young actors of the 21st Century and he's consistently pulled off role after role in the past few years.

Can't wait to see what he gets up to next.