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Blood Diamond movie comments

Date: 2007-02-10 20:44:17 User: Due to his riveting work in The Departed, Leonardo DiCaprio may be one of the front-runners for the Best Actor award at the Oscars in a few months. He's winning more raves for his leading role in Blood Diamond, the new thriller from Edward Zwick (The Last Samurai). And the movie itself is winning some praise too for its challenging attempt to teach audiences about the evils of the diamond trade, and the impact of consumerism in wealthy countries on the lives of the poor in Africa. But critics aren't entirely impressed with how the film illustrates that problem. And Christian critics are again troubled by so much violence on the big screen. Date: 2007-03-14 07:17:55 User: Dudes this guy can fire holes in ur ass careful...! cool film Date: 2007-10-04 12:17:09 User: Leonardo DiCaprio has become one of the premiere American actors. With a set of natural instincts that lends a non-showy, believable quality to all of his performances, versatility, and movie star size charisma that fills up the screen and emotionally hooks the viewer into his character and story, it is hard to think of another male American actor (with the exception of Johnny Depp) who is consistently giving an audience its money worth; these two gentleman have taken the reins from Tom Hanks and Denzel Washington, as those two Oscar-winning future legends of the silver screen gracefully age into more mature roles. In Blood Diamond, it is Mr. DiCaprio's performance that raises this film above it's standard Hollywood fare of a script (although it is a solid script) into something memorable. His performance here as an opportunistic diamond smuggler equals that of the one he gave earlier in the fall as "Billy Costigan" in The Departed, although the two characters couldn't be more different from each other. It may be his best performance yet, and in terms of sheer charisma and memorability it certainly rivals his mega-star making performance as "Jack Dawson" in Titanic. I liked Blood Diamond a great deal, but do not think it is a great film. A good movie? Yes. Very mainstream and formulaic, but it is raised up quite a bit by DiCaprio's character and his terrific realization of it. If I had read this script beforehand, I never would have thought of Leo for this role- possibly George Clooney or some other star known for "roguish charm," but not Leo. But now, having seen it, I can't imagine anybody else as "Danny Archer;" it is a fully realized, winning performance. Mr. Hounsou was wonderful as well, and I liked the chemistry between the two men in their scenes together. He was able to make the audience feel the gamut of emotions his character experiences during the course of the movie- pride and hope, fear, outrage, resignation, mistrust, desperation, and determination, and beautifully rises above the somewhat limiting way his role was written. I thought Ms. Connelly did as good a job as possible in her role as "the idealistic journalist who wants to make a difference." Her part was just a larger version of Joaquin Phoenix's in Hotel Rwanda. As always, I find she brings a certain dignity and intelligence to her performances and does not allow her incredible beauty to overshadow her acting. I thought she and Leo worked wonderfully together, as well, and along with Mr. Hounsou they make an engaging trio you can't help rooting for. In comparing it to other recent films about Africa, I didn't think this was quite as good as as Hotel Rwanda, but better than The Interpreter, The Constant Gardener, and The Last King of Scotland. I felt an emotional engagement with the characters I didn't experience in the latter three films. I found the script allowed my care for the characters to grow as the story progressed, and was not overly manipulative. At times it veered too much into standard action movie territory, with much violence and many "close calls" but would then be brought back into the realm of compelling human drama by a wonderfully acted, intimate scene. After reading some early negative comments, I was pleasantly surprised at my response to it. Compelling characters and the skillful use of a truly gripping global issue as the plot line make this a satisfying viewing experience- one that I would happily see again. Date: 2009-12-16 20:41:25 User: Buy Truy Blood Diamond offers enough overacting and a meandering plot to convince senior citizens that they are watching a “good movie.” For the rest of us however, the film suffers from a multiple-personality disorder – at one moment it’s a heart-felt drama and the next it’s a flashy action movie filled to the brim with explosions. Leonardo DiCaprio (Titanic, “Growing Pains”) stars as Danny Archer, an African diamond smuggler with a military background who is searching for a way out of a country engulfed in civil war. On the other hand, the impeccable Djimon Hounsou (In America, Gladiator) plays Solomon Vandy, an African fisherman whose village is pillaged by an African civil uprising gang. Though his family escapes, Solomon is kidnapped by the gang and thrown into a forced labor camp where he finds the largest diamond anyone has ever seen. After the two meet in prison, the stage is set for Archer’s quest for the diamond and Vandy’s quest to find his family. Unfortunately, Blood Diamond bites off more than it can chew thematically. It desperately wants to paint the bloody portrait of Sierra Leone’s civil war of the 1990s, but the film’s strongest moments, which revolve around Vandy, are overshadowed by Archer’s futile quest for a diamond. Not only is the greedy lust for diamonds fueling Africa’s civil war, but it also provides the plot’s macguffin. When the film finally takes the time to explore a worthwhile theme, whether it’s the brainwashing of Vandy’s son by the civil uprising gang or Vandy’s own desperation, Archer’s horrendous accent breaks through the dramatic tension. Perhaps Blood Diamond is most disappointing because it has the potential to explore events and aspects of the Sierra Leone civil war, but just when the film seems to transcend its own melodrama, there is an explosion and Archer starts running around with his gun blazing. Director Edward Zwick spreads himself thin after so many bombastic action sequences and can’t get a handle on the film dramatically. The best example of the film’s inadequacies is its finale, in which Vandy is about to testify in a congressional meeting. The screen fades to black and a title screen appears urging consumers not to buy smuggled “blood” diamonds. Once that screen fades to black, a loud gangster rap song about diamonds blares through the speakers and the confusion sets in. We know that the film offers an important message, but it is hidden by sensational vignettes of violence and a public service announcement. Yet, the social problems the film presents can’t be covered by a five-minute, “The More You Know” advertisement nor summed up in a popular rap song. The effect of the civil war on its people is, hands down, the most important aspect of the film. Perhaps Zwick, or Warner Bros., thinks that an audience wouldn’t care about African hardships and need some star power and gunplay to drive up ticket sales. Either way, an important cinematic opportunity is passed up and another mediocre and forgettable action/drama film is open for business.   You have to register to leave a comment...   Back to the Blood Diamond movie download page