Djimon Hounsou is excellent and Kagiso Kuypers delivers an amazing breakout performance.
Blood Diamond (2006)
Tomatometer
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Reviews Counted:204
Fresh:127
Rotten:77
Average Rating:6.3/10
Consensus: Blood Diamond overcomes poor storytelling with its biting commentary and fine performances.
Theatrical Release:26-01-2007
Synopsis: Set against the backdrop of the chaos and civil war that enveloped 1990s Sierra Leone, "Blood Diamond" is the story of Danny Archer (Leonardo DiCaprio), an ex-mercenary from Zimbabwe, and Solomon... Set against the backdrop of the chaos and civil war that enveloped 1990s Sierra Leone, "Blood Diamond" is the story of Danny Archer (Leonardo DiCaprio), an ex-mercenary from Zimbabwe, and Solomon Vandy (Djimon Hounsou), a Mende fisherman. Both men are African, but their histories and their circumstances are as different as any can be until their fates become joined in a common quest to recover a rare pink diamond, the kind of stone that can transform a life…or end it. Solomon, who has been taken from his family and forced to work in the diamond fields, finds the extraordinary gem and hides it at great risk, knowing if he is discovered, he will be killed instantly. But he also knows the diamond could not only provide the means to save his wife and daughters from a life as refugees but also help rescue his son, Dia, from an even worse fate as a child soldier. Archer, who has made his living trading diamonds for arms, learns of Solomon's hidden stone while in prison for smuggling. He knows a diamond like this is a once-in-a-lifetime find—valuable enough to be his ticket out of Africa and away from the cycle of violence and corruption in which he has been a willing player. Enter Maddy Bowen (Jennifer Connelly), an idealistic American journalist who is in Sierra Leone to uncover the truth behind conflict diamonds, exposing the complicity of diamond industry leaders who have chosen profits over principles. Maddy seeks out Archer as a source for her article, but soon finds it is he who needs her even more. With Maddy's help, Archer and Solomon embark on a dangerous trek through rebel territory. Archer needs Solomon to find and recover the valuable pink diamond, but Solomon seeks something far more precious…his son. Directed by Edward Zwick, the action drama "Blood Diamond" stars Academy Award nominee Leonardo DiCaprio ("The Aviator"), Academy Award winner Jennifer Connelly ("A Beautiful Mind") and Academy Award nominee Djimon Hounsou ("In America"). The screenplay was written by Charles Leavitt, from a story by Leavitt and C. Gaby Mitchell. Warner Bros. Pictures presents, in association with Virtual Studios, "Blood Diamond," a Spring Creek / Bedford Falls production, in association with Initial Entertainment Group, released by Warner Bros. Pictures, a Warner Bros. Entertainment Company. "Blood Diamond" is produced by Paula Weinstein, Edward Zwick, Marshall Herskovitz, Graham King and Gillian Gorfil. The executive producers are Len Amato, Kevin De La Noy and Benjamin Waisbren. The film also stars Michael Sheen, Arnold Vosloo, David Harewood, Basil Wallace and introduces Kagiso Kuypers as Dia. Collaborating with Zwick behind the scenes were director of photography Eduardo Serra, production designer Dan Weil, costume designer Ngila Dickson, and editor Steven Rosenblum. James Newton Howard composed the score. This film has been rated "R" by the MPAA for "strong violence and language" "Blood Diamond" opens nationwide on December 8, 2006, and will be released by Warner Bros. Pictures, a Warner Bros. Entertainment Company. -- © Warner Bros. [More]
Starring: Leonardo DiCaprio, Jennifer Connelly, Djimon Hounsou, Stephen Collins
Starring: Leonardo DiCaprio, Jennifer Connelly, Djimon Hounsou, Stephen Collins, Jimi Mistry, Ato Essandoh, Michael Sheen, Basil Wallace, Kasigo Kuypers, Arnold Vosloo, Marius Weyers
Director: Edward Zwick
Director: Edward Zwick
Producer: Gillian Gorfil, Marshall Herskovitz, Graham King
Composer: James Newton Howard
Studio: Warner Bros.
Reviews for Blood Diamond
DiCaprio is terrific, but he can't save this lecture from the shame of using Africa as a vehicle for another white man's redemption.
Edward Zwick directs Blood Diamond with fast-paced kinetic energy and draws first-rate performances from his cast.
This unwieldy mix of action, romance, and politics collapses under the weight of its high-minded ambitions and questionable story.
Africa has long been exploited by the West: for ivory, for gold, for diamonds, for oil. And, more recently, for, and by, Hollywood.
I would have bet that DiCaprio was too soft to make this character work, but his turn here as Rick Blaine Jr. isn't half bad, and on the heels of The Departed, shows that he's growing up.
Director Edward Zwick is the Ron Howard of action films. Glory, Courage Under Fire, Legends of the Fall, all gorgeous looking, nicely written, well-acted and thought-provoking movies with violent settings.
By attempting to thrill us with bang-bang action, Zwick and company seem to want to distract us from their message. And when they finally deliver it, their hamfisted treatment absolutely kills it.
It all pays off in the second half, as the characters are fleshed out in ways that didn’t at first seem possible. The actors go beyond playing types and enter the world of three-dimensional people.
Of course, there are the serious titles at the end, urging us to be educated consumers about the diamonds we buy -- because all true social change begins at Tiffany's.
Hounsou's paternal ferocity and DiCaprio's ruthless toughness provide the fire Blood Diamond needs more of, to burn away the script's political overkill.
Action and message cancel each other out. To put it another way, this movie wants you to be appalled by the real slaughter of Africans by Africans - which it blames on you - but be entertained by the slaughter of Africans by DiCaprio.
Blood Diamond is, in the vernacular of Old Hollywood, a rip-roaring adventure, the kind made in the '30s with Clark Gable and the handiest leading lady on contract at MGM.
Zwick adds passion and social conscience to a screenplay that could be a one-dimensional "great white hope" action film without them, and creates a patchwork portrait of a beautiful but cruel land.
It succeeds well at what it sets out to do: wrapping a worthy message in a compelling story.
You can see DiCaprio and Connelly acting. They’re trying too hard.
Blood Diamond works because of the performance from DiCaprio, which is stunning. Talk about rising about the material.
Blood Diamond was directed by Edward Zwick, a staunchly mainstream filmmaker who seems most at ease with the language of epic storytelling. If you're in the market for sweep or machismo, he's your man.
What you will remember from the film though, is the performance by Leonardo DiCaprio, in his most impressive work since he was a teenaged wunderkind.
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