In an era where sex and violence rule over power driven stories.Edward Zwick's Blood Diamond delivers an old school punch and a massive wake up call in story. It centers around three people: a smuggler,a fisherman and an American journalist who by fate, or destiny get caught up in one of the bloodiest chapters in African history over the one thing in Africa everyone wants, diamonds.


Blood Diamond is powerfully moving, brilliant, taunt and a movie going experience that will stick with you long after it's over.



Edward Zwick's Blood Diamond centers on three individuals: A diamond smuggler(DiCaprio), A fisherman(Hounsou) and a reporter(Connelly) all are caught up in someway or another in the diamond trade in 1999 Sierra Leon during the civil War that was being fought there over none other than,diamonds. The story while interesting and engaging is, at sometimes rather dull and bland. But that easily is overshadowed by the mind blowing performances the bullet proof plot and heart breaking scenes. It's the kind of film that you just can't experience once but must experience twice to fully comprehended the story at the very center of it all. All in all Blood Diamond is a mind bending movie with a great heart that project's itself well onto the screen.





Leonardo DiCaprio does amazing in this film and serves up one of his best performances to date as a diamond smuggler with a heart. Djimon Hounsou is phenomenal as the fisherman/father Solomon who risk everything to find a rare diamond he hid in the mountains, Hounsou's performance is crucial to the film and makes it worth the watch. Jennifer Connelly is also great her and proves an amazing contrast to her male costars she brings the heart and the deep rooted soul to this film and is another class act in this handsomely mounted motion picture.





Ed Zwick's Blood Diamond sets out to make a statement and it does. It brings to mind the very questions we have about life, death, greed, family and love It puts it all up front for us to see and let's us take in the power and strength of this picture. All in all It's a motion picture you can't miss or ignore, Blood Diamond delivers.

Since there is very little in the negative column, let me disperse with it first: 'Blood Diamond' might fairly be accused of 'bleeding heart syndrome' (more on that in a bit), has a few minor pacing issues and seems unsure with how to end. The ending that they chose extends the film too far, seems forced and is tacked on. The more natural ending is on the mountainside -- you'll know what I mean when you see it. Those things said, the positives are much greater and this film showcased two towering performances. Djimon Hounsou is nothing short of incredible and I'd be astonished if he isn't considered at Oscar time. Secondly, although I've had little patience for him before, Leonardo DiCaprio has really impressed me this year. With his performances in 'The Departed' and now 'Blood Diamond,' I think I need to reappraise my own biases against him. I'm becoming a fan.

Some of the early reviews that I read painted 'Blood Diamond' as hysterical left-winger cause-head paradise. They suggest that the conflict diamond situation has been exaggerated and completely distorted. I don't know if that is the case. The film makes a compelling case but I don't base my political and economic decisions on films that I watch. My interest here was to see how characters would respond to adversity and a terrible, horrifyingly dark situation. The political agenda of the film isn't as cloyingly bombastic as I was afraid it might be. This is a film that, while concerned with the political situation in Africa, focuses more on how the obsessive search for a large, rare pink diamond consumes those who get too close to it.

DiCaprio is excellent as a Rhodesian (HIS description) mercenary and arms dealer working in Sierra Leone. Hounsou is a fisherman who gets drawn into the civil war raging around him and discovers a pink diamond that could save -- or destroy -- both he and his family. Jennifer Connelly plays a journalist trying to discover if a huge multi-national diamond company is knowingly in the market for conflict diamonds. Jennifer Connelly seems to get the worst of the dialogue. When told that Americans are in part to blame for conflict diamonds she responds with a line about 'not all girls want a fantasy wedding.' It makes her look naive at best and silly at worst. She generally manages to save the character from either of those fates though and also manages to avoid self-righteousness when dealing with some of the films more morally flexible characters. Hounsou is great and the desperation in his character as he tries to find his family crackles on the screen. He is cagey and understands what he needs to do to survive. His character is not above playing servile if that will keep him alive. And when provoked to violence, the result was absolutely chilling. In much smaller roles are Arnold Vosloo as a mercenary Colonel, Stephen Collins as a diplomat and Michael Sheen as an executive at a diamond company. Excellent performances all around.

Is 'Blood Diamond' judgemental? I think that is the wrong question. The film is a character study both of all the men pursuing the pink diamond and what effect it has on them, but it is also a character study of Africa. Tragic and heartsick, 'Blood Diamond' is drenched with cynicism and defeatism. Why is there misery and exploitation? "TIA," explains DiCaprio to Connelly, "This Is Africa." In contrast to a film like 'Traffic,' 'Blood Diamond' doesn't wallow in hopelessness. Some of the characters might be cynical but the film itself does search for hope. The heart of the picture is the human cost. Characters see the wealth of the diamond and are destroyed by it. The film shares a great deal thematically with a film like 'Treasure of the Sierra Madre.' High praise for a high quality film

What does it take to turn someone into a killer? The answer is different for each character involved in this movie. For some it is survival. For others it is the hope of escape from a life of hell. For some it is family. For others it is greed. Caught in the middle of it all are the children who have such little desire to kill for any reason that they must be brainwashed into becoming the instruments of their masters who claim to offer freedom.

Every few years an action movie comes along that has amazing depth. Terminator 2 and The Matrix are such movies, and so is Blood Diamond. It is full of characterizations we've seen before, but it's the interaction that raises this film above the masses. Each character has an agenda that forces him or her to distrust everyone else. The paths that some relationships take to develop trust are believable, while others are equally believable in remaining eternally antagonistic. And through it all is the realization that while some characters may change their methodology and morals, none ever change their dreams. Each character fights for the goal to the bitter end. Such is human nature, and such is the conflict of Blood Diamond, the conflict of Africa. In the end, we are left to wonder if peace can ever be attained in such a world. And somehow we are left believing that maybe it can.

Because I lived in Sierra Leone, in fact in Kono, the diamond-mining area of the country, for three years, I had to see Blood Diamond as soon as it came out. It is an excellent movie. Although it was not filmed in Sierra Leone, it captures the reality of the country to a remarkable degree. There is a great deal of violence in this movie, but that violence is organic, realistic, fitting to what happened there. They even manage to convey the fact that the people are as astonished by this violence as we are; Sierra Leone used to be one of the safest countries in the world. The movie tells the facts about conflict diamonds quickly and accurately. DiCaprio's performance is impressive, certainly the best by him I've ever seen: he is totally believable as a white African. Jennifer Connelly's role is much smaller but she makes the most of it. Djiman Housou has enormous physical presence as the brave Mende fisherman. This movie just gets so many things right that the few places it departs from reality are entirely forgivable. I would heartily recommend this movie to everyone; it is the best Hollywood movie I've seen in years.

Which is the greediest creature that walks the Earth? No one should even have to think about it. Human Beings. Where there is wealth, there is man. Where there is man there will always be greed and with greed comes ruthless need for more. The 'gimme gimme' phrase comes to mind whilst watching Blood Diamond. Man is willing to rip each other apart for the sake of diamonds.

This movie entails how Africans have been taken advantage of, they die because their land has a rare precious substance not found in every heartless nation. In the movie, the 'white' folks come and kill for the diamonds while those of the land have been driven delusional for diamonds, kill, enslave and rip apart families. Tearing usually the strong to sift through the river for diamonds and the young boys to brainwash into killing for their Reform group. Blood diamond focuses on one particular Black family where in the beginning, the father shows love for his son and family and then the Refugees enslaves the the father, Solomon Vandy. He is sifting through muddy waters for diamonds with others like himself, to facilitate and fund the trade for guns and ammo in the 'fight' against the government.

After watching a fellow worker get shot after putting a diamond in his mouth as a hiding place, Solomon discovers a large pink diamond and hides it but gets caught in the process. However, twisted luck is on his side as, after Danny Archer (Leonardo DiCaprio) was busted for trying to smuggle diamonds in goats across the border. The movies goes on, from Dia (Solomon's son) being captured and trained to kill and loot to Solomon and Archer collaborating, the huge diamond for Archer's help in locating Solomon's family to Archer's journalist new love/friend,Maddy Bowen, trying to crack down on the diamond smuggling to Colonel busting the diamond smugglers for personal gain.

The movie closes with Archer's last words to Maddy over phone as he lays there after being shot and unable to continue. He gave Solomon and his family hope to live a better life with the help of Maddy. From greedy intentions, Archer surfaced and lived up to being a true man. How I wish others could do the same, that the world's fighting could cease for Man has brought the fighting upon themselves for multiple reasons. This movie fairly rated 8 on IMDb shows the evolution of a man, love of a family even after separation and killings and many more marvelous morals.