If you give a shit about what’s going on in your world around you, this is an extremely powerful and moving story. Although Hollywood has vamped it up a bit by adding big names (although every one played their part phenomenally), the core of the story remains true. And that is: there are real people mining real conflict diamonds using real child soldiers and splitting up real families. And these diamonds have gotten into the mix with the non-conflict ones… who can tell?

It makes you look at the fundamental greed that seems to be a part of every culture, and what happens when that greed motivates us to inhumane acts towards each other.

This movie will make you want to step up and start doing something to help out, in any cause, or at least that was the affect on me. I’m just hoping that sort of inspiration doesn’t die as soon as the movie lands in the old section of the rental pile.

A really worthwhile action film

Certainly not light entertainment, but an unsubtly powerful film nonetheless.

I’m actually disappointed to see people laying into this film with any vigor. The whole diamond element didn’t really matter – it was about greed, and what terrible things men will do for greed.

The journey for Leo DiCappuccino’s character was a teenie bit clunky (as was his accent, especially when conversing with Arnold Vosloo!) but I can’t deny that Titanic’s most annoying actually can bloody act! Equally, Djimon Hounsou gave a usually fab performance, even if his character was almost too guileless to be believeable. But the performances are nearly buried until more explosions, chase scenes and gunfights than all three M:I films put together!

But the big winner was the story. Stunning natural scenery conflicts with the slums and refuge camps. The attrocities of war are all real life happenings. And the so-called civilised ‘First’ world was complicit in “an entire country made homeless”.

I was really absorbed by this, the stunning scenery, less than pretty representations of the darker side of man’s lust for power, and a strangely slanted ethical stance from Leo’s character that comes across as being singularly more human, than fabricated for the benefit of Hollywood, and despite the fairly good action shots. Left me feeling quite affected against consumerist urges and even more aware of what the upstream impacts might be. Certainly quelled my feelings for returning to London rather than doing more travelling…

America should be riveted to the farther reaching implications of the illegal diamond trade, but instead, we will go on blindly consuming.

Where did that rock on your hand come from honey? You don’t know, and you don’t care either.

Wake up.

Preface: I found this review from ROLLING STONE magazine very apt.

“Leonardo DiCaprio is coiled to spring as Danny Archer, a former mercenary from Zimbabwe, now in the business of smuggling conflict diamonds, so named because their sale is used to subsidize civil wars in Africa. Set in Sierra Leone in 1999, the film, crudely scripted by Charles Leavitt, links Danny with Solomon Vandy (Djimon Hounsou), a fisherman trying to save his family. Danny will help if Solomon leads him to a huge pink diamond he’s hidden and gets rid of nosy journalist Maddy Bowen (Jennifer Connelly). Actually, getting rid of the annoying Maddy is my idea, not Danny’s. It might have been a socko adventure if director Ed Zwick (The Last Samurai) didn’t insist on turning it into a message movie. 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. “

I am not normally a fan of Leo. I mean come on, Lord of the Flys? Gimmie a break. But this year he has put on two master performances that I have got to respect. The latest is in Blood Diamond. All the action you could want, a love story and a message as well. Don’t buy diamonds. Didn’t put me off diamonds as much as SuperSize Me put me off of MacDonalds, but this was made by Hollywood who likes to hide their messages as bes they can. And a GREAT performance by all the cast. I rate as 4 of 5. There may even be some Oscars in there somewhere. Best supporting?

A very good movie. The acting is excellent, but all that Oscar talk for Leo is just hype. He’s good, but he was significantly better in The Departed. It’s not even close.