Talent-loaded "Blood Diamond" is not only insightful, but entertaining

Rating: 9/10 (14 June 2008)

While the reason "Blood Diamond" feels like a thrill ride is indeed because of the persistent anarchy and chaos during the Sierra Leone civil war, you can't help but admit this film is downright entertaining. But that's not to say this film is not without a sensitive, humanitarian side, because the truth is it does both very well.
Acclaimed producer/director Edward Zwick ("The Last Samurai" (2003), "Glory" (1989)) has a knack for finding historically significant (but not overdone) stories and turning them into entertaining films without diluting the meaningful content. Any film that can do both well deserves higher praise than one that does only one of them well. Zwick has done that with "Blood Diamond," this time painting a picture of war-torn Africa and its corruption from the diamond industry.
The film's true protagonist is Solomon Vandy, played by Djimon Honsou, who is absolutely sensational in his role as a fisherman who is separated from his family by rebel forces in Sierra Leone. While what you've seen about this film in its publicity would lead you to believe Leonardo DiCaprio is the leading man, this is not his story--in fact I would go as far as to criticize those in charge of promoting it that way. We should not be so arrogant as to identify the white, American actors as the main characters in this story. Not to take away from DiCaprio, who really proves his versatility as one of the world's best actors in this film playing a greedy, South African diamond smuggler named Danny Archer. His character is likable but corrupt and it makes him very interesting.
Zwick does a tremendous job opening our eyes to the true nature of the violence in Africa, showing us how kids are turned into heartless killers and how human life there seems to have no value--it's all about who has the most weapons. Jennifer Connelly's role as a journalist trying to make a difference simply feels like a way for writer Charles Leavitt to explain and question that nature of the corruption in the diamond industry, but toss that aside and you have a strong, interesting character nevertheless because Connelly gives that without fail in everything she does.
The film keeps a strong pace while still taking the time to show the historical context and Zwick deserves a lot of that credit though Leavitt should get his due. His script never lags or feels unnatural and he takes his characters on a variety of emotional tears. The way the action weaves itself in does feel a little forced, but it's entertaining and keeps you on edge.
"Blood Diamond" is full of talent. From Zwick to Honsou and DiCaprio and to the incredible editing team that keeps everything in the destructive, semi-automatic gunfire action sequences from getting out of control. As far as great films go, this falls into the category of excellent action films. Not every film is going to be deeply moving, but for the amount of action that fills up the running time of this film, it's particularly eye-opening and meaningful.