Bold Action Movie With A Conscience

Rating: 7/10 (30 January 2007)

After Director Zwicks impressive "Last Samurai" this is an impressive attempt at interweaving a modern action film with difficult contemporary modern issues. De Caprio, taking the lead, comes of age in an all action, but thoughtful performance. Beautifully filmed, and eschewing the gratuitous African "Lion and Elephant" shots, the focus instead falls on the bloody civil war in Sierra Leone.
Although tales of the butchery have a wide currency, the chilling moments when victims are offered the alternative of "short sleeve" or "long sleeve " amputation of limbs is gut wrenching. The chaos and mindlessness of the indigenous violence is skilfully juxtaposed with the amoral actions, and inactions, of the diamond trade. As a snapshot of the brutality of the Civil War, and the complicity, of the Diamond Trade this is a searing success.
Slightly less successful are the scenes of the mercenary forces.From "cinema verite" we career into "Rambo" territory. And although enjoyable in its own right the Big Action shoot em up sequences are not as effective as the smaller scale action scenes.
Hollywood does rear its ugly head at the end. The tale is powerfully told and graphically illustrated. Point made. The finale depicting a conference condemning the Diamond Trade and espousing the merits of "conflict free" diamonds is quite frankly an insult to the intelligence of the viewer, and reprises the quite dreadful "concentration camp motorcade" addendum to "Schindlers List".
Nonetheless this film wins a lot more often than it loses, and neatly interweaves a conventional action movie with a modern morality tale. it scores above average in both genres.