Blood Diamond- They Are Not A Gal's Best Friend **1/2

Rating: 6/10 (20 March 2007)

An overly violent film dealing with diamond smuggling in Africa. Sierra Leone is where the action is at.
In a rather stunning performance, Leonardo Di Caprio portrays a soldier of smuggling who gets involved with Solomon (a fine performance by Djimon Hounsou. The latter's son has been kidnapped by a rebel gang. They have converted captured children into robot-like killers. Don't mess with these dudes. Even Fagin's band of thieves would fear them.
Jennifer Connelly plays a photo-journalist caught up in the revolutionary violence.
Nothing is spared from the viewer in recreating the bloody, gory scenes.
Somewhere along the way you get confused regarding who the good guys are in comparison to the bad ones. Naturally, Danny Archer (Di Caprio) develops a bond with Solomon similar to the running of "The Defiant Ones" Sidney Poitier and Tony Curtis of that classic 1958 film.
The ending scene is similar to Gary Cooper's "For Whom the Bell Tolls."