Superb and Unmissable

Rating: 10/10 (25 February 2007)

If you get some spare time then I cannot recommend this film enough. It ranks up there with my all time favourites and is definitely up there with the best of them. See it on the big screen. It will lose too much on the small one (even though I shall be buying the DVD lol) Superb acting - Leo DiCaprisun & Djimon Hounsou are outstanding. Excellent script, superb direction and the cinematography is fantastic. It's fast, it's emotional, it's REAL, it's believable and the characters really pull you in. There are some difficult scenes to watch with rebel brutality (especially where the children are concerned) but they are just part of what makes it so real and so shocking.
There is a scene about three quarters of the way though the film where Leo's character is telling Jennifery Connelly's character about the brutal murder of his parents and how he grew up and what he now thinks of South Africa and it's people which I thought was outstanding. It was easy to forget for that ten or so minutes that he was actually acting - that's how good he was. Of course they went and ruined the end of that scene by sneaking in a little bit of romance. Aaaaagggghhh!
The battle/action scenes were shot all in one take which makes them pretty special. Especially where the rebels come to town and all hell breaks loose. You've got a good ten to fifteen minutes of mayhem, bullets, bombs, guns, bodies, fights, etc and each time it's all being done in just one take. Wow! If I had one criticism it would be Jennifer Connelly's character. Or was it her acting? I'm not sure. Either way she was the weakest link who I kept wishing would go away.
I've been a big fan of Leo's acting for a long time now and he's played some superb parts. He is one of those actors who doesn't seem to need to act - to act. He's up for an Oscar for this and I'd really like to see him get it (he should have won one for The Aviator!) but he has tough competition from Forest Whitaker's portrayal of Idi Amin in The Last King of Scotland (also an Oscar worthy performance) Memorable Quotes: Danny Archer (Leo): Sometimes I wonder if God will ever forgive us for what we've done to each other... Than I look around and I realise... God left this place a long time ago.