Well dosed academy adventure movie.

Rating: 7/10 (16 March 2007)

You're warn as soon as the movie began : you will learn lots of things about Africa (and especially the way USA fells about it), while watching a entertaining adventure movie. It opens with a warning about the situation that occurred in Sierra Leone (and particularly about the "War Children", that the movie denounces) and even locates it in a map to be sure everyone understands what's the movie talk about. But as soon as the anti-hero played by Leonardo DiCaprio arrives, the movie transforms itself in a (serious but still) fun and entertaining Hollywoodian adventure movie. You'll find reflection in it, but also explosions, denunciation of the "war children" but also gigantic gun fights, self criticism but mostly you'll see Oscar's winners stars running in the forest through explosions and gun fights, looking for the big rose blood diamond of the tittle. And of course, it also has an impossible romance between the idealistic Loïs Lane's style journalist and the ex-colonialist bad guy DiCaprio.
This well dosed mixture of a serious subject crossed with an adventure movie treatment reminds me of Joffé's "The Mission" or of the all serious filmography of the master of this kind of movie : Steven Spielberg (from "Schindler's List" to "Amistad" or "Munich"). And although Spielberg is a far more talented, original and interesting director than Edward Zwick, this movie is a sure intelligent and entertaining movie.