Urgent, magnificently crafted Movie on a Mission to both shake, move and thrill.

Rating: 8/10 (20 June 2009)

War-torn Sierra Leone, 1999: A former mercenary-turned bitter diamond smuggler (DiCaprio) gets obsessed retrieving a fortune diamond hidden by country family man (Hounsou, who's also had his family torn apart) plus an American journalist (Connelly) hungry for a good story - the truth! Movie on a Mission to both shake, move and thrill (not to mention think)- and boy, does it ever... even if the ostensibly one-track chase form occasionally narrows it.
Riveting, muscular and magnificently crafted, with top locations and fiery performances by Hounsou and DiCaprio. A lesson in contemporary history and a moral message harshly hammered home about how western consumerism - here, the dirty gemstone trading business - between 1st & 3rd world countries can flame civil wars. Those battle scenes (especially with the kid soldiers) are as scarring and indelible as any you'll witness.
An urgent, more than apt companion piece to "Constant Gardener" and "Salvador" and almost just as good, albeit slightly rough and stumbly around the edges. This is Hollywood on one of its best and important paths!
8 out of 10 from Ozjeppe.