Great movie

Rating: 10/10 (28 September 2011)

A fictional story set against a mostly accurate rendering of a civil war in Sierra Leone. All historical ingredients are there: the poorly trained government troops, greedy rebels that don't actually want to take over, mercenary troops ready to kill for the highest bidder, cynical characters but also a handful of those who actually believe in change and truly managed to do something about it. The weak link is, unfortunately, di Caprio. Surely, he is fairly believable as a cynical mercenary who finds redemption in a single act that could be seen as heroic. But at the same time he sinks into a recipe for this kind of character that we can also see in "Body of Lies" (tough, cynical but warmhearted guy who keeps adding 'huh?' at the end of every line). Arnold Vosloo, Djimon Hounsou and Michael Sheen steal the show while Jennifer Connely is adequate for her part. There is enough sexual tension between her and Leonardo to underline both their characters' determination to pursue their goals (her story and his escape from Africa's wars). In the end, they all sacrifice something to get what they really wanted.