DiCaprio is the diamond and there's a lot of blood

Rating: 7/10 (24 May 2011)

Once again, DiCaprio demonstrates he is one of the most interesting and talented actors. He's never shied from difficult roles (think Who's Eating Gilbert Grape?, "This Boy's Life" and just about every part played in the 21st century). You can see his attention to detail and dedication to the part, the intensity of his acting. In this case, his use of a local African accent is, to my ears, flawless.
As to the movie, well, compared to "Hotel Rwanda", it still looks more like "Con Air Goes To Africa". Nevertheless, the character development is interesting even if obvious and the movie is well paced, so you never get bored. Djimoun Hounsou is a Mende fisherman. His village is attacked by the Revolutionary United Front and he is captured in order to search for diamonds to be traded. DiCaprio is a white Rhoedsian mercenary smuggling diamonds. They will both at some point meet in jail and DiCaprio will find out Hounsou has hidden a diamond worth millions of dollars. They will start a journey together, trying to recover the hidden diamond and Hounsou's family that was taken to ca camp. They will try to arrange an escape to America for both the family and the diamond.
The depiction of the cruel African attacks owe more to "Saving Private Ryan" than reality, which is a shame, but then, this is a fiction that only uses African conflicts as a backdrop to what the DiCaprio's character has to go through along with Djimoun Hounsou, even if the movie is billed as being about the blood diamond trades.