Intense But Entertaining

Rating: Null/10 (17 October 2011)

Leonardo di Caprio has shown his chops as a leading man, but it's hardly a surprise considering his last few movies. He lends a good level of gravity to a role and its themes, while remaining extremely entertaining and unpretentious. As Blood Diamond shows he tends to work with scripts and directors that enjoy a dollop of popcorn sentiments. It's perhaps no surprise that Martin Scorcese's best modern work was with Leo.
Not that Blood Diamond isn't serious or intense. It packs quite a moral message about war and greed. But the story never wanders too deep into navel-gazing territory and keeps the pacing solid. Djimon Hounsou is fantastic - and the real anchor - as the embattled fisherman trying to save his family, while sadly Jennifer Connelly's journalist character is a tad convenient, but serves a role nonetheless. It's a fairly violent and heavy-handed film, but it never loses sight of what it wants to do - entertainment with a message. And it does that well.