Could have been good movie but ruined

Rating: 5/10 (5 February 2008)

DiCaprio's role-play was better than I expected, the screenplay was dumbed down cliché as Hollywood usually does with good real-life stories, but it was still good. However, Jennifer Connelly's role (or her acting, I can't tell) was so bad as it ruined the film for me. Her portrayal of an embedded reporter was so unbelievable as to take away from the storyline and DiCaprio's role. She played the cliché moralistic smug reporter that was so far from reality as to be comical. (She should have watched some Iraq video filings from embedded reporters or just about any CNN foreign war correspondent clip to see how neutral and bonded with trust to their subjects they are in real life). The film also made only fleeting reference to the artificial valuing of diamonds by DeBeers yet promoted more blame on U.S. consumers. That illogical fact comparison also stuck out in the film. Couldn't help feeling the whole film as this movie had SO much potential to be better were it not for the mediocre screenplay, shallow storyline, and Connelly totally miscast in that role (or just simply bad acting/direction).