A Very Underrated Film That Deserves More Attention

Rating: 9/10 (28 March 2016)

Blood Diamond is directed by Edward Zwick and is the true story of Denny Archer, played by Leonardo DiCaprio, a smuggler who, in the middle of a civil war in Sierra Leone, meets a fisherman named Solomon Vandy (Djimon Hounsou) that is the only man who knows the location of a giant diamond, buried deep underground. With the help of a news reporter named Maddy Bowen (Jennifer Connelly), they must find the diamond, and Solomon's family, before the native rebels, or the British military, find it, or them.
This film is very underrated. I wouldn't say it's one of DiCaprio's best, just because of the rest of his filmography, but it really is a great movie. I only had a couple of complaints, and that's really saying a lot. Although Edward Zwick, the director, hasn't really done too much, he really does a great job with the camera work. Every shot captures the African landscape beautifully, and really pays respect to the film's cause.
The acting is also amazing. DiCaprio, as always, does fantastic, and Djimon Hounsou does really well too. I've seen him in other stuff, namely Gladiator (2000), but he really shines in this movie. I would even go as far as to say that this is his best work. Jennifer Connelly does really well, and also sticks out, in a good way. She plays a strong female role, without having to have a man beside her, despite the inevitable romance in the film.
The action in the movie is very well directed, and is paced well. There's no sequences of non stop action, but there's not any boring parts either. The action scenes and drama scenes are spaced evenly, and add to the film in a good way. The hand to hand fights were very well choreographed, as were the firefights. The last pro I have is the score. The score for this, done by James Newton Howard, really pounds into you the feel of the movie, and really won't let you forget the theme. This film was mostly made to let privileged people know what life is like in third world countries, and it does a great job at it, especially with the ending, where the score was at its peak, despite how good it was through the whole film.
The only real complaint I had with this film is the transition of scenes toward the middle. Now, this is a bit confusing, but I can explain it. Say in one scene, it would show the character of Danny talking with Maddy, then the next scene would show Danny and Solomon having a conversation. Now, this is a problem because the movie doesn't explain where the other character, be it Maddy or Solomon, is at the current time. Not all scenes were like this, and this is very nitpicky, but I would've just preferred a bit more clarification.
In short, Blood Diamond is a very underrated film, and worth anybody's time. I suggest you check it out, and even buy it on Blu- Ray; you won't regret it.