A fine film that's nonstop entertaining.

Rating: 9/10 (28 December 2006)

Stars: Leo DiCaprio, Djimon Honsou and Jennifer Connelly.
Wow!! That's all I can really say after watching this. Everything about this was great. Leonardo DiCaprio plays a jerk that cares only about himself, and he still manages to be an extremely likable character with a lot of development. Djimon Honsou gave an excellent performance as the determined father trying to get to his brainwashed son. Jennifer Connelly plays a held back, excellent role as the American reporter. Blood Diamond houses some excellent performances. It takes place in 1994 in several countries in Africa that are going in to complete anarchy, with kids being brainwashed and used as soldiers. Solomen's (Honsou) family is taken and he alone is left to save them by finding the biggest diamond he saw and buried. Billy (DiCaprio) meets Solomen in jail and gets him out. Billy sells diamonds illegally and wants this one. Pretty simple plot. Warning, this film is very intense. If you don't mind watching little kids get shot and have their hands chopped off, then you are the right person for this excellent film.
My rating: *** 1/2 out of ****. 133 mins. R for Strong Violence and Language.