Blood Diamond

Hotel Rwanda meets John Rambo :) Exactly one of those Hollywood films that fascinates me with their courage to combine so many clichés and hundreds of times-worn plot structures into an idea, exterior and narrative so vast, exotic and heavyweight. Zwick is a true visual craftsman and a master at building moving human stories, and his cinematic excursion into a dark background of cruelty and moral misery offers, formally speaking, exactly what we would expect from a first-rate overseas filmmaker: a lot of authentic battle scenes, lots of emotionally powerful moments, even more dramatic camera rides and shots of majestic scenery, and finally, plenty of supporting motifs and "wannabe smart" dialogues that already foreshadow something wicked inside the engrossing high-budget tinsel. The story is simple and more or less unrealistic, based on the heroic heroism and eternal happiness of the protagonists or on methodically repeated sequences of bloody action and quieter, ostentatiously humanistic or blandly romantic parts, which often unnecessarily stretch out the runtime and somehow seem contrasting and insignificant. It’s a shame that a project so masterfully written and acted, impressively reflecting the horror and physical hopelessness of its world, ends with a pathetic final applause and a simply depicted happy ending. But that doesn't change the fact that Blood Diamond is a really, really incredibly compelling, honest and unrelenting cinematic adventure, with a slightly more sophisticated one-of-a-kind script. 80% (17/04/2016)

Visually refined viewing that is intended to provoke that proverbial chill down your spine. Unfortunately, just showing is no longer enough these days, so no chilled spine. It needs more. The trailers were much better at it (I would even place one of them in my golden trailer fund). Even so, Zwick did a perfect job. It’s been a long time since I saw such wonderfully filmed scenery (locations, landscapes). In terms of acting, hats off to the great Hounsou, the gorgeous Jennifer Connelly and especially to DiCaprio who very pleasantly surprised me. So that’s a solid 4 stars and if Edward Zwick intends to continue in this direction, I’ll make very sure I don’t miss his pictures. (04/07/2007)

Visually, there is nothing to complain about. Every dollar of the 100 million budget is visible in the generous production design, Zwick is very good at action scenes, the two key ones, the massacre in Freetown and the attack on the RUF camp, are examples of great filmmaking. But the film fails in the story, which is an amalgamation of a poor attempt at some kind of overarching idea pointing out the pains of contemporary Africa, and a completely bland plot. It’s written according to the tried-and-tested formula of mainstream Hollywood productions, with a predictable plot and a lot of clichés, including a cheesy final phone call that definitely left my eyes dry. This is also because the script gives very little space to the emotional tension between Archer and Maddy, whose tears – thrill me, kill me – I simply didn't believe, and even the strong scenes (the training of small RUF adepts) get completely lost among the plot ballast. There was no deep lasting experience, only "watch it and forget after a while". Otherwise, Djimon Hounson's expressive performance was once again a pleasure, DiCaprio has finally manned up and stole some scenes (I could feel his suppressed anger at Hounson during a great scene with a hunted baboon) and his work with a machine gun during the attack on the RUF camp would be appreciated even by John Rambo :) (24/01/2007)

As far as the plot structure is concerned, it is meticulously constructed, smart, and sufficiently action-packed – Edward Zwick handles these combinations perfectly, see The Last Samurai – and it captivates not only with refined the visuals and the excellent intensity of the action scenes, but also with top-notch performances, which is very unusual in, let's say, a slightly adventurous film. The action is sometimes quite confusing, but with its grandeur and gripping rawness, it will surely get the blood flowing for most mainstream-minded viewers. There's nothing complicated about it, politics are only briefly outlined, so as not to interfere too much with the story of an (un)redeemable smuggler and a caring father. The best part of the whole film is the relationship between Leonardo DiCaprio and Jennifer Connelly – I haven't seen anything so suggestive in a long time. (13/06/2007)

Here, the current trends of an indictment of crooked deals with ostentatious goals, preferably set in Africa's own blood-plagued landscape, is blended into a reasonably intelligent spectacle that doesn't have the heavy-handedness of Hotel Rwanda, nor is it as uncompromising as The Constant Gardener. Nonetheless, it is fantastically shot (the run through the streets, or the final purge, are among the action highlights of the year) and still sensitive to the subject matter despite its more mainstream conception, and the acting is also very vital. This relates to more than DiCaprio, from whom it's kind of expected, but from the phenomenal Djimon Hounsou, with whom the viewer shares a plethora of emotions ranging from sadness to laughter to fierce anger. It is he who carries the film and without him, this perfectly polished piece of work would be only half as good. (25/02/2007)