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Capone Reviews BLOOD DIAMOND!!
Hey everyone. Capone in Chicago here.
A couple months back, some friends of mine got to see an early test screening of director Edward (The Last Samurai, Glory) Zwick's latest, and all reported back to me that it was one of the most violent and brutal films they'd seen all year. My assumption was that before Blood Diamond's eventual release, the blood and guts would be toned down and trimmed out. Guess again.
Blood Diamond is an unflinching look at the absolute chaos that once (and may still) existed in Sierra Leone in the 1990s. But lest you think this is some sort of message film, it is also one of the finest and most thrilling action offerings of the year. In fact, it will probably rank very high on my best-of-2006 list.
The story of conflict diamonds is sadly the story of the deaths and mutilations of tens of thousands of Africans, many of whom are forced into slave labor, working the diamond fields in place like Sierra Leone. If these workers are suspected of trying to steal diamonds they find, they have limbs chopped off or are simply killed where they stand. It wasn't until the time frame this film is set in that the Western world even acknowledged this heinous practices and diamond merchants were pressured into making assurances that their wares were not the result of such practices. Not surprisingly, many of these merchants (including one in this film played by The Queen's Michael Sheen) lied about their goods not being conflict diamonds
Early in the film, we are shown the simple life of a fisherman named Solomon (Djimon Hounsou) and his family. Solomon is kidnapped, separated from his family, and forced to word a rather rich deposit. He has seen his fellow slaves slaughtered for attempting to steal even the smallest diamond, so when he find a rather large pink specimen, he is terrified. But he also knows that the money he could feasibly get for this diamond could help him find his family and get out of the troubled region. His escape is harrowing, but he manages to hide the diamond near the field with the hopes of returning later to collect it.
Danny Archer (Leonardo DiCaprio in what could easily is best and most fascinating performance) is a devious ex-mercenary from Zimbabwe, who has traded in the life of a soldier for that of a diamond smuggler. Shortly after we meet him, he is captured attempting to smuggle product across the border and is tossed in jail. It just so happens that Solomon also lands in the same jail and soon Danny discovers that Solomon has found something that could solve a lot of his problems as well, including owing money for his lost diamond shipment to a brutal general (The Mummy's Arnold Vosloo). The two become unlikely and uneasy partners, as Solomon agrees to take Danny to the diamond if Danny helps him find his family.
One of the film's most interested elements is a subplot about Solomon's young son, who is taken by rebel guerrillas and brainwashed to become a bloodthirsty "child solider" for their cause. It's perhaps the most evil part of the entire film, and I'm glad Zwick and company left those scenes in (they could have easily been trimmed) because they really leave you feeling ill as you contemplate that there are people in this world who would corrupt children like this.
Before I say anymore, I didn't think DiCaprio has any more tricks up his sleeve, but what he creates with Danny is astonishing. I'm not one who puts a lot of stock in accents, but his white African accent here (think South African, but with more of the local Zimbabwe dialect mixed in) never waivers. Danny is not a man we are supposed to like, and we know that at the first opportunity he will probably betray Solomon, possibly killing him once he has the diamond in hand. He is a man who has sold his soul many times over and doesn't really care. He knows he's going to hell, but he'd like to make a whole lot of cash before he does so. He's not a thrill seeker; he's just greedy and often mean. He's not a lovable rogue; he's an asshole.
Danny and Solomon tear through the jungle, with all manner of enemies hot on their trail. The frequent action sequences are bloody and remarkably well staged, but there are also of beautifully realized quiet moment, like when the two stumble upon a peaceful camp for families and orphans.
I've deliberately avoided mentioning the presence of Jennifer Connelly in Blood Diamond because he role as an American journalist investigating conflict diamonds is obnoxious and unnecessary. I don't blame her performance, which is as good as it can be with this grossly oversimplified character; no other actress could have done any better with the part. And while she avoids many of the trappings of women in action films (she doesn't scream all the time or slow down the men because she's wearing high heels), she serves no purpose. He point in the plot, I suppose, is the get Danny to give up the names of his diamond merchant connections, thus drawing a direct link from the conflict diamonds to the merchants, who claim not to deal in such merchandise. I applaud the humanitarian message of the film, but Connelly speaks, the film stalls out. The character's blessedly limited screen time isn't enough to ruin the movie, but it does stop it from being flawless.
If you think you can endure the prolonged glimpses pain and human suffering, Blood Diamond is a remarkable effort, and a rare instance when a message movie is successfully merged with raw brutality. In a lot of ways, I'm shocked that a big studio is releasing this film, but bravo for them for putting out this honest and numbing work.
Capone
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+ Expand All
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"Finding thet dymond maht be the only chaunce of gitting his son beck!"
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You're a twat... :)
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Jake... o_O
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"I am NOT your paht-NUH!"
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guh?
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highly recommended, and yeah, very bloody
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ASS TO ASS!!!!
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It's a clear step backward from his solid work in the Departed. And that dialect he's attempting? Not quite.
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I enjoyed the film emensly. I have to agree with Dannychico though, I thought Leo did a much better job in The Departed than in Blood Diamond. However, I really enjoyed his accent. He does keep suprising me after each movie. I pretty much agree with Capone about everything else. I sorta wanted to see more of Solomon in the first half. His son and his storyline was much more interesting than Danny's. And one line I absolutly loved in the film occured when Solomon and Danny came accross the refugee villiage. Solomon started talking to an old man about the villiage and how bad it is all around them. The old man ends with this something like this "Thank god they haven't found oil here......Then we would be in real trouble." Made most of the audience sniker/laugh as me as well. Overall a very good movie, highly recommend.
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Sweater Puppies. Love it
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dealt with conflict diamonds, North Korean meglomania, climate crisis (as caused by giant space laser), and invisible cars so boo-yah! I don't need to see this.
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I'm excited as I'm hoping this will give Michael Sheen a chance to shine in a roll other than Tony Blair. Also, Vosloo is another great character actor who needs a chance to kick some acting chops ass.
I'm sure I'll be dragged to Apocolypto since it's getting 5 star reviews..but this is the puppy I want to see. -
Between Titanic & Departed, you better get used to it, girls & gays!
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That changing accent is weak and fucking hilarious. Are you kidding me? Nice review, but that accent sucks. I thought Leo was superb in THE DEPARTED, though. "Round here it's bling-bang." Get the fuck out of here with that shit.
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Obviously joking, lol.
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Dicap. looks a lot like Oliver Queen in this movie. Spitting image of Green Arrow.
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Dicap. looks a lot like Oliver Queen in this movie. Spitting image of Green Arrow.
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...are friggin' hilarious.
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However, like a large percentage of big studio releases it could lose about 20 minutes and be much stronger. Still, I enjoyed it immensely.
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Was great all around. I want to know how much time this guy spends working on the accents he's carried in both The Departed and this one here. He's simply flawless when it comes to creating a character through speach. And while I agree with many that his best performance is in The Departed, this is no doubt a real break out year for him and I hope he's recognized by the Academy as one of our finest actors working today.
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I really don't understand why they even bother, its inevitably going to sound stupid.
Kudos to leo for trying but even Saffys sound stupid with that accent. -
He was strictly average in THE DEPARTED, and he looks arse-achingly bad in this. He ruins films with his boyish look, and his all-too-eager performances. The sum total of his dialogue in pretty much every film could be reduced to one line... "Look ma, I'm acting!" Everyone seems willing to be surprised by him, and every time he ruins a good film, people are out there getting his back, like he'd done something different, when in actual fact, he was just average in a great movie. CATCH ME IF YOU CAN, GANGS OF NEW YORK, THE DEPARTED, THE AVIATOR, and now this. Why won't he just go away?
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If you really want to see sad, and I mean the real thing rather than a stylized movie version of it, look up "Invisible Children."
Strange that I would find a good review for this movie here, as some other reviews, as well as my own impressions from the trailer, were mostly negative. -
Please proofread next time. I routinely enjoy your reviews a lot, Capone, but this one was difficult to get through.
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"Why won't he just go away?" That's funny, we're wondering that about you.
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DiCaorio is one of those actors like Affleck and Gerard Butler that you just hope good things happen for because they do seem to be trying so hard to put out good acting. Does make you miss River Phoenix though.
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There's only one reason for casting Jennifer Connelly in a film. If she doesn't whip out the goods, she's superflous. Look at the Hulk - You can bet that Ang Lee would have filmed those pinkish globes in extreme closeup, but the shots hit the cutting room floor (or more probably Ang Lees Zen Vision M) to get a kid friendly rating. And the film tanked. At least Sam Raimi knew how important a pair of chesticles are to a superhero film - viz. the wet T shirt scene in Spiderman one. Without the Mojambos being on display Connelly had nothing to add to the Hulk, and sounds the the same here.
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This flick was brutal! I saw it with my girl (who's African), and some parts were SO real that they were truly hard to watch. Especially the child soldier "initiation" sequences. God. I didn't think DiCap and Jugs Connelly held the film back ... in fact, I didn't think DiCap was any better or worse in this than in The Departed (which up to today was my best of '06). See this bloodbath with a purpose if you can handle seeing money and power turn humans (of many colors) into rabid dogs. (damn, I should be a reviewer ... or at least a PLANT!) ^_^
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Get frozen in carbonite because he lost Jabba's shipment?
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Leo did a solid job. Connelly is disturbingly attractive and the message rung true.
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