NMR: Blood Diamond

I had a few people tell me they really enjoyed this and it also received a handful of Oscar nominations, so this was a natural one for me to put on my queue. Overall I enjoyed it, but the critic in me still had some qualms about it.

First, the good; both Leonardo DiCaprio and Djimon Hounsou give stellar performances. Hounsou especially is just fantastic here and you really feel his character's pain throughout the film. I think I actually liked DiCaprio better in The Departed, but I understand why he got the nomination for this film. Jennifer Connelly is fine as the American reporter doing a story on conflict diamonds, but I also felt that the film would have been just as good, if not even better without her character.

I guess my one primary complaint about the film is it's lack of flow. This film wants to be an all-out action film and a political film with a message. While wanting to be both is commendable, Blood Diamond has a difficult time balancing the two. At times, the action comes to a complete halt so we can have a scene where the characters preach the film's message. By trying to balance the two, the sermonizing becomes all the more apparent. It also makes you feel as if you've missed some scenes because one doesn't flow to the next in a logical manner. This is truly a shame too because the action scenes are really amazing in the film. And the message that it's trying to get across is an important one and one that we do not hear a lot about in either film or the news. If only the two aspects could have been blended together better, this would have been an amazing film instead of just a really good film. This movie is good enough to warrant a solid recommendation, but it's also one that I'm not likely to rewatch. Netflix rating: ****