Blood Diamond

Blood Diamond is a story that is at once obvious. There is nothing special about it, nothing different. At its heart, Blood Diamond is a simple story that tries to tell the story of a single diamond, perhaps the largest pink diamond ever found, and how two man, a South African mercenary Danny Archer and a local fisherman Soloman Vandy, are forced to work together to secure their future. From the onset, one can see many parallels between Blood Diamond and similar stories regarding precious jewels of value being found, such as the novel The Pearl. Just as in Steinback's story, the finding of a priceless jewel is both a blessing and a sin, as sacrifices must be made to cash in the diamond. This is perhaps the greatest appeal of Blood Diamond, the story of what these two man see in the diamond, what it means to them. The diamond is not something meant to be part of a ring or some spectacular setpiece - it is their future, a second chance in life for Archer and a reunion with his family for Vandy.

The plot has good mixes between those of action sequences and conversation between the characters, which are usually put to good use to comment on various aspects of the ugly side of the diamond business. However, the story does tend to be very positive in nature, which may not reflect the real world well. Archer, played by Leonardo DiCaprio, undergoes a simple transformation for the better, as is expected of his character. Everything is fairly cliche here, as there are little surprises. What the film has going for it is that the viewer is still compelled to see the ending. This is perhaps the highest compliment a movie can receive.

There is a romantic element introduced in the film between Archer and a journalist. This part I found very superficial, as her character did not appear to be necessary to the plot. However, it does work out in the end when she returns to England and Archer is still in Africa and the two converses on a satellite phone. This part is quite sappy, but I enjoyed it nonetheless, as by this part I had started to care about the fate of Archer. What an appropriate title "Blood Diamond" is.

Pros: Gets you emotionally attached to the characters; some good action scenes to break the monotony
Cons: You can probably guess how the story will go fairly early on.
Conclusion: Makes you wonder where those diamonds really come from...
Score: 3.5/5