Blood Diamond

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Blood Diamond

R

Released Dec 8, 2006

2h 18m

Adventure

Drama

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Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

64%

Tomatometer

216 Reviews

90%

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250,000+ Ratings

As civil war rages through 1990s Sierra Leone, two men, a white South African mercenary (Leonardo DiCaprio) and a black Mende fisherman (Djimon Hounsou), become joined in a common quest to recover a rare gem that has the power to transform their lives. With the help of an American journalist (Jennifer Connelly), the men embark on a hazardous trek through rebel territory to achieve their goal.

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Critics Consensus

Blood Diamond overcomes poor storytelling with its biting commentary and fine performances.

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David Edelstein

New York Magazine/Vulture

Both excitingly well made and dispiritingly formulaic.

Jun 29, 2007

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Brian Tallerico

UGO

It's a film about exploitation that sometimes feels like it IS exploitation and is only going to leave you frustrated.

Mar 24, 2007

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Mark Holcomb

Time Out

Blood Diamond has all the cinematic punch of a lengthy Nation article.

Rated: 2/6

Feb 3, 2007

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Richard Crouse

Richard Crouse

Each of the lead actors does good work here - although Jennifer Connolly's war correspondent must to have an unseen hairdresser traveling with he r- but in regard to the social and political content, Zwick seems to have bitten off more than he could chew.

Rated: 3/5

Jan 31, 2021

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Mike Massie

Gone With The Twins

Though exhibiting plenty of potential with its production value, the film ultimately suffers from a lack of focus and indecisive direction.

Rated: 6/10

Nov 15, 2020

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David Lamble

Bay Area Reporter

Besides an inadequate love machine, the movie's also missing a proper villain.

May 20, 2020

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Shane O

While there is good acting . This film does little for me . The relationship between Leo and connelly feels forced and it only purpose is to set up and emotional ending, which for me doesn’t land.

Rated 2 out of 5 stars

03/16/25

Full Review

Blu B

All Time Classic. Phenominal performances across the board. Where there is some shortcomings in the first half it they make up for in character depth and development with rich layered characters caught in a terrible situation while also a opportunistic one. DiCaprio's character grew on me as things went on and he opened up more and was less a soldier of fortune and more of a man who got dealt a bad hand in life. Connelly is really good and has great chemistry with DiCaprio too. The villians are really good too. While not a lot of depth the brutality is what makes them memorable and stand out. The direction is solid, really good cinematography, and excellent special effects. Tons of practical effects and the end battle is first rate. This does a great job immersing you in the world of Blood Diamond trades and the war/fallout of it. This has multiple brutal scenes in it as well especially anything with the child soldiers. The one shortcoming is the battles and violent scenes kind of come out of nowhere at times and if there is one area this struggles is trying to balance the overall conflict with the diamond story/ 3 characters. But it does a great job overall. It makes the choice to really commit in the second half to the characters and the conflict takes a backseat which is what sends this over the top despite the shortcomings. The second half is filled with character drama, the best action scene, and a satisfying moving ending for all three characters. The editing and pacing overall thanks to that is excellent. The music is really good too though it can be a bit subdued and not very catchy on it's own but well used. This can be a bit on the nose at first too with it's blood diamond message but it becomes so much more subdued when the characters take over in the second half. Everyone should give this a try once.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

03/16/25

Full Review

Richard P

I absolutely love this film.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

03/10/25

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Darwin N

He's not South African............................ he is Rhodesian

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

03/06/25

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jess w

dicaprio’s role was almost unnecessary

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

02/15/25

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Tommy B

This film is so good. The acting was amazing and the story is very emotional. This is an absolute must watch film.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

02/12/25

Full Review

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Edward Zwick

Director

Leonardo DiCaprio

Danny Archer

Jennifer Connelly

Maddy Bowen

Djimon Hounsou

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Synopsis

As civil war rages through 1990s Sierra Leone, two men, a white South African mercenary (Leonardo DiCaprio) and a black Mende fisherman (Djimon Hounsou), become joined in a common quest to recover a rare gem that has the power to transform their lives. With the help of an American journalist (Jennifer Connelly), the men embark on a hazardous trek through rebel territory to achieve their goal.

Director: Edward Zwick
Producer: Edward Zwick, Marshall Herskovitz, Paula Weinstein, Graham King
Screenwriter: Charles Leavitt, Marshall Herskovitz, Edward Zwick, C. Gaby Mitchell
Distributor: Warner Bros.
Production Co: Virtual Studios, Warner Bros., Spring Creek Productions, Bedford Falls Productions
Rating: R (Strong Violence|Language)
Genre: Adventure, Drama
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Dec 8, 2006, Wide
Release Date (Streaming): Nov 30, 2008
Box Office (Gross USA): $57.4M
Runtime: 2h 18m
Sound Mix: Dolby SRD, DTS, SDDS
Aspect Ratio: Scope (2.35:1)

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