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“Blood Diamond” Directed by: Edward Zwick Starring: Leonardo DiCaprio, Djimon  Hounsou,  Jennifer Connelly MPAA  rating:  R  (for  violence) Running time: 139 minutes Best suited for: actionadventure fanatics Least  suited  for:  the  cheery Yuletide crowd

“Blood Diamond” Directed by: Edward Zwick Starring: Leonardo DiCaprio, Djimon Hounsou, Jennifer Connelly MPAA rating: R (for violence) Running time: 139 minutes Best suited for: actionadventure fanatics Least suited for: the cheery Yuletide crowd

It’s official. Africa is the new “it” continent for hard-hitting movies. It’s the last frontier in terms of the human condition— exploitation, manipulation, terror, greed and deceit. It’s a poor continent with rich resources, with evil dictators and still unexplored regions, and the lure of adventure, intrigue and unfettered freedom.

In the last several years alone, films like “Hotel Rwanda,” “Babel,” “The Constant Gardener,” “Catch A Fire,” “The Last King of Scotland”—and now the intense thriller “Blood Diamond”—havegiven us glimpses behind the veil of darkness.

We find here a continent teaming with largely impoverished but good people whose leaders are driven to near madness by all the greed and avarice that the Western world has bestowed upon them. Throw in the fact that Africa’s nearest neighbor, the Middle East, is the powder keg of the moment, the place is obviously right for another kind of exploitation—the Major Motion Picture. Remember “Tears of the Sun?” Not a bad action pix, but you could cut the superiority quotient with a machete.

And while I don’t wish to imply that “Blood Diamond” is excessively exploitive, it does lean a tad heavily on the guilt synapses here and there—but you can take it or leave it as your conscience dictates. Strip away the philosophical overtones and “Blood Diamond” is a pretty decent action flick.

Leonardo DiCaprio’s looking absolutely testosterone-driven, and buzz is he may be up for an Oscar for his role. Djimon Hounsou turns in a nice performance, although his character makes a couple of really stupid moves. “Blood Diamond” is his story, really, although DiCaprio’s got the name recognition and Hollywood’s attention.

DiCaprio plays Rhodesian diamond smuggler Danny Archer, and listening to him speak Krio— a kind of African creole—is awesome. He learns that a local fisherman named Solomon (Hounsou) may have found and hidden an enormous diamond while enslaved by a local warlord named Captain Poison.

The warlords in diamond territory are bad news. As members of Sierra Leone’s Revolutionary United Front (RUF), they raid nearby villages looking for slave labor. They indiscriminately slaughter women and children. And to prevent those considered too small or too weak from working for the competition, they lop off a hand. Considering all the one-handed extras wandering around this film—mostly children—you realize the terror depicted here isn’t exaggerated.

Okay, so here’s my gripe and I know I’m going to catch some grief for it: It’s the slavery thing. Even in “Blood Diamond” we’re reminded that the extravagant lifestyle of the West is predicating Africa’s horrific greed. In “The Constant Gardener,” it was the biomedical industry causing the injustice, selling the folks medication still in the testing stage—based on fact, mind you. In “Syriana” it was big oil and who can trust them? But as a denizen of Western Civilization—as glut-prone and obtuse as we are— good grief, can’t Hollywood give us a little break? I mean we’ve done a few good things for the world.

But I digress. . . .

So, Archer wants Solomon to lead him to the diamond. He’ll split the profits 50/50, and Archer really doesn’t give the man much of a choice. But Solomon wants Archer to find his family in return, and to help his son escape the clutches of Captain Poison.

All the while you know Archer’s intent isn’t exactly honorable. He’s not exactly a nice guy, this Danny Archer. He does save Solomon’s life here and there— and they manage to escape hails of bullets a bit too often to be believable. They eventually hook up with an American journalist (Jennifer Connelly) who tries to convince Archer that he could help her uncover the bad guys and end the bloodbath. She melts him a little— just enough—but makes his life decidedly more dangerous.

Strip away the philosophical chatter and “Blood Diamond” serves very nicely as an action adventure vehicle. Director Edward Zwick often fills the screen with the impressive African continent—stark, lavish, astonishingly beautiful. And “Blood Diamond” manages to peel away yet another layer of The Dark Continent for those who wish to see it.

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