An ex-mercenary turned smuggler. A Mende fisherman. Amid the explosive civil war overtaking 1999 Sierra Leone, these men join for two desperate missions: recovering a rare pink diamond of immense value and rescuing the fisherman's son, conscripted as a child soldier into the brutal rebel forces ripping a swath of torture and bloodshed countrywide.
Nominated for 5 Oscars. 8 wins & 32 nominations total
Top Critics Reviews
fresh:
[Director Zwick] is craftsman enough that the pace never slackens, the chase scenes thrill, and the battle scenes sicken. And if it makes viewers think twice about buying their sweethearts that hard-won hunk of ice for Christmas, so much the better.
– Dana Stevens,
Slate,
8 Dec 2006
fresh:
It succeeds well at what it sets out to do: wrapping a worthy message in a compelling story.
– Moira MacDonald,
Seattle Times,
8 Dec 2006
rotten:
It doesn't entirely evade the issue at its core - conflict diamonds - in favour of pure action by way of guns and planes, thrills and spills; but it hardly embraces the subject fully either.
– Dave Calhoun,
Time Out,
25 Jan 2007
rotten:
Blood Diamond has all the cinematic punch of a lengthy Nation article.
– Mark Holcomb,
Time Out New York,
3 Feb 2007
fresh:
Both excitingly well made and dispiritingly formulaic.