Message misses mark

"Blood Diamond" is the kind of film that leaves me with mixed emotions. Upon initial theatrical viewing last December, I was mostly unimpressed, save for some masterfully done action sequences. After rewatching it on DVD, I'm still impressed with all the action, but at times the subject matter comes off as exploitative of Africa's current conditions, while the heavy message that we should avoid buying diamonds from conflict zones is likely to fall on deaf ears.\n"Diamond" brings together Leonardo DiCaprio and Djimon Hounsou in the anarchic Sierra Leone of 1999. Hounsou, as Solomon Vandy, watches in horror as rebels invade his village and separate him from his family shortly after the films opens; DiCaprio, as Danny Archer, is an ex-mercenary turned diamond smuggler who's merely out to make a buck and escape a continent he has deemed "godforsaken." These men are brought together while in prison and Archer, seeing the opportunity to use Vandy to locate a rare diamond, makes the bold promise he can reunite Vandy with his lost family. The greatest question Vandy must ask himself is: Can this man really be trusted?\nDid DiCaprio and Hounsou really deserve their Oscar nominations for this film? Honestly, no. DiCaprio was leaps and bounds better in "The Departed" -- a film where he actually maintained his accent; Hounsou, who is indeed a very talented actor, screams practically 75 percent of his lines and it gets annoying fast. I also finally realized that director Edward Zwick has a thing for making films where white men are placed within various ethnic groups only to become either their savior, voice of reason or both. Look at "Glory," "The Last Samurai" and now "Blood Diamond," and tell me you don't notice a trend. \nSingle and double-disc editions exist of "Diamond." The single comes with Zwick's insightful commentary as the only extra. The good thing about his commentary tracks is he tries to cram in as much information as possible. The double-disc includes the commentary along with two disposable interviews with DiCaprio and Connelly, an interesting segment on the film's epic "Siege of Freetown" sequence and the music video for Nas' "Shine on 'Em." \nThe big supplement though is the 50-minute documentary, "Blood on the Stone." What follows is the lengthy journey of a diamond from the African mines all the way to its European buyer and into the shop window. The entire process is fascinating, although one viewing is sufficient.\nUltimately, "Blood Diamond" is a passable drama with strong action scenes that could've been trimmed down at least a half-hour. The end message is make sure the next diamond you purchase comes from a conflict-free zone. Yet, when the movie focuses largely on how diamonds from these zones are smuggled across borders only to be mixed in with untainted ones, is the message really all that successful?