The Bus

Just got back from this. The movie is a lot, lot better than the previews make it seem. It's a decent movie but sometimes it can't decide if its an actiony romp or a political message movie. It could've been a lot better had about 20 minutes been cut, but I honestly don't know where.

DiCaprio's accent is not that bad, and the hated "bling-bang" line actually makes sense when put in context.



There seems to be a lack of good adult fare in theatres now, which is surprising considering it's late fall.

Compared with this weekend's other debut, Apocalypto, this movie lacks the gripping, menace of the former and the director doesn't have command over deft execution. It's still better than Zwick's other recent movie, The Last Samurai.

I'd give it a B+ for interesting visuals and a good performance for the cast. I heard this movie being described as an incredibly entertaining yet predictable movie and I have to agree. Give it a chance.

JPRaup

I forgot to mention how beautiful the visuals are, some of the scenes are just breathtaking

Digital Groove

haha!

Exactly my thoughts. What a horrible piece of dialogue.

JPRaup

It isn't as stupid as it sounds in the trailer. The trailer looked HORRID when i saw it, but the movie is much better

maingon

you would skip a movie over one line of dialogue?

MasterCXtreme

Saw it last night, loved it. DiCaprio does another excellent job... and no the accent wasn't annoying as it seems in the trailer. Great story, and definitley worth catching.
8.5/10

iggystar

Then they need to reedit that trailer because the accent turns me off from seeing the movie entirely.

B.A.

Pretty good film. ***1/2 out of *****.

DiCaprio is excellent throughout and helps overcome Hounsou's over-acting in a few scenes. This also might be the best that Jennifer Connelly has ever looked.

Geofferson

I caught this movie last week and liked it quite a bit -- better than expected.

As for Connelly, I agree with you. She looked different than she does in other movies (hair & eyebrows that I noticed). She looked fantastic though.

matome

Saw it over the weekend as well and also enjoyed it pretty much. A little longer than it needed to and a little melodramatic at some points, but the performances were good. A lot more action than I was expecting, to be sure.

dpz301

agree, she did look really good.

i really enjoyed this movie overall. interesting to see that e! was saying that leo would get a nod for best supporting actor but everything else i had heard was he would get a best actor nod.

should be interesting what special features are on the dvd.

Tarantino

Saw it, loved it.

I'm tired of people criticizing the accent - it's spot on.

= J

BlueCC

I like this movie. I think of it as a more serious Romancing the Stone.

hardercore

She looked gorgeous in Little Children, too, but only had a small role. Definately one of my favourite actresses. I'm eagerly awaiting the release of this in New Zealand (Jan. 18), and will definately catch it. From what I can tell from the trailer, Leo's South African accent is damn near perfect, and as a rugby fan having to sit through a lot of South African commentary when my teams are playing over there, I've been exposed to this accent nearly all my life.

maingon

This was an excellent movie, Seen it tonight after a couple day classes. I really enjoyed it. Jennifer Connelly looked amazing in it. I am suprised this is doing bigger business. This is an excellent movie

hardercore

Caught this one today. I thought it was excellent, and highly critically underrated. Sure, it was a little "hollywood" in it's presentation but if that's what it takes to get a message like this out to the masses, then so be it. Great performances (Hounsou overdoing it a bit, Leo a standaout and Connelly superb and mesmerisingly beautiful - I think I'm in love with her!), stunning photography (seems director Zwick has a knack at this - The Last Samurai was also gorgeous) and just the right amount of action laced throughout. Some of the final moments were truly moving.

Kal-El

^ co-sign. Saw it last week but was too lazy to search for the thread.

Michael T Hudson

Just saw it as well. I think Leo did a great job. The accent just seemed a little off in the trailer.

Daytripper

So weird you said this. When I saw the trailer for it early last Fall, I just laughed and said to myself "Who does Leo think he is trying to pull off a British accent". Then year end 10 best lists rolled around, and awards shows/nominations, and he was on most. So I finally got around to seeing the film, just today. Not only was it a great film, but he nailed the performance AND accent IMO. Hounsou was Hounsou. He's a terrific actor and pretty much the same in everything. It was also definitely an award worthy performance. Last, I agree with everyone here, Connelly has NEVER looked better. She absolutely lights up, no, FIRES up the screen.

atari2600

exactly. the line works in the movie.

get over the bling bang stuff fellas. it works and doesnt ruin the movie.

The Antipodean

This is a good if not quite excellent movie - like others have said, too long, and a little "Hollywood" especially towards the end. Great performances all around, though. I have to admit my favorite movie about "modern" Africa is still "Hotel Rwanda" but this one also does a good job showing the horrible cesspool life has become there for far too many people.

eXcentris

Watched this last night. Good film, but I expected better based on the comments/reviews I'd read. Aside from the criticism already expressed here (too long, some cheesy dialogue, Hounsou's overacting), the biggest problem with this film is that it tried to tackle too many issues (diamond trade, child soldiers, refugee situation, etc...) to be able to offer a cohesive background to the story. I constantly felt that the pacing was interrupted by the need to include specific scenes which felt forced and/or staged. Mind you, I'm quite familar with those issues, and this probably woudn't bother the average moviegoer.

DoubleDownAgain

I thought it was predictable and rather boring. While it was well crafted I thought in the end it wasn't anything special and worse not very entertaining.

Corvin

I'm kind of with Double Down. Leo was fun to watch, though. I've really come to like him as an actor.