A new Spike Lee
joint we can all get high on has arrived! This time, it’s a Netflix Original,
just in time as the Black Lives Matter movement is at its peak in the United
States – the political and social equivalent of stepping on some long-buried
landmines just waiting to blow up.
Da 5 Bloods introduces us to four Black Vietnam War veterans: Paul
(Delroy Lindo), Otis (Clarke Peters), Melvin (Isiah Whitlock Jr.) and Eddie (Norm Davis), who just arrived back in present-day
Vietnam to retrieve stacks of gold bars they buried during the war and to bring
home the remains of their fallen brother Norman (Chadwick Boseman). They are
soon joined by Paul’s son David (Jonathan
Majors), who volunteered to help the pack for a sizeable share of the gold,
and their journey takes a darker turn when things don’t go according to plan in
the revisited Vietnamese jungle.
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| From Left: Isiah Whitlock Jr., Norm Davis, Clarke Peters, Delroy Lindo and Jonathan Majors |
The story is as simple as it gets, and one that could be
mistaken more for a cheesy Rambo
rip-off action movie than Apocalypse Now
on paper. The group looks for their gold and gets lost in the dangers of the jungle,
while being chased by one-dimensional, white coat-wearing, money-motivated,
Bond villain-type Desroche (Jean Reno).
However, it is not the movie’s plot at the forefront of this film’s intentions,
but musings and insights on Black soldiers’ involvement in the Vietnam War as
well as some points regarding racism in America told through the perspectives
of our four supposed heroes – which we all get through seemingly thrown
together, albeit very well-written, conversations on their way and during their
jungle adventure, with school-type visual aids to really drive the point home.
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| Chadwick Boseman as Norman |
Some viewers may find Spike Lee’s visual and artistic choices
in this film a bit jarring and a bit unfocused, while many may also find the
experience quite cinematically unique. A noteworthy detail is the shift in tone
for the war flashbacks, including a grainier visual look and a different aspect
ratio, which seems to emulate an old Hollywood-ized, romanticized version of
the war, as opposed to the awkward gunfights presented later on in the film.
What makes this film an absolute must-watch are the main
ensemble’s phenomenal performances, led by Delroy Lindo’s PTSD- and
guilt-ridden Paul. All the other leads had great moments, with Clarke Peters’
Otis and Jonathan Majors’ David obviously getting more of the spotlight than
the rest, it is Lindo’s portrayal that shines all throughout the film and
created unforgettable moments, including a fourth-wall breaking monologue that
packs the film’s heaviest artillery.
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| Delroy Lindo's performance as Paul is an absolute must-watch |
However, the film’s greatest strength – the main cast’s
incredible acting – also exposed its greatest flaw, which stems from the
writing and portrayal of its Vietnamese characters and the aforementioned main
villain. Lindo and company’s performances and the way their characters were
written were so powerful and so nuanced that it just highlighted how awkward
the Vietnamese actors (particularly Lam
Nguyen’s Quan and Le Y Lan’s
Tien) came across. These totally out-of-place performances feels like they may
have been due to under-directed acting and/or undercooked character writing.
Despite this glaring and distracting flaw, Da 5 Bloods is
still a true gem, with a relentless 2-hour-and-a-half runtime that is
interesting and insightful all throughout.
RATING: 3.75/5 Bag
of Chips