Da 5 Bloods

Released in 2020 on Netflix, Da 5 Bloods is Spike Lee's latest film and his first on the streaming service while one of the last films from late Chadwick Boseman. Having won an Oscar for BlacKkKlansman that released in 2018, I went into this with high expectations as that film has only grown in favour since I wrote about it and is definitely one of the best from the year. It was a great blend of drama and comedy that made for a very engaging experience, and showed the director at his best.

Da 5 Bloods follows four African-American veterans who served in the Vietnam War return to collect the bones of their fallen commander (played in flashbacks by Boseman), and also find the wreckage of a US plane that contained a chest of gold. Delroy Lindo, Clarke Peters, Norm Lewis and Isiah Whitlock Jr. star as the vets going through the surreal experience returning to Vietnam in the 21st century where much has changed but Lindo's Paul is still recovering from his time there, and also from the death of their leader whom they all shared a deep bond with. 

Lee's direction is one of energy, passion and just hard to compare against with other directors. With the right script he can make BlacKkKlansman but there's unfortunately something amiss with Da 5 Bloods that saw it meet a mixed reception with critics and viewers alike. The script went through several hands, including real-life veteran Oliver Stone, before reaching Lee and this suffers from trying to be too many films at once. There's an interesting idea about veterans returning to where they fought and not all wounds have healed, another about the experience faced by African-American soldiers during the war but then we also have a bombastic adventure thrown into the mix as well as a few other narrative choices which undid a rather strong first act.

The film is redeemed by strong performances from Lindo and Boseman, plus a great score and visuals partly supplied by the Vietnamese scenery. However, if you weren't a fan of BKK or like politics in your films, which Lee is never in short supply of, then this won't be for you. Da 5 Bloods set itself out as a 'hangout' film of sorts for the first hour and seeing the four actors together is where this shines, and if this removed the 'Rambo' adventure aspects then we might have a better film. 

Running way over two hours, this needed a tighter script to help focus the story. After the first opening hour, the tone shifts all over the place and is a real drop in performance from Lee causing the overall film to suffer. There's a good idea in here but I can only recommend Da 5 Bloods to diehard fans of the director. For everyone else, this'll be a overlong and disjointed experience from Netflix which misses more than it hits when it comes to films.