Spike Lee's films have an incredibly wild and relevant tendency to be released during the middle of something world-changing. His new Netflix film Da 5 Bloods is no exception and while the struggles of black people around the world have been going on for ages, his films have always done a stupendous job of highlighting them in such a stylish manner. This movie is a very solid addition to his politically-fueled filmography and while I did not find it as effective as everyone else apparently has, there is still so much to love about this story. From the performances to Lee's direction to the surprisingly graphic content, every little detail of this movie is brought together in the most "Spike Lee" way that I could have ever imagined. Black lives matter and they always have and the eerie extent to which this film's themes relate to events escalating in just the past few weeks is nothing short of extraordinary.
Four black veterans Paul (Delroy Lindo), Otis (Clarke Peters), Eddie (Norm Lewis), and Melvin (Isiah Whitlock Jr.) reunite to travel back to the old warzone in the Asian country of Vietnam. While they search for the remains of their old squad leader Norman (Chadwick Boseman), they also keep their eyes out for a stash of gold that he had buried as they try to survive the terrain that they had once occupied. If anyone had told me that Spike Lee was going to make a film *slightly* about the Vietnam War, I never would have guessed that it would have been a story like this. Lee's political style is more prevalent than ever throughout this movie and he was really not trying to be subtle at all. He has absolutely no reason to, which is a unique approach, and I have every ounce of respect for him utilizing his platform to bring awareness to people of color through history that have almost been forgotten. The main theme of this film is how the treatment of black people, despite having fought alongside white people for the United States, really has not changed since then. Using his typical real-life footage of organizations and the ideals that they fight for was a fantastic tactic to line up with the narrative of the actual plot. I also really enjoyed, as strange as it sounds, how graphic this film was. Da 5 Bloods is a much more violent and bloody film that I would have expected from Lee but contains everything that I would have expected from a story that he wants to be told. I may have had to look away from the gore at times but the alignment of the violence to really emphasize what happened during the war was fantastic. And it does a great job of making the audience realize that if they can't handle what they are seeing on screen, then they really will not be able to stomach the reality of life for black people.
The performances from the entire main cast were also excellent and in particular, Delroy Lindo stole this film. Playing a black, conservative with clashing political views might have been difficult for him, but he absolutely bodied his characters' devolution. Lee's direction is as solid as it ever has been throughout Da 5 Bloods but at times, it felt like more of a documentary bleeding into a narrative. The constant cutting to images of people or events throughout history that had occurred did not do much but take me out of the story. I know how blatant Lee's style can often be, but because of this creative choice, I consistently felt like a lot of it was forced. Much of the dialogue felt cheesy and some of the characters felt sidelined more than others. I guess this film's usage of footage and real-life stories interspersed into the plot just did not work as well as I would have hoped. I personally find Lee's previous outing BlacKkKlansman to be a much more effective study on how race relations decades ago have not changed, despite what the media and politics might tell you. BlacKkKlansman was much more subtle with its message and because of the gradually building tension, the ending hit that much harder. I was much more invested into the actual plot of Lee's fantastic 2018 film and because of that, the footage of the modern-day KKK and Trump was the greatest smack in the face an audience could get. I never felt that with Da 5 Bloods and instead just felt like I was following around a group of friends that were met with bursts of violence and strange plot decisions. I was also a bit disappointed in Newton Thomas Sigel's cinematography. I don't know if it was just me, but the staging of this film felt really awkward and it was almost shot like a pure, ensemble comedy. I never really connected with his camera work and while there are some intense one-takes that work extremely well, the rest just felt a bit lazy.
Da 5 Bloods may not be my favorite of Lee's movies and not even the most effective but his intentions are quite clear and he obviously sticks with the theme of his life's work. Every film of his that I have seen is so radically different while still feeling that touch of his talent pulsing through every scene. I will always support and watch his incredible films, as his prowess over his career only continues to grow and I believe that he is the greatest filmmaking leader we have today who is willing to push the boundaries of what could be considered taboo to talk about. And all the better for him.
My Rating: ★★★½
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