Spike Lee. Da 5 Bloods. Just following a month of extremely violent racial tension in the US-of-A that vibrated all around the world – yeah, I’d love to talk about it. Let’s try not to piss off a single individual diving into this one. Sheeeeeeeeeet!
Da 5 Bloods revolves around four aging Vietnam War Vets, going back to Vietnam to find treasure they buried during their time of deployment, and reflect on their fifth buddy who never made it home. Otis (Clarke Peters) makes the arrangements to begin their trail, whilst Paul (Delroy Lindo) and his son David (Jonathan Majors) spearhead the negotiations and operation. Eddie (Norm Lewis) and Melvin (Isiah Whitlock Jr.) make up the other members of the quartet, but not much is really known about any of these men, or their lives back home, accept that the others believe Eddie is rich. What follows is an exploration of how the black American soldier was treated differently to the white G.I.’s of the American army, and how it relates to the political and racial tension that has permeated the American streets for decades too long. Spike Lee, the director of Da 5 Bloods, is also the director behind the highly successful film, BlackKklansmen from a few years ago, along with a string of African American driven movies dating back to the 1980s. I am very ashamed to say that I still haven’t seen Do the Right Thing, but it is high on my wish list.
When this movie first started, it felt like Last Vegas for black people – four old buddies, coming together for a fun holiday, that just so happens to be in the land where they were once connected by war. You could tell there was going to be a shameless message on black adversity thrown in, but it was initially presented eloquently, in natural conversation between old friends, and so long as it didn’t become hot air, it was going to prove insightful to learn the perspectives of these experienced men. Sadly, I don’t know as much about the Vietnam War as I’d like to – how the conflict arose, how the USA got involved, the attitudes of the surviving soldiers nowadays – and I was looking to see what this movie might teach me. But then we got ourselves a gold quest, and that leads to a second half that breaks down for me. I think Spike Lee bites off more than he can chew. On top of that, subtly is not his strong suit. Da 5 Bloods becomes overt, preoccupied with jumbled symbolism, and goes on for about half an hour too long.
I don’t know what I’m supposed to feel about the post-traumatic-stress stricken Paul, with his MAGA hat on, putting up his fist to fight the power, while Marvin Gaye is singing about how love is the answer over hate. I also doubt I’d be so forgiving of my Daddy if he went from calling me a burden since birth to telling me how much he loves me, and back and forth more than once – I’m confused as to how the movie wants us to view Paul at the end, but he’s no hero of mine. I actually laughed when Desroche (Jean Reno) met his end; David recognises he’s never shot a gun before but makes a headshot from thirty metres away on his first try – it probably wouldn’t have been so funny if it wasn’t perhaps the sixth plot point I’d seen coming about five seconds before it happened. The brothers build up the fifth Blood, the larger-than-life figure Stormin’ Norman (Chadwick Boseman), taken too early by an unjust war effort, but then there’s hardly any outcry of emotion when one of their fellow brothers dies in front of them in the present. The brothers wouldn’t be back in Vietnam and losing more friends if it wasn’t for the war effort; how do they not make that connection? And I don’t understand how the men can both be proud of Uncle Sam, and adamant that America will care if they go missing, but feel marginalised in their own country; I’m sure it’s possible, but I needed an explanation. How can Paul want to make America great ‘again’, but hold the opinion that America has always been a racist place? I guess his friends can’t make sense of that either, and it may come down to Paul’s disjointed frame of mind. But thank God for ‘Make America Great Again’; it seems like the easiest way for a movie to shout “I’m the villain!” or “I’m doing something bad!” these days. The shallow use of political representation actually infuriated me in The First Purge, but in Da 5 Bloods there’s just no nuance to it at all – for what other purpose would a French patriot put on a MAGA hat and toss it away five minutes later?
All things being equal, the good stuff is really good. The movie has a definite energy, particularly when the Bloods all riff. The joy regarding finding the gold and having to dig up each bar one by one creates a scene that will definitely be remembered as one of the year’s finest. The rich colours in cinematography never let this movie down, nor does the score. There’s also genuine tension when it comes to David stepping on a landmine and needing to be rescued by the explosion-clearing crew and Bloods on rope. I loved the scenes back in time, where Stormin’ Norman pops up, and the camera shrinks back to reflect an earlier time in cinema – it’s probably going to sound stupid, but I recalled the happiness I felt when the movie did the same thing in Oz: The Great and Powerful and I wonder why I haven’t come across that technique more often. Here, the change in screen dimension helped me get into the mindset of something older and grittier, like M*A*S*H, instead of a cleaner Hollywood movie from today’s perspective, like Tropic Thunder. (Yeah, I’m revealing I haven’t seen enough movies based on the Vietnam War, aren’t I? – Born on the Fourth of July, Apocalypse Now; what am I doing with my life?). I came around to the decision to not cast younger actors in the flashback scenes and chase fuller realism, but it’s not the reign I would have pulled. The four main men are quality actors and I’m so glad to see them with an opportunity to put their wares on show in a full-length feature – especially Clarke Peters, my black Commissioner Gordan from The Wire, and other television roles. Although not always focused, there’s no doubt Spike Less can assemble a team to shoot the shit out of a ‘joint’; I just wish the result was more refined.
I feel Da 5 Bloods had the making of something wholly powerful. It’s clear that Spike Lee and screenwriter Kevin Willmott know their history, and have a strong instinct for the hurt in the black community. Hell, I’m sure I’m ignorant to the cause and solution to America’s race problem, I’ll easily admit it, but this movie is not enough to educate me or change my evaluations, which I think it was trying to do. I love getting my evaluations changed – The Hate U Give, Dave Chappelle’s voice on George Floyd or even Taylor Swift’s “The Man” spoke to me of minds on the other side. But that screaming voice of injustice can also be misguided or unclear; I bet it’s not easy to make a movie channelling the anger of an unheard people over generations. I love the attempt. I appreciate the thoughts provoked and elements of the result.
3.5
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