“Da Bloods Don’t Die, We Multiply”
Da 5 Bloods (2020) tells the story of five African American soldiers who fought during the Vietnam war to return to Vietnam to find there leaders remains and also the gold they hid all those years ago.
Directed By Spike Lee (BlacKkKlansman, Malcom X) and Written By Danny Bilson & Paul De Mao, I must say I was happily surprised with how the film turned out with its trailer being a bit neutral and not giving too much away. Releasing on Netflix, the film flows well and has a strong ensemble cast that really propels this film forward and makes you care for each of the characters.
The Film...
The film on a whole is very poignant and heartfelt, teaching us along the way vital moments in black history that should be mandatory in all educational curriculums all around the world. This film is no except and it couldn’t have released at a more pivotal time in the world and it could help educate those that might have different takes on the world or even help those that want to delve deeper into black history. It most certainly has directed me where to educate myself and help change the world for the better.
Spike Lee is known for taking bold and interesting shots and Da 5 Bloods is no different, taking some historical shots from Apocalypse Now (1979) and adding to them with Spike’s own interesting takes. One shot in particular is a monologue involving Delroy Lindo’s character Paul in which he addresses the camera face on and delivers an empowering and motivational piece whilst waking through the jungle.
The film does however suffer from some unfortunate editing which is quite obvious in many places which in turn distracts you and makes the films pace slow and in parts uninteresting. Another downfall is the character development which isn’t totally bad as you do feel for the characters by the end but for me I couldn’t remember there names and got confused as to who was who.
The Cast...
Da 5 Blood’s cast are all very good in there own ways. We have Isiah Whitlock Jr playing Melvin, Norm Lewis playing Eddie, Clarke Peters playing Otis and Chadwick Boseman playing Stormin’Norman and finally Delroy Lindo playing Paul. We also have Jonathan Majors playing Paul’s son David.
Don’t expect to see much of Boseman like the trailer depicts as he is barely in the film. This for me worked well as his character is always there throughout the film regardless of how much screen time he gets.
I think for me the performance that really stood out was Delroy Lindo. Giving us a career best and some powerful and empowering words that will empower many people viewing this movie. He doesn’t miss a beat and really powers us through the film with some heart and sadness. Moment that really stuck with me is a confrontation between him and a Vietnamese man when Paul won’t buy a chicken from him. The backlash of words are blunt and strong and really makes you feel a great sadness for Paul and the pain he has carried with him for many years after the Vietnamese war.
To Conclude....
Da 5 Bloods (2020) is a pivotal and poignant film that couldn’t be more relevant for today’s society and Spike Lee has once again struck gold (literally) by educating us all on black history with a deep and meaningful movie that is sure to strike the hearts of many who watch it.
Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5
Da 5 Blood‘s (2020) is available now on Netflix worldwide and I urge you all to watch it this weekend and educate yourselves on black history.