'Da 5 Bloods' A Review

Da 5 Bloods is a war drama from co-writer/director Spike Lee. Four Vietnam War veterans- Paul(Delroy Lindo), Otis(Clarke Peters), Eddie(Norm Lewis), and Melvin(Isiah Whitlock, Jr.)- return to Vietnam to recover the remains of their friend killed in action Norman(played in flashbacks by Chadwick Boseman) as well as gold they buried as part of a failed mission. Before setting off Paul's estranged son David(Jonathan Majors) joins them.

Lindo is the clear lead and gives a complex, conflicted, operatic at times performance. His presence and portrayal is so powerful it, at times, over shadows the rest of the ensemble, which perhaps is intentional and not necessarily a criticism. A big, brash, unapologetic and effective turn that dominates the film. Peters is given some solo screentime, some individual dimension, and his calm, assured presence is always a wonderful to watch. Lewis and Whitlock are given less time and less to do but its pleasing to simply see the group hanging out before the adventure portion really takes off. Majors is great but also isn't really allowed time to develop. The core four play younger versions of themselves in flashbacks which is a bold and effective choice, there is no uncanny valley distraction like in The Irishman.

Tonally the film is incredibly ambitious, not a surprise coming from Lee, it flows and flashes from heist to thriller to drama to melodrama to comedy. The flashbacks are instigated with a change in aspect ratio and match cuts, Lee employs his always effective and singular dolly shots and direct address as well as cut-aways to documentary footage and stills. It's a writhing mercurial film which makes you think and raises questions and doesn't offer a neat or concise experience. And although perhaps some of the cast is underutilized they are all in service to this greater cinematic ambition that the film is which makes it work. Yes, it would have been great to see more Whitlock who is a perceptually underrated performer but that doesn't detract from its success.

Beautiful and furious, slippery and at times difficult Da 5 Bloods maintains Spike Lee's status as a master and his decades spanning relevance.

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