Da 5 Bloods

Name: Da 5 Bloods
Genre: Adventure, Drama, War
Released: June 12, 2020
Duration: 154 min
Rating: 82
Cast: Chadwick Boseman, Clarke Peters, Delroy Lindo, Giancarlo Esposito, Isiah Whitlock Jr

2020

METASCORE

Universal acclaim based on 49 Critic Reviews

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USER SCORE

Mixed or average reviews based on 318 Ratings

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5.7

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5.7	User Score Mixed or average reviews based on 318 Ratings

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Da 5 Bloods

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Movie Details & Credits

Netflix | Release Date (Streaming): June 12, 2020 | R

Starring: Chadwick Boseman, Clarke Peters, Delroy Lindo, Giancarlo Esposito, Isiah Whitlock Jr, Jasper Pääkkönen, Jean Reno, Johnny Nguyen, Jonathan Majors, Mélanie Thierry, Norm Lewis, Paul Walter Hauser, Thanh Van Ngo, Y. Lan

Movie Facts:

Named best film of 2020 by the National Board of Review. More awards and nominations...

Summary: Four African-American Vets — Paul (Delroy Lindo), Otis (Clarke Peters), Eddie (Norm Lewis), and Melvin (Isiah Whitlock, Jr.) — return to Vietnam. Searching for the remains of their fallen Squad Leader (Chadwick Boseman) and the promise of buried treasure, our heroes, joined by Paul's concerned son (Jonathan Majors), battle forces of Man andFour African-American Vets — Paul (Delroy Lindo), Otis (Clarke Peters), Eddie (Norm Lewis), and Melvin (Isiah Whitlock, Jr.) — return to Vietnam. Searching for the remains of their fallen Squad Leader (Chadwick Boseman) and the promise of buried treasure, our heroes, joined by Paul's concerned son (Jonathan Majors), battle forces of Man and Nature — while confronted by the lasting ravages of The Immorality of The Vietnam War. [Netflix]… Expand

Director: Spike Lee

Genre(s): Adventure, Drama, War

Rating: R

Runtime: 154 min

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Metascore

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Critic Reviews

100

Richard Brody

Jul 7, 2020

The teeming profusion of events that Lee dramatizes is inseparable from the historiography that he foregrounds throughout. Both are brought to life with an intricately varied texture of dialogue and gesture, purpose and spirit—a crucial aspect of Lee’s career-long artistry that, here, reaches new heights, thanks to an extraordinary cast of actors who blend fervor and nuance, and whom Lee directs with manifest inspiration. Read full review

100

Bilge Ebiri

Jun 10, 2020

It is one of the greatest films Spike Lee has ever made. Read full review

Anthony Lane

Jun 15, 2020

In short, Lee’s new movie — like the great “BlacKkKlansman” (2018) — is a history lesson wrapped in an adventure, the caveat being that history is never done with us, and that we struggle to shrug it off our backs. Read full review

David Rooney

Jun 10, 2020

Even if Da 5 Bloods at times seems to be morphing into an entirely different movie, its playfulness, as much as its raw power, keeps you glued. Read full review

Steve Pond

Jun 10, 2020

The in-country trek at the heart of the film is pretty routine by Lee’s standards; it’s the way he tells that story, the asides and the history lessons and the cutaways and the tricks that have become the director’s singular cinematic vocabulary, that make it a must-see in these stormy times. Read full review

Barry Hertz

Jun 10, 2020

It is messy, it is incendiary, and it is frustrating. It may not be what you wanted or were promised by the slick and smooth marketing materials provided by Netflix, the streaming giant that is partnering with Lee here for the first time. But Da 5 Bloods is what you need. Read full review

Mick LaSalle

Jun 10, 2020

In the end, Da 5 Bloods feels like a clumsy hybrid of two fine impulses — to make a heist movie set in Vietnam, and to make a statement about race in 2020. Alas, each intention doesn’t serve the other, and so both go unrealized. Read full review

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User Reviews

arthurbarr

Jun 12, 2020

Spike Lee did it again! As good as Blackkklasman! His Oscar for best director is comming, thank you, Netflix!

10 of 22 users found this helpful1012

IndianaParkWars

Jan 29, 2021

A 2020 Masterpiece of Cinema, Lee Doesn't Disappoint
12/12
This is the second film on my MLK Day antiracism watchlist. Like I mentioned, Freedom Writers was an outer circle antiracism film since it has a white savior storyline, but this film falls into the inner circle of antiracism,A 2020 Masterpiece of Cinema, Lee Doesn't Disappoint
12/12
This is the second film on my MLK Day antiracism watchlist. Like I mentioned, Freedom Writers was an outer circle antiracism film since it has a white savior storyline, but this film falls into the inner circle of antiracism, especially since it is a Black starring, Black-written, Black-produced, and Black-directed film that is made for black people and about black people.
Many antiracist films can fall flat when they are clearly written for white people to educate them on racism. Da 5 Bloods does not do that. It tackles the idea of race in many different ways, whether it's the treatment of Black people in the 70's and during Vietnam, between Black people and Vietnamese people, about what it means to be Black and celebrate it, and how it can tie history into the present. Lee has a masterful way of educating us on history. This film focuses on the Vietnam War but also greatly mentions MLK, Crispus Attucks, Angela Davis, Marvin Gaye, Black Lives Matter, and so on.
But anyway, this movie is a masterpiece of cinema, as I would expect from Spike Lee. It's a Spike Lee Joint 100% with all of his trademarks and psychological makeup of dealing with themes of race, manhood, and trauma. His style is bizarre and creative and breaks the rules of film and challenges viewers to look at things a different way.
Lastly, this was Chadwick Boseman's last film in his lifetime and second-to-last that he starred in. Having died soon after the release and having the movie revolve around the memory of his dead, admirable character, is double depression and absolutely heart wrenching to watch. Rest in Power Boseman.… Expand

0 of 1 users found this helpful01

domsanidiot

Jul 2, 2020

There are a lot of bold choices in this film that may not be everyone's cup of tea. For me, it was entirely successful. The camaraderie of the main cast was undeniable and Delroy, as usual, was really great. I look forward to seeing what awards this one gets nominated for.

3 of 4 users found this helpful31

KeithDow

Jun 26, 2020

There is no more prescient of a time for Spike Lee to put out a film. He’s arguably the world’s most important Black filmmaker and his latest movie, “Da 5 Bloods,” hits screens at a time when race relations in America are at their most pivotal point since the civil rights era.

Lee’s filmsThere is no more prescient of a time for Spike Lee to put out a film. He’s arguably the world’s most important Black filmmaker and his latest movie, “Da 5 Bloods,” hits screens at a time when race relations in America are at their most pivotal point since the civil rights era.

Lee’s films nearly exclusively center on race. To this day his debut feature film, “Do the Right Thing,” is not only dissected, discussed, and analyzed everywhere from the streets to academia for its filmmaking prowess, but also for the clarity and depth of what the film has to say about the Black experience in America.

Not stopping there, Lee set his sights on the life and times of Malcolm X, turning out a three-and-a-half hour epic that lays bare the noxious pretense of equality in America that existed during Malcolm X’s lifetime, at the time of the film’s 1992 release, and still exists to this day.

Lee’s latest, “Da 5 Bloods,” is centered on four old war buddies from Vietnam who travel back to the country to retrieve a stash of gold along with the remains of their fallen friend.

The opening of the film is not for the faint of heart. It depicts real life photos and news footage of some of the more horrifying memories of the Vietnam War era, such as the burning monk or the captive Vietnamese man executed in the street with a bullet to the head. Equally repulsive is the notion that war, oppression, racism, and corrupt politics isn’t some figment of our distant past but every bit as widespread then as it is today.

A number of scenes in “Da 5 Bloods” contain fun to spot Easter eggs or homages to its cinematic brethren. Some are rather obvious, like the “Apocalypse Now” writing on the wall of the dance club or the usage of the song “Flight of the Valkyries,” harkening back to the same movie. Others are a bit more meta, like the one-legged Vietnamese man throwing fire crackers at the feet of the protagonists, playfully referencing the terrifying “Dance!” scene in “Platoon.”

But as much as Spike Lee might’ve wanted “Da 5 Bloods” to represent his own “Apocalypse Now” or “Platoon,” it just isn’t. Not even close. Far too many corners were cut while making the film for it to be considered in the same realm as such distinguished titles.

Just look at the blood spatter CGI used throughout “Da 5 Bloods” as an example. It looks no better than the stock blood spatter effect in Adobe. Matter of fact, it probably IS the stock blood spatter effect in Adobe. Why not spend that Netflix money and use squibs? Alternatively, if the effect is going to make the film look like a B-rated zombie flick, why use anything at all?

And what are the chances that someone looking for buried gold on the side of a mountain goes to dig a hole to take a dump in and his shovel hits … gold. A million to one? A billion? Who cares because Spike Lee is an acclaimed writer and such mind-numbing coincidences should never make it onto the page, much less into the film?

The full list of frustrating coincidences found throughout the film is about as long as this entire review, so I’ll spare you the details. The bottom line is simply that “Da 5 Bloods” isn’t the film we all hoped it would be. Spike Lee is among the finest filmmakers alive. Kubrick is Kubrick because he never settled for “just good enough.” Scorsese is Scorsese because he never settles for “just good enough.” After watching “Da 5 Bloods,” I find it very disappointing at how many times Spike Lee apparently settled for “just good enough.”… Expand

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

Jgoldsworthy

Jul 9, 2020

Could have put some hairdye on those old men in the flashbacks. Looks like a bunch of old farts running around Vietnam. Was watchable at least!

0 of 1 users found this helpful01

moffat

Jun 21, 2020

Spike Lee wears his agenda on his sleeve. Not only does he do it in this movie, but many of his points are out right fake news. He tries to portray AA soldiers in Vietnam as cannon fodder. To top it all off, the plot is ridiculous. Grade school. Don't waste your time.

5 of 7 users found this helpful52

Azreale07

Jul 8, 2020

SJW libtard garbage! I turned it off when the son of one of the bloods was talking about orange man bad! Wtf spike lee! Keep politics out of your movies & entertainment period!

2 of 10 users found this helpful28

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47	#47 Best Movie of 2020
21	#21 Most Discussed Movie of 2020