Da 5 Bloods
Directed by Spike Lee
- war
- drama
The story
Four African-American Vietnam veterans return to Vietnam. They are in search of the remains of their fallen squad leader and the promise of buried treasure. These heroes battle forces of humanity and nature while confronted by the lasting ravages of the immorality of the Vietnam War.
What it’s like
Restless, humid, and tense, with a warm gold cast that keeps turning sour. Spike Lee shoots much of it in a boxy 1.33 aspect ratio for flashbacks and wider, saturated frames for the present, with jungle greens and river browns pressed against sunlit clearings, and he breaks the fourth wall with direct-to-camera address that makes the men feel like they're speaking to you across a table. Archival footage of war and Black political history is spliced in with a loud, grainy texture, and the score mixes Marvin Gaye with an ominous orchestral pulse that swells under the jungle's constant hum of insects and rain. The pacing is loose and talky in the camp scenes, then abruptly violent in bursts: sudden gunfire, explosions, and a landmine sequence that lands hard, with graphic wounds and death shown without much restraint, plus recurring profanity and some sexual talk. The emotional register is grief, rage, and brotherhood fraying under greed, and its central arcs follow aging veterans reckoning with guilt and with a country that never reckoned with them. Best for viewers who want political weight, ensemble performances, and a war film with a sweaty, unsettled mood rather than heroics, and not for anyone wanting something gentle.
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