Da 5 Bloods (2020)
Written by Dalton Welsh - June 16, 2020Da 5 Bloods explores the journey of four African American veterans as they battle the forces of man and nature when they return to Vietnam seeking the remains of their fallen squad leader and the gold fortune he helped them hide. Being a Vietnam war film directed by auteur Spike Lee made this an exciting prospect to examine. Unfortunately, it is more a case of an assortment of favorable elements arranged in a poorly constructed manner. With several unnecessary plot points taking away from the stronger components of the film and its intended themes. Making for a film that while conveying an important and at times profound message, fails to stand on its own as a successful viewing experience.
Whilst one can’t help but feel a great sense of disappointment at the missed opportunities of the film there are still several strong elements in its favour. The film touches heavily upon the role that the African American people played not just in Vietnam but war in general. Divulging how these overlooked and unsung heroes hoped that their sacrifices could aid in public perception of black culture in America, bringing the dream of equality closer. The fortitude to bring awareness to these events is something to be celebrated and the context surrounding a film is a very important consideration to make, however, when you look at the film independent from this, cracks begin to appear.
Likewise, the film makes sporadic use of more stylish elements, which on their own are some of the best scenes in the film, particularly scenes involving Delroy Lindo as Paul who gives a fantastic performance, shining in these aforementioned scenes. However, when placed in the film as a whole, these stylized aspects aren’t done enough, to the point where these scenes feel out of place when put alongside more bland conventional segments. Speaking of which, the location that occupies most of the runtime, the Vietnamese jungle, is also severely underutilized. While there are some individual shots where they successfully apply the location and pair it with some more ostentatious lighting, it is more often flatly lit and lacking in visual depth and creativity.
As for our central protagonists who’ve dubbed themselves “Da 5 Bloods”, Delroy Lindo as Paul is most definitely the strongest character and in turn the strongest performance in the film. This can be accredited to Paul actually having characterization, as a result of his PTSD from his time in the war he has a great disdain for the world making him interesting to watch. However, this cannot be said for the other cast members. A large contributor to this is the amount of seemingly unnecessary plot elements that have been included, particularly other characters added to the story that do next to nothing to enhance the drama or the development of the protagonists. Now, I wouldn’t want to pretend I’m a better storyteller than Spike Lee, but perhaps if he cut the fat and instead focused entirely on the central four veterans, we’d have a greater emotional connection to them and it would make for a smoother film that can dedicate more time to it’s important message rather than pointless character inclusions and story elements.
One of the running themes of these criticisms is while the film falls short in some respects, there are still redeeming qualities present, however the same cannot be said for the editing and music. Some of the most emotional scenes of the film are followed by comedic interactions, which in some cases can be done effectively to establish contrast, here it feels out of place and makes the film feel tonally inconsistent and undercuts what could have been emotionally impactful moments. Additionally, many of the scenes feel as though they are cut short before the scene has been given a chance to settle in or achieve some semblance of resolution. Then there’s the music that similarly undercuts scenes with its egregiously melodramatic tonality, reminiscent of a sappy 90’s drama, rather than a serious look at the effects of the Vietnam war.
Ultimately, despite the film falling short in the tonal consistency of its plot and the development of its central characters overshadowed by the overstuffed story and over dramatic cheesy score. The film is redeemed through its successful, while some what out of place, stylized inclusions, a strong lead performance from Delroy Lindo, and an important and provocative message about the plight of African American soldiers and the black community as a whole. If only it were communicated in a more successfully executed film.