Da 5 Bloods

DA 5 BLOODS (18)

D: Spike Lee

Netflix / 40 Acres & A Mule / Rahway Road (Jon Kilik, Spike Lee, Beatriz Levin & Lloyd Levin)

US 🇺🇸 2020

156 mins

War/Drama

W: Danny Bilson, Paul DeMeo, Kevin Willmott & Spike Lee

DP: Newton Thomas Sigel

Ed: Adam Gough

Mus: Terence Blanchard

Delroy Lindo (Paul), Jonathan Majors (David), Clarke Peters (Otis), Norm Lewis (Eddie), Isiah Whitlock, Jr. (Melvin), Chadwick Boseman (‘Stormin’ Norman Earl Holloway)

The original script, named The Last Tour, was penned in 2013 before being reworked by Spike Lee and Kevin Willmott following the success of 2018’s BlacKkKlansman. 

The plot sees five ageing Vietnam veterans return to the country to track down some buried gold they had hidden whilst serving their tour of duty, when they lost their squad leader, “Stormin” Norman Earl Holloway (Chadwick Boseman).

The performances from the ensemble are excellent, especially from Delroy Lindo, Clarke Peters and the late Chadwick Boseman, whose scenes appear as a flashback.

One gripe is that, at 156 minutes, it’s far longer than it has to be, and Spike Lee can’t help himself by padding out the running time with his own politics and ideologies that really add nothing to the story at its very heart.

There’s an excellent 120 minute movie here, about the lasting effects of war, both mentally and ideologically.  It’s a shame that it was stretched out by a further 36 minutes for no appreciable reason.

7/10