Da 5 Bloods (2020)

I'm unsure of exactly what I've watched in Da 5 Bloods. Such is the ambition and sheer free wheeling nature of the script it was only going to soar or plummet to earth. Sadly it's very much the latter. That a bona fide colossus of film making like Spike Lee can get something so wrong is remarkable. This guy has made some absolutely fantastic films and I'm a huge fan of much of his back catalogue. Also the fact he is not long off Black KKKlansman, one of the sharpest, wittiest films of the last ten years makes this hot mess even more surprising.

I don't have the time or patience to list off all that's wrong with it. My fingers are cramped from watching much of the film through them. The redeeming qualities are some cast members perform well albeit seemingly in different films. The score is good and there are some interesting nods to how nam was for black soldiers. These only serve to remind you how much of a disservice the rest of the film is though as it meanders between self indulgent and flabby, almost TV drama.

Hopefully we can see a great film about the black experience in Vietnam as there is definitely some fertile dramatic ground that other nam films haven't touched. This film isn't it.