Da 5 Bloods

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

Director: Spike Lee

Vietnam vets Paul (Delroy Lindo), Otis (Clarke Peters), Eddie (Norm Lewis) and Melvin (Isiah Whitlock Jr.) have returned to Vietnam to find a cache of gold that they found in the jungle during the war as well as the remains of their commanding officer Stormin' Norman (Chadwick Boseman). Once they find the gold, they have hired Desroche (Jean Reno) to help them get it back to the states so they can have their big payday. Quite annoyingly, their group increases by one as Paul's son David (Jonathan Majors) has tagged along not only because he is worried about his dad but to see if the gold is actually real. Tensions rise as the group, led by Vinh (Johnny Nguyen) make their way to where the gold is located. Turns out, finding the gold was easy. Getting it out will change their lives.

This is a very important movie, as is captures not only what the experience was like for black soldiers serving in Vietnam but also highlights the current state of the world. Lee has never been a subtle filmmaker and is operating at full strength here, using the backing of Netflix to not only share an important message about being a black solider in Vietnam but about the effects of PTSD.

The movie is gorgeous, with cinematographer Newton Thomas Sigel capturing not only the gorgeous Vietnam landscape but also the frenetic action scenes peppered throughout. Lee isn't known as an action film maker but those scenes are top notch. While there are flashbacks to the Bloods serving in the war, Lee wisely doesn't use different actors or de-aging technology like in The Irishman.

Speaking of the cast, Delroy Lindo is absolutely incredible as the PTSD ridden MAGA cap sporting Paul. A staple in the 90's and early 00's, Lindo makes a welcome return to mainstream films having spent his recent years in television. All of the Bloods share a natural chemistry and their deteriorating relationship over the course of the film is tense. Boseman, who only appears in flashbacks, gets surprisingly little screen time given his billing.

At two and a half hours, it's definitely longer than it should be, but the journey is well worth it. The adventure story is great and features many well drawn characters and the acting is fantastic, giving the spotlight to many solid aging black character actors.

Grade: B+

Da 5 Bloods is available on Netflix