"[16] The six main characters share the same first names as the members of The Temptations and their producer Norman Whitfield. The cast joined in February 2019 and filming began a month later, lasting through June and taking place in Southeast Asia. At a hotel bar, David meets Hedy, the LAMB founder, an organization dedicated to clearing landmines. The film's plot follows a group of four aging Vietnam War veterans who return to the country in search of the remains of their fallen squad leader, as well as the treasure they buried while serving there. [6] Jonathan Majors entered negotiations to join later that month. [12][1] Cinematographer Newton Thomas Sigel, who proposed the idea, stated, "Vietnam was the first war that was really televised, and it was predominantly shot with 16-mm. While the message it is trying to convey is of course important, spike lee obviously forgot to craft a decent movie around it. A recent landslide had uncovered the tail of the crashed plane, and with this new information, they plan to find the gold and Norman's body. Desroche wounds Otis and tries to finish him off with a hand grenade, but Melvin sacrifices himself by leaping on top of it. Vinh, a tour guide hired by the Bloods, leads the group out into the countryside, where a confrontation with a local merchant forces Paul to admit that he has post-traumatic stress disorder. They haven't completely moved on, but I will say unequivocally that "Da 5 Bloods" is one of the worst kinds of exploitation: The idea that America is the fault of Vietnam's current state in the world, and that they are still focused on past events to the same level of strength TODAY as it was even 30 years ago. The film was originally a 2013 spec script by Danny Bilson and Paul De Meo titled The Last Tour, with Mike Bundlie and Barry Levine Executive Producing and with Oliver Stone set to direct. [...] It’s how the American public perceived the war. [19][20] Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, the film was originally scheduled to premiere out-of-competition at the 2020 Cannes Film Festival, then play in theaters in May or June before streaming on Netflix. 639. Da 5 Bloods might be a better option. The utility of the victim-veteran as a metaphor for the America victimized by the war made it political and filmic catnip from Ronald Reagan’s “Morning in America” years to Donald Trump’s campaign to “Make America Great Again.” You might think Spike Lee could leave it alone but no: when fireworks are thrown outside a bar in Ho Chi Minh City, all five “hit the deck.” Later, one of them randomly claims “we all have PTSD,” while still later another says, “We’re all broken.”. Chris Stuckmann gives quick movie reviews for Guns Akimbo, Honey Boy, Da 5 Bloods, Becky, The Lovebirds, and Shirley. DA 5 BLOODS NETFLIX MOVIE REVIEW | Double Toasted -We have talked about the trailer during our review/reaction for it a few months back in early 2020. Spike Lee’s war drama Da 5 Bloods presents an alternative solution to CGI de-aging technology which also makes for a striking creative choice. [12], The musical score for Da 5 Bloods was written by composer Terence Blanchard. The sharp … Da 5 Bloods is a fictional story, but it’s a tribute to the forgotten heroes of the unpopular war. Unwilling to trust Vinh, Paul takes his share of the gold and heads out into the jungle alone. In the ensuing shootout, David is shot in the leg, and Seppo is killed by a landmine. Close. The next day, Vinh drops off the group and tells them he will pick them up in a few days. Spike Lee's 'Da 5 Bloods,' which hit Netflix on June 12, is fiery, incredibly relevant, and one of the best films of the year so far. "That record was released when I was young, but I could feel what was going on in the country," said Blanchard. The image of traumatized veterans was a Hollywood staple even before PTSD was canonized in the 1980 DSM. [24] In March 2021, Variety reported the film was among Netflix's most-watched Oscar-nominated titles, and assigned it an "audience appeal score" of 81 out 100. Azreale07 Jul 8, 2020. [4] Stone dropped out in 2016, and in 2017 producer Lloyd Levin pitched the script to Spike Lee, who performed a re-write with Kevin Willmott. He is subsequently located and killed by Desroche's men. At its worst, it's a vibrant mess. In 1969 he was a Chaplain’s Assistant assigned to the 41st Artillery Group in Vietnam. On the hike out, Eddie steps on a landmine and is killed. Soon thereafter, they are joined by Paul's son David, who has a tempestuous relationship with his father. [27], Writing for the Chicago Sun-Times, Richard Roeper gave the film four stars out of four, saying: "The picture, the script and director Lee all deserve nomination consideration, as does the lush and booming score by Lee's longtime collaborator Terence Blanchard... Whitlock, Lewis, Peters and Boseman deserve supporting actor conversation, while Delroy Lindo should be an instant contender for best actor. [1] Unlike other films, including Netflix's The Irishman, Lee had the main cast (most of whom were in their 60s) play the 20-year-old versions of themselves in flashback sequences without the use of de-aging technology or make-up, bar for the final shot of their younger versions. They also find Norman's remains and pray over them. Otis visits Tiên and bonds with his daughter for the first time. "[33], Critic Mark Kermode called the film "a mixed bag". As Desroche prepares to execute Otis, David shoots and kills him with Otis's gun. But why mince words? The initial batch of reviews are in for Spike Lee's Da 5 Bloods. [23] In November, Variety reported the film was the 16th-most watched straight-to-streaming title of 2020 up to that point. Yet “Da 5 Bloods” is a poor vehicle for these ideas. I just finished watching da 5 bloods and couldn't believe how much praise it got. Lee’s troop meets up with a group of backpackers in-country to do Project Renew-type work. Norman's remains are brought home to his family by the military. Tiên introduces the Bloods to Desroche, a French businessman who agrees to help the Bloods smuggle the gold out of Vietnam once they retrieve it. The film received numerous awards and nominations, including for the Academy Award for Best Original Score, and was named by the National Board of Review as the Best Film of 2020. Sometimes the best way to call attention to an historical injustice is through bold entertainment. If you took the storylines of Frances Ford Coppola’s 1979 Apocalypse Now out of Bloods – yes, they even go upriver to strains of Wagner’s Ride of the Valkyries! Da 5 Bloods, which is equal parts heist, war story, and bloody reckoning, follows four black US Army veterans who … He is the author of 8 books including The Spitting Image: Myth, Memory, and the Legacy of Vietnam, CNN’s Tailwind Tale: Inside Vietnam’s Last Great Myth, and Hanoi Jane: War, Sex, and Fantasies of Betrayal. As he rages to himself, Paul has a vision of Norman who reminds him that he was the one who had accidentally killed him during a firefight and that he should let go of his guilt. During their first night, Paul confiscates a pistol Otis had been secretly given by Tiên and becomes suspicious of his motives. [1], Samuel L. Jackson, Denzel Washington, Giancarlo Esposito, and John David Washington were initially cast in the lead roles but dropped out due to scheduling conflicts. Da 5 Bloods is about shared trauma, but Paul epitomizes the loneliness of that pain under a dirty red hat. I was looking forward to watching Da 5 Bloods but found it difficult to even sit through it. DA 5 BLOODS *CUT TO THE CHASE* NOTE: This spoiler was submitted by Jeremy. The remaining Bloods offer Vinh, Hedy, and Simon a share of the remaining gold for their trouble. Bloods’ racial clichés are the film’s strongest through line. "[28] Richard Brody of The New Yorker wrote that the film "runs two hours and thirty-four minutes, but it's not a second too long. [8][9] Esposito was also confirmed for the cast, although he later dropped out. 9 months ago. [14] In addition to Blanchard's score, the film features several songs from the early 1970s. With one blood wearing a MAGA hat, the loss of the war is attributed to home-front betrayal—upon return, we were called “baby killers,” says one of the four. The site's critical consensus reads: "Fierce energy and ambition course through Da 5 Bloods, coming together to fuel one of Spike Lee's most urgent and impactful films. [11] Production lasted three months, mostly shooting in Ho Chi Minh City, Bangkok, and Chiang Mai. Republicans have been on a half-century campaign to avenge the treachery of the anti-war left, as they see it, and now is not the time to give credence to Trumpian revanchism as a promising course for Black Americans—or anyone. [18], Da 5 Bloods was released on June 12, 2020, by Netflix. Vinh helps the surviving Bloods share out the gold. Assuming that Desroche has crossed them, Vinh suggests retreating to a nearby abandoned temple to defend themselves from reinforcements. But the main issue with Da 5 Bloods comes from the technical aspects of the film: crappy CGI effects, an overbearing and distracting score and a severe editing problem that suggests that Lee had to delete several scenes to make the whole thing shorter. Eddie reveals that his excessive spending has rendered him broke but reminds the Bloods of Norman's original plan to give the gold to their black brethren in the United States. Clocking in at 2½ hours, it feels long after its first labored minutes. This is a salient point even though it is aired to the men by the Vietnamese propaganda arm. David also steps on a mine but does not trigger it, just as Hedy and two other volunteers from LAMB, Simon and Seppo, show up. Lee says he didn’t rely on special effects or heavy makeup for a host of reasons — including that he trusts his audience. The present-day jungle scenes were captured in 16:9 ratio, as Lee and Sigel sought to envelop the group with the vastness of the jungle. [10], Filming began on March 23, 2019. However, in the ensuing Vietnamese counter-attack, Norman is killed, and the Bloods cannot locate the buried gold after a napalm strike obliterates the identifying landmarks. [5] In February 2019, it was announced that Netflix would distribute the film, with Chadwick Boseman, Delroy Lindo, and Jean Reno set to star. "[29] David Rooney of The Hollywood Reporter called the film "as timely as today's news," writing: "Lee deftly steers it all full circle in a series of brief wrap-up scenes that are both fancifully tidy and deadly serious, acknowledging the Black Lives Matter movement in a way that allows this sprawling, unwieldy, frequently brilliant film to close on a profoundly affecting note of hope and catharsis. “Awful” is not the most thoughtful way to begin a film review. "[36], Da 5 Bloods appeared on 77 critics' year-end top-10 lists, including 10 first place rankings and six second place ones. Methods of Power: How do Authoritarians Rule? [7] In March 2019, Paul Walter Hauser, Clarke Peters, Isiah Whitlock Jr., Norm Lewis, Mélanie Thierry, and Jasper Pääkkönen joined the cast of the film. “Da 5 Bloods” is full of wonderful performances, and the warm, profane masculine banter among the bloods is a response to and a relief from the horror they have shared and still face. It stars Delroy Lindo, Jonathan Majors, Clarke Peters, Johnny Trí Nguyễn, Norm Lewis, Isiah Whitlock Jr., Mélanie Thierry, Paul Walter Hauser, Jasper Pääkkönen, Jean Reno, and Chadwick Boseman. During the Vietnam War, a squad of Black US Army soldiers of the 1st Infantry Division,[3] Paul, Otis, Eddie, Melvin, and their squad leader Norman, who dub themselves the "Bloods," secure the site of a CIA airplane crash and recover its cargo, a locker of gold bars intended as payment for the Lahu people for their help in fighting the Viet Cong. – there is little originality left for filmmaker Spike Lee to claim; even its subplot of the four’s search for a buried chest of gold bars is plagiarized from 1999’s forgettable Gulf War adventure Three Kings. Four African-American vets 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. All of the gunmen are killed except for one, who flees. Hedy and Simon donate their shares to LAMB in Seppo's name. “Da 5 Bloods” jumps back and forth, though not too many times, between the Bloods’ tours of duty and the present day. [1] The two changed the film to an African-American perspective, added the film's flashback sequences and expanded the role of the Stormin' Norman character. Philip Roth Was His Own Favorite Subject. The ruins where an action sequence takes place, meant to represent the Mỹ Sơn temples, were a specifically constructed set built by the film crew using wood and Styrofoam in a period of two months. What’s Left for a Biographer? Posted by. [17], A soundtrack album was released by Milan Records on May 29, 2020. [1] For his research, Lee credited Wallace Terry's 1984 book Bloods: An Oral History of the Vietnam War by Black Veterans as particularly helpful, and assigned it to the film's actors. Can America’s Problems Be Fixed By a President Who Loves Jon Meacham? Searcy is white. Official Discussion - Da 5 Bloods [SPOILERS] Discussion. This awful movie is also dangerous. David reads a letter from Paul, who tells him that he will always love him. [15] Most predominantly, the film contains six songs from Marvin Gaye's 1971 album What's Going On. And the Vietnamese characters fit stereotypes too: some paramilitary guys looking like the hapless losers seen in most American movies (check); the one woman, a wartime prostitute (check). "When Spike has that music put in a film it becomes extremely powerful for so many reasons. Women’s College Sports Was Growing. Robert Zemeckis' Paddington 3. From Spike Lee. [1], Upon release, it was the top-streamed film in its first weekend,[21] before falling to sixth place in its second. Spike Lee’s Da 5 Bloods is a vital work on an overlooked subject in American film: the experience of black veterans in the Vietnam War, a perspective largely lacking from … The group’s leader is a whiter-than-white twenty-something woman, a scion of wealth reaped from what had been French Indochina—a riff from the 2001 Apocalypse Now Redux—who is irresistible to a son of one of the bloods who has (somehow, inexplicably) arrived in the jungle from Morehouse College. [35] Chuck Bowen of Slant Magazine gave the film two-and-a-half out of four stars, concluding: "At its best, Da 5 Bloods offers a damning, impassioned, hallucinatory collage of images and ideas concerning the relationship between racism and warfare with superb performances. He is a Distinguished Lecturer of the Organization of American Historians. But instead of expensive SFX, Lee just had his 60 … Guess again. Many others, politicized and empowered by their wartime experience, joined the antiwar movement. The bloods come across as foulmouthed and uninformed about the war as they probably were when they were sent to fight it; the veteran-father of the Morehouse College man is an absent presence in his son’s life; and with the exception of Otis, who takes time in Ho Chi Minh City to find the daughter he fathered back in the day, the bloods are as disdainful of the Vietnamese as many GIs were at the time. Moderator of r/movies Archived. Fierce energy and ambition course through Da 5 Bloods, coming together to fuel one of Spike Lee's most urgent and impactful films. Structural flaws notwithstanding, this movie is a gift right now, and there's no other director that could have made it. Da 5 Bloods is a 2020 American war drama film directed, produced, and co-written by Spike … On the contrary, it feels compressed, bustling, and frenzied with its intellectual and dramatic energy. [13] With the exception of a brief scene filmed using a Super 8 camera in 2.39:1 ratio, the modern scenes were shot digitally. Paul and the others manage to pull David off the mine safely. The result is overlong and erratic, but also frequently surprising...propelled by an unforgettable turn from Delroy Lindo. The film was released by Netflix on June 12, 2020. We meet four African American veterans, all men in their late 60s, as they arrive in Vietnam for a last adventure. [2] It received acclaim from critics, who praised the direction, themes, and Lindo's performance, with many considering it among Lee's best works. Da 5 Bloods is an interesting package, offering compelling food for thought but never offers any definitive outlook for these characters or the film’s underlying message—mostly because it tries to cover too much political ground at once. Posts about da 5 bloods bad written by thetwiz. "[30], Eric Kohn of IndieWire gave the film a grade of "B" and wrote: "A loose, caustic look at the Vietnam war through the prism of black experiences, Da 5 Bloods wrestles with the specter of the past through the lens of a very confusing present, and settles into a fascinated jumble as messy and complicated as the world surrounding its release. Paul then holds the three outsiders hostage with Otis's gun, paranoid that they will report them to the authorities. The one good reason for seeing Da 5 Bloods is to credential your advice to others that they don’t. Originally scheduled to premiere out-of-competition at Cannes, the latest Spike Lee joint dropped on Netflix on June 12. "[1][13] Netflix executives initially were resistant to the proposal given the challenges it presented, but Lee was adamant and was eventually allowed to proceed. Desroche, now wearing Paul's MAGA hat, arrives with the gunmen at the temple and is then ambushed by Otis, Melvin, and Vinh; all of his men are killed. Bloods trots out every caricature of Viet Nam War figures that you can imagine, beginning with American veterans of the war. "[1], Da 5 Bloods uses four aspect ratios as framing devices which distinguish between the film's different time periods and locations. A Spike Lee Joint should always be the better option. [22] At their Q2 report meeting in July 2020, Netflix reported the film had been viewed by 27 million households since its release. With a production budget of $35–45 million, it is among Lee's most expensive films. Eventually, the Bloods find the gold bars scattered across the side of a hill. The film’s “bloods” are four black Americans who have returned to Viet Nam to recover the remains of a fifth, their buddy Norman. Four African American veterans return to Vietnam decades after the war to find their squad leader's remains — and a stash of buried gold. "[32] Ann Hornaday of The Washington Post gave the film three out of four stars, writing that "its moments of stinging insight and soaring cinematic rhetoric once again prove why Spike Lee might be America's most indispensable filmmaker. But Da 5 Bloods contains bright spots and inquiries into blackness, imperialism, and Vietnamese-communist dissent worth hearing out. [12] The 1960s flashback sequences were shot in 1.33:1 format on 16 mm film, mimicking newsreel footage of the time. 3 of 4 users found this helpful 3 1. Wtf spike lee! Whatever its faults, Da 5 Bloods is a more visceral and unmooring experience than Lee’s last war film, Miracle at St. Anna. No age-defying CGI to be found. This is a big, fat, egregious lie. In the film, veterans played by Norm […] "[26] On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 82 out of 100, based on 49 critics, indicating "universal acclaim". Da 5 Bloods is a 2020 American war drama film directed, produced, and co-written by Spike Lee. SJW libtard garbage! Official Discussion - Da 5 Bloods [SPOILERS] Discussion. Working with three other writers (including the two showrunners behind 1990’s Flash TV series), Lee adroitly sets up Da 5 Bloods as a tense postwar drama whose final acts accelerate through commercial suspense-thriller mechanics while never stopping the commentary. I turned it off when the son of one of the bloods was talking about orange man bad! [37], 2020 American war drama film by Spike Lee, Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture, Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Supporting Role, Outstanding Performance by a Stunt Ensemble in a Motion Picture, Outstanding Supporting Visual Effects in a Photoreal Feature, Military history of African Americans in the Vietnam War, "Spike Lee's Forever War: How the Vietnam War epic Da 5 Bloods became one of the most ambitious films of his career", "Spike Lee on the Challenge of Bringing Netflix's 'Da 5 Bloods' to the Screen", "Delroy Lindo: I Think Of 'Da 5 Bloods' As 'A Love Story, "Chadwick Boseman Joins Spike Lee's 'Da 5 Bloods' At Netflix", "Jonathan Majors In Talks For Spike Lee's 'Da 5 Bloods' At Netflix", "Spike Lee & Netflix's Vietnam Pic 'Da 5 Bloods' Adds Cast Including Clarke Peters, Isiah Whitlock Jr & Mélanie Thierry", "BlacKkKlansman Actor Reuniting With Spike Lee For Da 5 Bloods", "Chadwick Boseman to Star in Spike Lee's New Movie, Vietnam Veteran Drama Da 5 Bloods", "Terence Blanchard Scoring Spike Lee's 'Da 5 Bloods, "Spike Lee's 'Da 5 Bloods' to Stream on Netflix in June, but It's Still Eligible for Oscars", "Netflix Debuts Trailer for Spike Lee's 'Da 5 Bloods, "Box Office: 'The King of Staten Island' & The Most-Watched Movies At Home This Weekend", "Box Office: A Polish Erotic Drama Is Among The Most Watched Movies Of The Weekend", "Netflix Reveals Strong Viewership Numbers For Mindy Kaling's 'Never Have I Ever' & Spike Lee's 'Da 5 Bloods' In Earnings Report", "DATA: 'BORAT 2' SECOND ONLY TO 'HAMILTON' IN MOST-WATCHED U.S. SVOD MOVIES OF 2020", "Data: Which 2021 Netflix Oscar-Nominated Films Were Most", "Spike Lee's "Da 5 Bloods," Reviewed: Vietnam and the Never-Ending War of Being Black in America", "Spike Lee's 'Da 5 Bloods' on Netflix: Film Review", "Spike Lee's 'Da 5 Bloods' may not be perfect, but it arrives at a time when it feels necessary", "Da 5 Bloods review – Spike Lee goes all out in Vietnam", "Review: Da 5 Bloods Is a Vibrant, Messy Blend of Genre Film and Political Essay", "Best of 2020: Film Critic Top Ten Lists", "The 2020 Boston Online Film Critics Association (BOFCA) Winners", "Artios Awards Film Nominations: 'Borat', 'Da 5 Bloods', 'Chicago 7', 'One Night In Miami' & More Up For Casting Society Prizes", "The 2020 Chicago Film Critics Association (CFCA) Winners", "Critics Choice Awards: 'Mank' Leads With 12 Nominations, Netflix Makes History With Four Best Picture Nominees", "The 2020 Florida Film Critics Circle (FFCC) Winners", "The 2020 Greater Western New York Film Critics Association (GWNYFCA) Winners", "The 2020 Indiana Film Journalists Association (IFJA) Winners", "The 2020 Music City Film Critics Association (MCFCA) Nominations", "Netflix, HBO Lead NAACP Image Awards 2021 Nominations", "The 2020 New York Film Critics Circle (NYFCC) Winners", "The 2020 North Carolina Film Critics Association (NCFCA) Nominations", "25th Satellite Awards Nominees for Motion Pictures and Television Announced", "2021 SAG Awards: The Complete Nominations List", "VES Awards Nominations: 'Tenet', 'Midnight Sky', 'Extraction', 'Soul' & 'Mandalorian' Among Titles In Visual Effects Hunt", If God Is Willing and da Creek Don't Rise, Michael Jackson's Journey from Motown to Off the Wall, National Board of Review Award for Best Film, National Board of Review Award for Best Ensemble Cast, The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King, Seattle Film Critics Society Award for Best Ensemble Cast, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Da_5_Bloods&oldid=1016421657, Films about post-traumatic stress disorder, Short description is different from Wikidata, Pages containing links to subscription-only content, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License, Jon Kilik, Spike Lee, Beatriz Levin, and Lloyd Levin, Greater Western New York Film Critics Association, Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Motion Picture, Outstanding Ensemble Cast in a Motion Picture, Danny Bilson, Paul De Meo, Kevin Willmott & Spike Lee, Randall Balsmeyer, James Cooper, Watcharachai "Sam" Panichsuk, This page was last edited on 7 April 2021, at 02:25.