I was eager to watch _Da 5 Bloods_ on Netflix after seeing the trailer; it’s Spike Lee's newest film about four African-American Vietnam veterans returning to Vietnam decades later. Their mission has two parts: finding the remains of their fallen squad leader and recovering a stash of gold they buried during the war. What I appreciated most was Delroy Lindo’s prominent role. He is an excellent actor, easily the best performer in the film. A particularly strong sequence belongs to him—a monologue delivered directly to the camera that's both powerful and unsettling. It really made me feel something; his performance over those three or four minutes was so compelling it reminded me of Jean Claude van Damme’s similarly impactful scene in _JCVD_. Another positive aspect was maintaining the actors’ ages throughout the film, showing them as they would have been during the war and in the present day. There seems to be some confusion about this online, but I believe it was a deliberate artistic choice to illustrate how memories of the war continued to affect these men. Their reminiscences from the present highlighted that the events of their past still had an impact on them; it was an effective way to convey that idea. I also thought the changes in aspect ratio—shifting between present day and wartime scenes—were a great artistic touch, providing a visual cue for the change in tone and storyline. However, there were several elements I found distracting and disruptive to the film's flow. For example, within the first ten minutes, there’s a jab at Donald Trump, with one character referring to him as “President Fake Bone Spurs.” While initially amusing, this is followed by actual footage of Trump at a rally with an on-screen graphic reinforcing the nickname. These kinds of comments appear throughout the film and felt forced into a movie about Vietnam. It gets to the point where one of the characters literally puts on a "Make America Great Again" hat. The message was clear: he doesn't like Trump, but could we please get back to the treasure hunt? At times, the movie attempts subtlety in its messaging, but at other points it feels overly blunt. Lee seems to treat his audience as if they’re incapable of understanding nuance, having a character explicitly explain something that was already subtly conveyed. Then, with things like the MAGA hat, he hits you over the head, as if subtlety is beyond reach. I worry this might actually reinforce people's existing beliefs rather than prompting thoughtful consideration, causing them to become defensive. The film also felt too long—just over two and a half hours—and dragged in places. There were moments when I wondered how much longer it would be until the action moved forward, only to realize that I was still quite early on. It could have benefited from some additional editing. One thing puzzled me: one of the veterans has a scene reconnecting with a woman he had a relationship with during the war, but she seems too young to have been in her twenties in the 1960s, and their daughter appears too young to have been born then. Was this an odd casting choice or is there some explanation for it? If anyone knows, I’d like to hear it. Ultimately, my experience with the film was a bit strange. It has its moments of brilliance, but for me, the slow parts were too numerous and lengthy. A shorter runtime and less overt political messaging would have made this a much better movie.

Source on TMDB