Da 5 Bloods (2020)

starring Delroy Lindo, Jonathan Majors, Clarke Peters, Norm Lewis, Isiah Whitlock Jr.

directed by Spike Lee

2 hours 35 minutes

Paul (Delroy Lindo), Otis (Clarke Peters), Eddie (Norm Lewis), and Melvin (Isiah Whitlock Jr.) return together to Vietnam, decades after they served there during the war, to find the remains of their squad leader and recover a stash of gold. David (Jonathan Majors), Paul's son, comes along with them despite his father's reluctance. They hire Vinh, a local whom they don't tell about the gold, to get them close to the spot where they believe Stormin' Norman, their squad leader, and the gold will be found.

Not everything goes as planned. One of them finds out he has a child who he didn't know about. They cross paths with a trio of Eurpeans who are there to remove mines and a group of bandits who want the gold for themselves. Not all of them make it out alive.

Thoughts

Stormin' Norman (Chadwick Boseman) is at the center of everything in the movie but it isn't all about him. There are a number of flashback scenes in which he shows up. He was a mentor to all of them. They all hold him in high regard but it is clear that they each took different things from what he taught them.

It is a little unclear when this movie is supposed to take place. My guess is that it has to be somewhere around 2000-2005 based on David's presumed age.

This is a long movie, and it kind of feels that way. I watched it in a single day but not in a single sitting. Somethings happened a little easier than I thought they would. It is about a journey but it is not all about them finding Stormin' Norman and the gold. There's a lot more to the movie than that. They have issues to work out, they have memories that still haunt them. There are a number of scenes throughout the movie that I found to be very moving.

I think the emotional notes and the character moments are very strong but the plot is a bit weak. There were a few too many coincidences or things that happened conveniently for the plot to satisfy to me. On the whole I was very happy I watched it.