Movie Review - "Da 5 Bloods"

 Four Black Viet Nam veterans gather in current day Saigon.  Why?  Ostensibly, it is to recover the remains of their troop leader, Stormin' Norman, who was killed in action back in 1967, and return them home for an honorable burial in Arlington National Cemetery.   However, they are also going back to recover a chest from a downed CIA transport plane that was filled with gold bars, which the five of them - the five "Bloods" from the title - found and buried back in 1967 shortly before Norman was killed.

Of course, many other issues reveal themselves, including greed, black market forces, PTSD, racial inequity, and the scars of the American War in Viet Nam that still exist nearly fifty years after the fall of Saigon, among both the Americans who served there and the Vietnamese who still live there.  The lunacy and pointlessness of the Viet Nam War is brought front and center to all of us once again.

I had heard a lot of critical acclaim for this movie, but I have to say that I was completely blown away by this Spike Lee "Joint."  It's told in both the present day, and is filled in with flashbacks where we see the five platoon mates in action, including Stormin' Norman, the leader of the crew, and played by Chadwick Boseman.  It is yet another painful reminder of what we lost with Boseman's untimely death last year.  The first among equals of a terrific cast, though, is Delroy Lindo as Paul.  Paul is the guy who has assumed the leadership among the remaing four, and he is also the one who seems to be fighting the most demons from his multiple tours in Viet Nam.  Would not be surprised if Lindo scores an Oscar Nomination for this performance.

Oh, and as a bonus, there are several background musical tracks featuring Marvin Gaye, including a terrific a cappella rendition of "What's Going On."  How great is that?

This is a fairly long movie, two and one-half hours, and there is cursing, LOTS of cursing, and some graphic depictions of war time violence, so this one may not be for everybody.  With that proviso, though, I have to say that I loved this movie.  

It gets Four Stars from The Grandstander.