Da 5 Bloods

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  • Da 5 Bloods

    Spike Lee's first feature joint for Netflix (I think) is a fun, thoughtful riff on "Treasure of the Sierra Madre" by way of "Apocalypse Now." A group of four black Vietnam vets return to the country 50 years after the fifth member of their unit was killed in the war. Ostensibly, to locate his remains and return them to the U.S. But really we learn it's a treasure hunt, to recover a stash of CIA gold that they buried there after a fateful battle.

    As usual, in between the more conventional plot machinations of a pact between conspirators that inevitably goes wrong (anyone who comes across a hidden treasure trove should already know that one partner is always going to look to **** the other partners over!), Spike weaves his trenchant commentary on race and class between Americans and, here, the Vietnamese who once were branded our enemies.

    The core cast of the four vets are the heart of the movie, but really it's Delroy Lindo's Paul who carries all the weight of the past (personal and universal) on this last mission. For the movie, this means it runs a good half hour longer than it might necessarily need to but I understand why Spike probably felt compelled to let the story breathe for these men.
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