Good underlying messages, but some sloppy execution

Rating: 5/10 (26 June 2020)

First off, I'd say see the movie. The only reason for such a low review is for some sloppy aspects of the film. Don't be discouraged by the low reviews as it is not by any means a bad movie. That being said, don't expect a film well done as his other films such as Black KkKlansman.
Good:

Underlying messages. Spike has always been political and shoves it in your face. In this movie, I think it was well executed, especially with scene cuts to historical visuals and such.
Music. I loved the use of the musical scores in the film. Especially utilizing modified songs to fit certain scenes and emotions.
Themes/Topics. This could go under underlying messages, but oh well. I believe that Spike brought up topics that need more light shed upon them. Again, how he displayed these topics and issues was well done.
Visuals: It's not going to be lauded for its cinematography, but I did find that some of the frames to be well shot and the use of warm/cold tones was fairly well done. I especially appreciated the change in aspect ratio when cutting between flashbacks and present day.

Bad:

Continuity: Every movie will have issues with this but certain aspects really irritated me. Chiefly, using the same cast to portray the characters during present day and Vietnam era. Ages don't line up. This may have been an after thought but it's disappointing as it is so glaring that it draws attention away from the better points of the film.
Dialogue: I did enjoy the cast and they did very well with what they were given. That being said, I think whoever wrote the script did it in piecemeal, and many times I found the dialogue to be iffy and not well done.

-Plot: Just like the dialogue, I found this to be an issue. Spike tried to tackle several issues and unlike other films that can intertwine plots/ points well, Spike missed the mark. Several times I felt like an issue was being addressed and then a split second later, that topic was dropped in favor of advancing another issue.

Overall, important topics were investigated but poor planning led to choppy execution and a lack of closure. Instead of a defined end, the film left me at a loss, wanting more development. You can't fit everything into a movie, but some aspects that this film wanted to discuss were not fully explored.