An Above Average dramatic film

Rating: 6/10 (13 June 2020)

This film hit Netflix yesterday and I have now seen Da 5 Bloods and here is my review for it. The premise of the film sees Four African American Vets return to Vietnam to find the remains of their old leader and the gold that they hid together.
Main Character
Delroy Lindo plays the most fleshed out character and he is amazing here. He owns every scene he is in, there are times where you can't take your eyes off of him, he is the one most affected by the war and he does a really good job of portraying this. He is the most interesting character in the film and I thought he was the best part of this entire film.
Supporting Characters
The rest of the crew have good chemistry together, but there is no doubt that I didn't care about them anywhere as much as Lindo and I felt like as the film progressed I cared less and less about them. Chadwick Boseman is in this film and does a decent job when he is on screen but he doesn't really have much of a character, we are told all these good things about him but we never see him so it makes you question just how good he is. The rest of the cast didn't do much for me whether they were protagonists or antagonists they were pretty dull and generic.
Story
This story has an interesting premise to it, as you see these guys hunt for this gold you see how it affects them and how there lives have changed and it is done well. Also this film has plenty of moral and political questions to ask and some of it was handled well, others not. This film has too many side plots that feel pointless and it takes up a good part of the first act making it pretty much an hour in before they actually go on their journey and by then I was a bit bored. Also this film tries to mix real life issues with this film and I thought it was handled very clumsily, it feels like Spike Lee the director was trying to send a very clear message but in my opinion it took away from the movie and felt like he was just was trying to tell the history of black culture which is obviously important but I am just not sure if it was needed in this film.
Script
The script has some really grest dramatic dialogue, it has some really memorable moments and builds the tension really well. The humour used here didn't really work for me and I think that will be a subjective thing but I think it also had something to do with how it was used sometimes leading to a clashing of tones.
Style
The film as mentions does a great job in building suspense and tension, there are some really uncomfortable scenes and this film did a great job with it. Also there are a few good shootouts here when they happen and this film is filmed really well with a unique style to it. But I can't help but mention that the pace is just off, the first hour is so slow and with the film being 2 and a half hours it needs to grip you early but for me it just didn't.
Overall
Overall, this is clearly a passion project by Spike Lee and there are some highlights for sure mainly being his style and the lead performance. Though, I don't believe this will be remembered as one of his greats as sometimes his beliefs overpower the story and this is a longer film then it needed to be. If you are a fan of war films then this might be for you and it is a decent watch but I wouldn't say it is one to rush to see.