NEEDED TO BE MADE, NEEDS TO BE SEEN

Rating: 10/10 (13 June 2020)

OLD PEOPLE: THIS MOVIE ISNT FOR YOU
First quickly to those writing reviews: Just think about Hollywood and all its history of sensationalizing white history in America, while simplifying a majority of opinions of ethnic minorities to whatever cultural stereotype is convenient. 5 black or brown leads in a big budget historical action flick is not very common, but look at America today... why shouldn't it be?? Why can't it be??
As far as the film goes it brings that free-spirited sixties aesthetic to life but with all of Spike Lees clever thematically educational explorations of race, identity and responsibility. Additionally, the tension in this film is incredible and on par with (or perhaps better than) any suspenseful Tarantino scene. The sharp, cynical wit of Spikes writing crackles to life in the form of the titular Bloods played brilliantly by the haunted Delroy Lindo, the honest Clarke Peters, the loyal Isiah Whitlock Jr., the humble Norm Lewis, the heroic Chadwick Boseman and the loving Jonathan Majors. The cinematography is breathtaking, the visual transitions seamlessly flow between time periods, and the atmospheric sound design blends together with the many Marvin Gaye song cues (Inner City Blues and What's Going On stand out) to put us in the minds of these men. Those who want to start this movie looking for an old-war-buddies-kick-ass-and-reminisce action epic will get what they came for, and those who want to see racism in America and abroad unflinchingly confronted in a historical and modern context will be satisfied as well.
Apart from the uniformed trolls and BLM-deniers who reviewed and rated this film poorly simply because they think they are doing something useful (i.e. short, angry, 1-2 star reviews that don't have specific points about the actual content of the film and seem written in a rush), I think that some people will not like it as it moves quickly between genres and was advertised as a fun, action-packed thrill-ride which it generally is, but there are some shocking images and moments that are purposeful to the story and emphasize the brutality wrought on the innocents by the tragedy that was the Vietnam War, and they can be very jarring and unsettling to the average movie watcher. That doesn't mean it's a bad movie, Spike has an intention with his filmmaking to tell stories that are unknown or under appreciated in American society and he absolutely nails it with this one. You can learn so much about past and present history from this film if you wish to, but if you want it be Apocalypse Now in the vein of Treasure of the Sierra Madre, simply about gold and it's power to corrupt the minds of even the most good-hearted people, then you can have that as well.
Can't say enough about this film so I'll end it here but PLEASE DO NOT LISTEN TO THE SHORT, ANGRY AND SMALL-MINDED REVIEWS!!