Brace Yourself

Rating: 7/10 (20 June 2020)

Vietnam War movies were really popular in the 80's. I think we were far enough removed from the War to talk about it, yet not too far removed where it was no longer relevant. Many of the vets were still relatively young in the 80's so it made sense to tell their story at that time.
We are now roughly 50 years removed from the Vietnam War and Spike Lee is revisiting it in his movie "Da 5 Bloods." The majority of the movie takes place in present day Vietnam, but there are some scenes from the Vietnam War and five Black American men who fought there. Spike Lee also threw in some actual footage and I don't think there are warnings strong enough to prepare you for some of the "grisly" footage that he added in the movie.
The movie follows Paul (Delroy Lindo), Otis (Clarke Peters), Eddie (Norm Lewis), Melvin (Isiah Whitlock Jr.), and David (Jonathan Majors), with the first four being fellow soldiers and David being the son of Paul. They formed an unbreakable bond while serving in Vietnam as I'm sure many soldiers formed. Though they lost one of their fellow soldiers named Stormin Norman (Chadwick Boseman), they all reunited decades later to visit Vietnam one last time. Though it wasn't for nostalgic reasons, it was for some hidden gold.
Now, so many years removed from the war, the effects of the war upon them are more evident--and it seems that it affected some more than others. Like any Spike Lee movie, it is charged with poignant messages about race and the wide spectrum of beliefs and characteristics of Black Americans. This movie will require a strong constitution to deal with both: racial matters as well as bloody violence. War movies aren't for everyone, and Spike Lee isn't for everyone, so if you know what to expect from both, then I think you will enjoy this movie.