It was a very wasted opportunity by Lee.

Rating: 5/10 (15 June 2020)

I just finished watching "Da 5 Bloods".
First Act:
Started strong. By the end it grew disjointed and messy and started to lose my interest.
Second Act:
When they found the gold it started to pick up, but that carried on way too long.
Third Act:
Was pretty good, but Spike Lee tried to do too much.
It seems from the way he edited the movie that he was trying to be more like Oliver Stone with his cutaways and obscure references.
I would have much rather have seen more of the "Bloods" in Vietnam serving on missions as heroes to solidify their story even further.
Instead Lee felt he had to tell the story instead of show it.
In a movie.....a visual medium...always show it instead of tell it if you can.
Then, as Spike Lee does...he got preachy especially in the end.
You don't have to be overt with your symbolism. There is a way to convey a message in a movie without beating the audience over the head with it.
Lee is not good enough of a writer or director to know how to do that.
This could have been a great adventure film.
There is great potential there, but Lee just tried to do too much.
CHARACTERS:
Most of the acting was just okay.
The conflict resolution was over the top for most every character arc except for Otis.
Delroy Lindo did a good job. He wasn't Oscar worthy.
I liked the subtle work that Clarke Peters (Otis) did in the film.
Chadwick Boseman was wasted. All of the talk about his character and his heroics, but Lee never showed enough of that.
The son was a wasted character. He was unnecessary as were the LAMB people.

Too long. About midway through I had to check to see how much was left.

Lee simply should have shown the Bloods in Vietnam fighting together, and then cut back and forth to them on their heist juxtaposing the two. Absolutely not enough Vietnam shown.
It was average. Spike Lee is quite overrated as a director and writer.