I really really wanted to love this film :(

Rating: 2/10 (8 July 2020)

Maybe I set my standards too high before watching the film and that is why it was a deception to me, but I really wanted to love this film. From the Vietnam war theme to the Afro-American point of view on this conflict, I was to eager to find out how Spike Lee would tell us this story especially after watching the trailer that only got my expectations even higher.
However, after 20 minutes of film, it was really difficult for me to finish it (but I did force myself !). Which is really a pity. It is such a waste of good ideas. There were lots of elements that were in the film and I was very pleased to see them there but... how to say this? It is like having a very good story to tell but telling it in a way that is cringey, cheesy and almost boring to people...
So in favor of this film, I would say that it had good ideas : the theme, mixing the historical facts in it with authentic clips...
But the way the story was told...
In the trailer, it was a juxtaposition of historical clips and present day film and it worked ! It was entrancing, I wanted to know more about these people, what did they do exactly ? How important were they in the conflict?
But in the film... It was the same as if I was shown powerpoint slides on these same people and it lost its charm. You know, it's a bit like sometimes, some teachers at school make you love some subjects, while countless others make you feel very bored with endless slides even when the subject is actually one of your passion. This was the same thing for me.
Another major thing in the film I didn't like is the fact that there were no dimension to the supporting characters. I mean, yes it is literally called "supporting characters", but I felt so clearly that the other characters were just a "tool" for the story to move forward. Let's take for example the Vietnamese guide Vinh. Of course in the Vietnamese culture, people try to not be resentful towards American citizens and even forgive the GIs that killed Vietnamese people and among them their brothers, sisters, parents, children...Because it is in their culture to do so. But even if that's the case, they are still human. How could someone be as calm as if it was someone else's story when someone insult you or say really bad things making you the one that killed their comrades while your own father went to the same war and lost his brother and maybe his arms and legs?
And this is not all with this character, in the end of the film he is just there to help the main characters as if he didn't have his own opinion. Or maybe he is just really greedy but he didn't hesitate even a second when the "bad" Vietnamese came there to shoot everyone and take the gold, he immediately shot them back.
He knew on which side he was. But in reality would that decision be so easy to take ? Or would he rather flee ? Or beg the other Vietnamese ? Because it was not his business after all, he didn't owe the main characters anything. And facing death, I wonder if this was a realistic portrayal of human emotions.
Thirdly, the dialogues... They were so flat...and cheesy. Especially the ones involving a Vietnamese or more. I have to recognize the effort of putting grammatically correct and well pronounced Vietnamese language in the film. The dialogues though are like a "google translate" version of a western dialogue. And when these original western dialogues are already cheesy, you know that it can't get better with a translation to another language.
Indeed, each country has its language and culture. And the language is like a way to express how people behave according to their cultures, beliefs etc. People in Europe don't show their emotions or talk like people in Africa, and that's the same thing with every country we can find in the world. So when you know some of Vietnamese culture or East Asian cultures, you will know that there are some things that people don't say because of their cultures.
It is really really rare for example for a mother to say to her daughter "I love you, good night" as if it was something said every nights and then kiss on the forehead. Words have weight. Especially in this culture. While this seems normal for an occidental family situation, in a Vietnamese family, when a mother says "I love you" to her child... there is something wrong : they will never ever see each other again, or for a long long long time, or the mother will die in 5 minutes...And this result in some cringey feelings for the people that understand Vietnamese cultures. What I want to say is not every culture show feelings and emotions the same way. When some American would tell their daughters they love them 3 times per day, a Vietnamese mother will show her love by making her diner for example or doing some small services.
A last thing that annoyed me are the references they tried to put in the film. Like the Ride of the Valkyrie reminding once again Apocalypse Now when they go into the jungle for "the beginning" of the adventure.... I don't know why but that was really cringey :/ . I think what annoyed me is that they wanted to relate (too much?) to the audience which knows in majority this soundtrack and where it comes from. But it seems too forced upon me.
To end this "rant" ^^ (I am sorry if I sound really negative) I was so disappointed with the storytelling of the film. It had good elements but the way it was directed, the dialogues, the editing, were a sad no for me. Artistically, I was not convinced.