Da 5 Bloods

Name: Da 5 Bloods
Item: Da 5 Bloods
Rating: 4
Author: Renee Schonfeld

Movie review by

Renee Schonfeld, Common Sense Media

Common Sense says

age 17+

(i)

Intense tale of war, racial politics; violence, language.

R
2020
154 minutes

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Parents say

age 16+

Based on 2 reviews

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We think this movie stands out for:

Character Strengths

A lot or a little?

The parents' guide to what's in this movie.

Positive Messages

Demonstrates horrors and atrocities of war and relentless consequences to those involved. Builds awareness of racial inequality throughout U.S. history, most specifically late 20th century. Shows long-term effects of that inequality. Promotes activism, reconciliation, and perseverance.

Positive Role Models & Representations

Central character is a complex man whose fearsome anger and self destructiveness are in conflict with his basic decency, compassion, and awareness of right and wrong. His allies are, at various times, courageous, smart, selfless, and committed team players. All the men and the few women -- villains and heroes -- are creatures of the wartime, racially-fraught circumstances of their lives. Some stereotypes of Vietnamese people.

Violence

Strong, graphic violence and disturbing images throughout includes many brutal deaths, images of gruesome bodies, and the bloody aftermath of war battles. Extended combat scenes (machine guns, grenades, hand-to-hand combat, sniper fire, stabbing, helicopter attacks, mine fields) are punctuated by point-blank shootings. In addition to the filmed sequences, newsreel footage/photographs of U.S. racial turmoil and actual atrocities from the Vietnam War are included.

Sex

One photograph shows a naked child running to escape war violence.

Language

Nonstop profanity and racial slurs, i.e., "p---y," "whore," "ho," "s--t," "c--k," "hell," "ass," multiple forms of "f--k," the "N" word, "coon."

Consumerism

Drinking, Drugs & Smoking

Social drinking and drunkenness. Characters take opioids for pain. Some smoking.

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What parents need to know

Parents need to know that Da 5 Bloods is Spike Lee's first film made for Netflix. While the heart of the story takes place in current day, flashbacks, historical documents, newsreel footage, and photographs augment Lee's powerful exploration of war and race over half a century. African American veterans of the Vietnam war return to Ho Chi Mihn City nearly 50 years after its end. Old business calls the friends together: the retrieval of their beloved team leader's body and a secret mission that could be as dangerous as their months at war on the same killing ground decades earlier. Violence, emotional conflict, and mature themes are fundamental to the movie. Viewers can expect bloody and brutal images, horrendous battles, violent deaths from all manner of weaponry (i.e., machine guns, grenades, minefields, stabbing). Among iconic news clips and images from the Vietnam War, one photograph shows a naked child running to escape war violence. Nearly continuous profanity includes "s--t," "ass," "p---y," "c--k," and countless uses of "f--k." Ethnic slurs (i.e., "coon," the "N" word) are heard frequently. Characters drink alcohol (some drunkenness) and characters use opioids for pain. Some stereotypes of Vietnamese people. This movie isn't for kids.

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User Reviews

Parents say
Kids say

Adult Written byschizoidnightmares June 24, 2020

age 16+

Madness

This movie is just all over the place... Like a stream of Spike Lee's consciousness put partly together in a motion picture with a plot, almost like a drea... Continue reading

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Adult Written byHydroPlaysXband... June 15, 2020

age 16+

Great political drama/satire is better for older audiences.

Da 5 Bloods is about a group of Vietnam Veterans who return to Nam to look for their deceased Captains corpse. They also look for something they hid there years... Continue reading

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What's the story?

DA 5 BLOODS are African American "blood brothers" who fought side by side in Vietnam. One of them, team leader "Stormin' Norman" (Chadwick Boseman), was left behind. The remaining four: Paul (Delroy Lindo), Otis (Clarke Peters), Melvin (Isiah Whitlock, Jr.), and Eddie (Norm Lewis) return to Vietnam nearly 50 years later, ostensibly to bring Norman's body home. Secretly, it's more than Norm's body they're searching for. The "bloods" also hope to recover a treasure of illegally confiscated gold bars that they buried during the war. After a joyful reunion in Ho Chi Mihn City, the group plans to sell the gold if they find it. To that end, they partner reluctantly with the sketchy Desroche (Jean Reno), a corrupt Frenchman. The four friends are then joined by Paul's son, David (Jonathan Majors), now "the 5th blood." Their journey into the familiar but dangerous jungle in which they soldiered so many years earlier begins.

Is it any good?

Delroy Lindo leads a stellar cast in this genre-bending film: taut adventure story, historical documentary, and Shakespearean tragedy with a flawed hero who delivers a powerful soliloquy. Spike Lee breaks rules in most of his films. His weightiness and acclaim over the years let him call the shots. Some folks may not like the way he defies norms in Da 5 Bloods. He interjects newsreel footage, racial facts and figures, and diverting flashbacks in unexpected places. He uses the same aging actors in their roles as young men without worrying that it may distract. He isn't concerned that it took his heroes five decades to return to Vietnam.

Even naysayers will have to admit, however, that Delroy Lindo's electrifying performance is reason enough to see this emotionally impactful film. When Do the Right Thing was released in 1989, it was both a critical and commercial success, but its underlying anger was controversial. Over time that anger became prophetic. Now, the release of Da 5 Bloods couldn't be more relevant. Historical upheaval began to give truth to Lee's messages before he even finished his final cut.

Talk to your kids about ...

Families can talk about the violence in Da 5 Bloods. Was it exciting or upsetting (or both)? Did it seem gratuitous or justifiable? If you believe it was for a purpose, what emotions do you think the filmmaking team was hoping to evoke with the graphic scenes and disturbing images from past and present?
The character of Paul is nuanced and complex. In what ways is he a hero? A victim? An aggressor? In spite of his behavior (and fury), is he sympathetic? How did the movie show the cultural factors that impacted Paul's evolution?
In some movies, the setting for the story often becomes a "character" in that story -- an integral part of the plot. How were both Ho Chi Minh City and the jungles outside of the city characters in this film? Could it have been set (and photographed) anywhere else? Why or why not?
Spike Lee brings a strong viewpoint to his films. What do you think his intentions were in Da 5 Bloods: to entertain, persuade, or inspire, or a combination of some or all of them? Was he successful? Were you aware of his emotional connection to the issues he explores before you saw this film?