After a riveting and almost flawless first hour, DA 5 BLOODS runs a little bit inconsistent (and overlong), and sometimes threatens to collapse under the weight of its own heady ambitions. The film is so many things - a social and racial statement, a history lesson, a violent jungle war movie, a survivalist epic, a relationship drama, a crime caper, and more. Probably Spike Lee's most ambitious film to date. As expected, Lee adds his own distinctive sense of humor to the characters and situations, along with montages of real-life photos and footage of Vietnam War atrocities to jolt us back to grim realities.
The flashback war sequences are visually conveyed quite interestingly, the screen ratio changing to 4:3 for these sequences, and the film stock looking older and grainier, recreating the way most Americans at the time would have watched the war unfold on their television sets. Later generations will feel as if they are suddenly watching some 80s Vietnam War action flick on their VCR.
Unlike the recent THE IRISHMAN, no CGI is employed during these flashbacks, the older actors simply playing themselves as young soldiers in the 'nam. It's a brave creative choice that seems a little jarring at first but does create a distinctive visual aesthetic, and also helps get you thinking about war and what it turns those who survive it into.
Delroy Lindo will likely find himself in the Oscar race for his role as Paul, a proud Trump supporter still filled with anguish and rage over his Vietnam experience. Veronica Ngo is also excellent as Hanoi Hanna, a real-life Vietnamese radio announcer who, during the Vietnam War, would broadcast (in English) propaganda and other demoralizing messages and speeches to the American troops on behalf of the North.
