Delayed Reaction: Da 5 Bloods

Premise: Four black Vietnam veterans return to Vietnam to track down a stash of gold they found and couldn't take with them when they were there decades ago.

I kind of like that Spike Lee doesn't know how to turn it off. He's able to take something as surface-level populist and traditional as a hunt for gold and quietly turn it into a civics lesson. And yes, I am aware that it's a choice of Spike Lee's to do that, not an inability. The Inside Man is something thoroughly enjoyable and not the least bit "preachy". However, his best and preferred mode is "OK, now that I have your attention..."

It's interesting that his early films get the highest praise, because I think he's clearly grown as a filmmaker. Something like Do The Right Thing is bold and urgent. It reminds me a lot of someone when they are fresh out of college and eager to use everything they learned right away. Perhaps I'll come around on those early films, but it's not until Malcolm X that things get more measured. You can sense him taking a breath before doing things. Less urgent, more polished. I'll let others argue about what's ultimately more effective. I'm liking this era of BlacKkKlansman, Da 5 Bloods, and even Chi-Raq more.

Watching Da 5 Bloods is like watching an action movie with a glossary feature turned on. Recently, I've watched The Treasure of the Sierra Madre and Aguirre, the Wrath of God. Both, along with Apocalypse Now and even Triple Frontier make for a great syllabus for this movie. The madness in the jungle, the distrust, and the PTSD of it all are familiar from a lot of previous movies and that are put through Spike Lee's distinctive filter. I wouldn't call it mindless fun, but it certainly scratches an itch for a certain kind of action movie.

I love seeing guys like Delroy Lindo, Isiah Whitlock Jr., and Clarke Peters getting major roles. I was thrilled to get a Clay Davis "shiiiiiiiiit" from Whitlock. Lindo is a freaking force of nature. I tend to think of him mostly as a character actor. Frankly, I've probably confused him more than once with Ving Rhames, so it was nice to see him in something undeniably distinctive.

The reason I made the glossary comment is because of how Lee employs snapshots of people the characters reference. There are probably a dozen names mentioned in the movie and given an info care who I had never heard of before. I know I wouldn't've ever looked up Edwin Moses had he just been mentioned without a card on the screen for him, but here I am with his Wikipedia page pulled up right now. It's like Lee said, "We're going to mention a bunch of people in this script. I know that if we just say them in passing, you'll probably just move past them, but if I give you a picture and the spelling, maybe it might stay with you." It certainly worked for me. I'm not sure how many other filmmakers could get away with a move like this, but it's part of Spike Lee's charm, I suppose.

Verdict: Weakly Recommend