Overview
Four veterans return to Vietnam, seeking closure and treasure amidst the chaos of war.
Ember's analysis
- Pacing
- Brisk
- Intensity
- Strong
- Complexity
- Layered
- Violence
- Graphic
- politically urgent
- caustic
- mournful
- serious movie night
- historical drama night
What critics said
Critics broadly praised the film's fierce political energy, ambitious Vietnam veteran drama, striking visuals, and Delroy Lindo's commanding performance, while noting structural unevenness.
What sets it apart
May contain story progression spoilers
The four African American veterans revisit Vietnam while confronting the racialized history of their service and its aftermath.
The search for buried gold complicates the veterans' mission to recover their fallen squad leader.
The film intercuts present-day Vietnam with wartime memories and uses archival imagery to connect past violence to current political realities.
The veterans' return exposes unresolved grief, guilt, rage, and the effects of war on their relationships with one another and with Paul's son.
Films like Da 5 Bloods, and why
The Deer Hunter
shared Vietnam veteran trauma, fractured male camaraderie, and morally charged war drama
Apocalypse Now
shared return-to-war-zone structure, buried history, and psychologically intense veteran drama
Malcolm X
shared politically urgent Black historical perspective, confrontational style, and communal reckoning
The Treasure of the Sierra Madre
shared treasure hunt framework transformed into a meditation on war, memory, and exploitation
Movie Details
- Director
- Spike Lee
- Release Date
- 2020-06-12
- Runtime
- 155 min
- Rating
- 6.4 / 10 (1205)
Cast
- Delroy Lindo
- Jonathan Majors
- Clarke Peters
- Norm Lewis
- Isiah Whitlock Jr.
- Mélanie Thierry
- Paul Walter Hauser
- Jasper Pääkkönen
- Johnny Tri Nguyen
- Lê Y Lan
Where to watch in United States
- Streaming
- Netflix, Netflix Standard with Ads
Streaming options come from TMDB and change over time.
Common questions
- What is Da 5 Bloods about?
- Four African American Vietnam veterans return to the jungle for a fallen comrade and buried gold, only to find their old war still shaping the present.
- What is Da 5 Bloods like to watch?
- Ember's analysis rates the pacing of Da 5 Bloods as brisk, its intensity as strong and its storytelling as layered.
- Is Da 5 Bloods violent?
- Yes. Ember rates the violence in Da 5 Bloods as graphic.
- What did critics think of Da 5 Bloods?
- Critics broadly praised the film's fierce political energy, ambitious Vietnam veteran drama, striking visuals, and Delroy Lindo's commanding performance, while noting structural unevenness.
- Which films are like Da 5 Bloods?
- Films with a similar feel include The Deer Hunter, Apocalypse Now, Malcolm X, and The Treasure of the Sierra Madre.
- How long is Da 5 Bloods?
- Da 5 Bloods runs 155 minutes.
- Where can I watch Da 5 Bloods?
- In United States, Da 5 Bloods streams on Netflix, Netflix Standard with Ads.
