Review: Spike Lee's Da 5 Bloods is a film for the moment, and for the ages

Oscar-winning filmmaker Spike Lee's new film Da 5 Bloods burst onto Netflix on Friday night, a film for the moment and one for the ages.

It's the story of a tight group of black Vietnam war veterans who return to the jungle on a hunt for gold.

There is no question this is a Lee joint. Send it straight to the top of your watchlist.

Vietnam war vets Paul, Otis, Eddie and Melvin are back in Saigon for the first time since the war. They are four of the 5 Bloods - the 5th, platoon leader Norman, lies buried somewhere in the overgrown jungle, and so does the massive cache of gold they buried with him.

So this is a treasure hunting heist movie? This is so much more than a heist movie.

This is Spike Lee. He's been at the front of the Black Lives Matter movement his entire life. With a cast which includes Frenchman Jean Reno and Black Panther star Chadwich Boseman, it's the Bloods who deliver on the promise of this film. 

Delroy Lindo is cast as the rage-filled Trump-supporting PTSD sufferer Paul, with relative newcomer Jonathan Majors bursting onto the screen as his son David. They both standout, delivering awards-worthy performances.

The potency of this story seeping from the pores of each character and flowing from the blood which binds them is transformative. There are sudden shocking moments of physical and emotional brutality punctuating a sprawling story driven by history, fuelled by characters infused with pain, loss, fury and love.

Five stars.