MovieChat Forums > Da 5 Bloods (2020) Discussion > One minor Nit-Pick for me:

One minor Nit-Pick for me:


Their relative ages (versus their actual ages of 1952, 1952, 1954 & 1963) just distracted me a little but what bothered me, and none more so than their children ages (ahem, David), was the relative ages by appearance/looks of Otis' girlfriend (Tien) and their biracial child (Michon). The mom (Tien) would have to be in her mid to late fifties and the daughter late forties?

Otis (Clarke Peters) was just old enough to have actually been of age to have been drafted, or to have joined the military in 67 -71. King was assassinated in 4/68 so they all were pretty much all cast age appropriately and any relationship between Otis and Tien probably happened after 4/1968. Every time the daughter was on screen I just couldn't stop questioning her age by her appearance!

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I was definitely thrown off by a variety of things like the main actors being used in flashback scenes with no real attempt made to de age them and as you mentioned the mother and daughter who definitely seemed too young who would have had to be at least in their 60s and late 40s respectively. It's also made explicitly clear that it takes place during the current time period with the smart phones and overt president Trump references.

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[–] Threadkiller (1456) 4 hours ago
I was definitely thrown off by a variety of things like the main actors being used in flashback scenes with no real attempt made to de age them and as you mentioned the mother and daughter who definitely seemed too young who would have had to be at least in their 60s and late 40s respectively.
I had already seen an interview with Spike Lee a few days before June 12th where Spike explained the production decision to NOT de-age the actors. I too might have been confused if I had been dropped into those scenes with out context; but they were set-up and transitioned so brilliantly that it was a joy to experience as part of the story-telling. It was as if these four remaining Bloods were stuck in time in a place of trauma. At first I thought their movements in the action scenes betrayed their natural ages and lacked a youthful physicality but when I watched it a second time I could see I was projecting something that wasn't there. They all moved, responded and acted accordingly, like soldiers in a firefight.

Artistically this is a very well done, thought out set of director choices that some are going to find fault with but are clearly done for a reason.

Fun Fact: Otis, David, Paul, Melvin and Eddie get their names from the founding members of The temptations. Ball of Confusion was a fitting song for that era also (released 1970).
People moving out, people moving in
Why, because of the color of their skin
Run, run, run but you sure can't hide

An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth
Vote for me and I'll set you free
Rap on, brother, rap on

Well, the only person talking about love thy brother is the(preacher)
And it seems nobody's interested in learning but the(teacher)
Segregation, determination, demonstration, integration,
Aggravation, humiliation, obligation to our nation

Ball of confusion
Oh yeah, that's what the world is today
Woo, hey, hey

The sale of pills are at an all time high
Young folks walking round with their heads in the sky
The cities ablaze in the summer time

And oh, the beat goes on

Evolution, revolution, gun control, sound of soul
Shooting rockets to the moon, kids growing up too soon
Politicians say more taxes will solve everything

And the band played on

So, round and around and around we go
Where the world's headed, nobody knows

Oh, great googalooga, can't you hear me talking to you
Just a ball of confusion
Oh yeah, that's what the world is today
Woo, hey, hey

Fear in the air, tension everywhere
Unemployment rising fast, the Beatles new record's a gas

And the only safe place to live is on an indian reservation

And the band played on

Eve of destruction, tax deduction, city inspectors, bill collectors,
Mod clothes in demand, population out of hand, suicide, too many bills,
Hippies moving to the hills People all over the world are shouting, 'End the war'

And the band played on

Great googalooga, can't you hear me talking to you
Sayin' ball of confusion
That's what the world is today, hey, hey

Let me hear ya, let me hear ya, let me hear ya
Sayin' ball of confusion
That's what the world is today, hey, hey
Let me hear ya, let me hear ya, let me hear ya, let me hear ya, let me hear ya
Sayin' ball of confusion
😎

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All of the characters if this was happening today would be much older than they looked in the movie. Viet Nam vets look older than those guys.

So ... I'd agree it's kind of minor.

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