Black Dynamite

[2.5
stars] [IMDb Link]

[Amazon Link]
(paid link)

I wanted to like this a lot better than I did. Your mileage could definitely vary, based on your devotion to old-school 70's "blaxploitation" movies that featured African-American guys fighting The Man and loving The Women. If you have a nodding acquaintance with the oeuvre of Rudy Ray Moore, Fred Williamson, Richard Roundtree, Ron O'Neal, … well, check it out.

It's a loving spoof. The title character, played by Michael Jai White, is a baad mother—shut your mouth! … Hey, I'm just talkin' about Black Dynamite.

Anyway, B. D. is a well-known badass, and the murder of his brother sets him on a long trail of revenge. This includes plenty of Kung Fu (and Michael Jai White's pretty good at it), gun fights, knife fights, throwing star fights, nunchuck fights, explosions, explosions, explosions, … Eventually the trail leads right to The Man himself, Richard M. Nixon. (Sorry, spoiler.)

Part of the joke is that the movie consciously emulates the genre's traditional amateurishness, ludicrous dialogue, and low budgets. For example, the same stock footage of the old exploding car going off a cliff is used twice. A boom mic shows up at the top of the screen now and then. OK, I get it.


Last Modified 2024-01-30 3:53 PM EDT