Black Dynamite is a beautifully faithful homage film to the Blaxsploitation genre of the 1970s, seeping every second of the film in the rich albeit sometimes flawed production qualities of those pictures. Essentially a passion project for Michael Jai White who plays our eponymous character who after learning his brother got killed goes on a bewildering but highly entertaining trail that leads to a nationwide conspiracy and kung fu treachery. This has been a movie on my list for a long ass time, and I honestly just don't know where to begin because every aspect I could go into considerable detail with. I will say first and foremost that while the script is really damn good this movie wouldn't be worth anything without the cast presented. Michael is a stellar lead able to tightrope bonafide bad mothertrucker action star and genuinely hilarious comedian, with a substantial background in martial arts he simply IS Black Dynamite to a fault! Salli is a lovely lady and though the romance with her character Gloria is far from fleshed out, it still kinda works regardless. Byron Minns as silver tongued rhymer extraordinaire Bullhorn though in a smaller capacity is great fun and man I'm kinda jealous of his verse! Tommy Davidson as Cream Corn certainly shines brighter in the show but certainly has moments here as a more comedic foil on the hero side, but hey he's a part of the team. The production side of things I feel deserves a dedicated masterclass it's so effortlessly embedded in the early 70s timeframe, that if you were uninitiated you wouldn't blink twice and just assume it was a 70s exploitation flick! The grain, the color saturation, the clothes, the cars, the editing, the music right out of a Rudy Ray Moore movie, the simultaneous love given to blaxsploitation and martial arts cinema, the flubs peppered throughout are a bleeding heart for that particular type of filmmaking in that time and corner of the world. The movie could give a shit less if you saw the boom mic or any other flaw, and frankly I don't care either! I've never seen a movie that has intentional botches in it and it somehow is endearing and entertaining, adding just another layer of enjoyment to the experience. The fights can range from extremely humorous to pretty kick ass, with Michael's ample skills on full display and a little bit of gunplay to keep it fresh. The comedy is where it shines the most, with some of the jokes undercutting to where you have to pay attention to get them while others is pure visual gags that work well, and it is quotable as all hell! I've only seen the movie probably less than 10 times, but I can still rattle off lines that absolutely have been adopted into my vocabulary. The worst part is I think it's still very much considered a cult film, sure the show helped get it onto the more mainstream scopes of people but it's not a household name yet which I find inexcusable. I love this movie and I'd gladly review the series when I have the time. It's such a unique beast that somehow simultaneously seems like it's not trying at all and putting so much meticulous effort in it that it's kinda amazing! Easy 4 stars from me, 9/10, and that about does it for this month. Tune in next month for modern sci-fi, adaptations of a gothic french novel, some crime thriller antics, and a decade of reviews.
No comments:
Post a Comment