Black Dynamite

Here is a late review, for a movie that received a justifiably limited release, playing in mostly black communities ignoring the fact that Black Audiences today have long since forgotten about the Blaxploitation Genre. Truth is, most people have. Sure, we all know it. Hell, Quentin Tarantino won't let us forget that. Sure, just about anyone can watch Black Dynamite, and laugh at sophmoric humor regarding decapitations and penis reduction, but to really appreciate it, you are going to need knowledge of the seventies exploitation film well outside of "Shaft" or "Coffy".

Black Dynamite is the most badass of the badass. He's a shameless womanizer, but in this sort of film that does not keep him from being the purely righteous, heroic figure. Neither does the trail of bodies he leaves in his wake. He's on a mission to find out who killed his brother, which interestingly enough coincides with his other mission, which is to get the drugs off the streets. Him and a rag tag group of Black Militants soon find out there is something bigger (in a shocking moment of Batman like proportions) at hand.

I, for one, am impressed out how exciting and stylish the intentionally badly shot action beats were. This is wall to wall excitement, even if most fights consist of pose offs and show offs. Only liners are almost 180 per minute, proving that star Michael Jai White has the ability to transcend the boundries of space and time. I'm reminded of films like "Slaughter" or even some of the old New World films.

Characters come in and out randomly, others monolog to the camera. The dialog is delivered half heartedly. It's a risk, making a movie that is intentionally bad. Often times, you'll end up with bad special effects, bad acting, and not a trace of believability. We can't just look at the Lost Skeleton of Cadavra and laugh at the intentionally visible strings. For the joke to work, you need to make it look like an accident. Black Dynamite plays it off fairly well, though the half hearted speeches from the supporting cast do get to be irritating. By the last half hour, the film jumps the shark, and exits the "Blaxploitation" genre by going to places the genre never goes. Sure, it's funny. The movie is absolutely hysterical. But I liked watching Black Dynamite following in the footsteps of Shaft or Slaughter.

The reason Black Dynamite works is because Michael Jai White plays the character earnestly. He can say the most ridiculous lines, and we believe that's just how Black Dynamite talks. He's surrounded by over actors (who do their job well) and the aforementioned sacks who don't even bother. Perhaps if we just kept the first two, the movie could have been just a bit better.

*** out of ****