Black Dynamite is a hilarious satire of 70s era Blaxploitation films that debuted at last year’s Sundance film festival. After receiving limited distribution, it is now on DVD. Michael Jai White cowrites and stars as Black Dynamite, a former CIA agent who is forced back into the game after his brother is murdered in what appears to be a drug deal gone wrong. Black Dynamite assembles a crew to clean up the streets and take down “The Man”. Black Dynamite’s battle against corrupt officials takes him to different locales and leads him into confrontations with several fictional and real-life individuals.
This may be the funniest film that I have seen in a long time. The performances are very reminiscent of several 70s film stars. Co-writer and actor Byron Mins plays Bullhorn, a rhyming nightclub owner and performer who is an homage to Rudy Ray Moore’s character Dolemite. The always-funny Tommy Davidson (In Living Color) does not disappoint as a pimp turned informant Cream Corn. There is also a scene involving a “Pimp Council” that includes Arsenio Hall as Tasty Freeze, former NBA star John Salley as Kotex, and Cedric Yarborough (Reno 911) as Chocolate Giddy-Up. Salli Richardson (Eureka) plays the role of Black Dynamite’s love interest, Gloria. She plays every scene straight, no matter how absurd it gets, and it makes each scene that she is in even more humorous. Also, the use of stock footage from 70s films, the way the film was shot, and intentional mistakes (boom mics in the shot, one actor playing several roles) give the impression that this film could have been released in the 1970s. Black Dynamite has a healthy dose of satire, but respects the source material enough to avoid becoming a complete parody. In addition, the special features include deleted and alternate scenes, a documentary, commentary, and the Black Dynamite panel at the San Diego Comicon.
Black Dynamite is a star-studded, hysterically humorous tribute to films such as Shaft, Dolemite, Willie Dynamite, and Enter the Dragon. The story might not be the strongest, but in all honesty, many original Blaxploitaiton films didn’t have strong plots, either. If you are in the mood for a good comedy, I strongly recommend this film. If you can respect the Blaxploitaition genre for its “awesome badness”, you will love this DVD.
Black Dynamite is a definite BUY
Source: http://www.fusedfilm.com/2010/02/dvd-review-black-dynamite/
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