He's super cool and he know's Kung-Fu! Black Dynamite was a movie I had been looking forward to since I first saw the trailer last summer. It's a satire and a parody of the old 70's "blaxploitation" movies and I think it pretty much did everything it could possibly do well. It got the look of the 70's down very well right down to the dated grainy look of the film quality. The main character, Black Dynamite, was pretty much the most awesome thing about the movie which one should expect given that is the name of the movie. The surrounding cast was pretty good too though and the plot, though completely absurd and ridiculous, was awesome none the less.
I really didn't know what to expect. I wasn't sure how serious this movie was going to try to be and thankfully they embraced the absurdity of the concept full boar and didn't try to make anything more serious than it needed to be. A similar approach was what made Zombieland a very good movie. The lead character is an ex CIA-Badass who is also a pimp on the side and a kung fu badass. Black Dynamite is motivated to turn the streets red after he learns about the death of his brother. What progresses from there is quite easily one of the most ridiculous but enjoyable plots that couldn't have fit the movie any better. They even end up going to "Kung-Fu Island" for real. This movie doesn't play games.
As one would expect. Black Dynamite is a total player and he is as smoothe as it comes with the ladies. Once he catches sight of the main lady of the film his sights are set on her (and when he finally seals the deal is amusing in what I can only assume is a somewhat inspired by Anchorman sex scene.) and some of the side-plots that gets introduced through meeting her is that drugs have been leaked on to the streets. Black Dynamite decides to take it upon himself to clean up the streets, momentarily getting distracted from avenging the death of his brother but like any good movie the plot gets back to that eventually.
Now to call Black Dynamite "good" in the traditional, Martin Scorsese, Ridley Scott, David Fincher sense would be completely wrong because this just isn't that kind of movie. Black Dynamite scores big points across the board for its willingness to hug the ridiculous so tight and never let go. It doesn't really hold back and when you're wondering "could this get any more awesome?" it throws something into the mix that keeps it coming. There's very few missed spots in this movie. Sure it's not perfect but given the kind of movie that it is, it's so close. It dives head first into virtually every aspect of the film. To say this movie doesn't half-ass would be an understatement. From how over-the-top the movie can be to how the movie likes to embrace ridiculous continuity errors and faux pas like in one scene where 'the man' is trying to get-away, his car door gets stuck on the lawn as he's getting into his car, making him take the time to shut his door properly before driving off.
I also love how Black Dynamite gets to test his awesome kung-fu skills at virtually any opportunity he can. From when you first meet him to the very final scene of the movie. To brawling multiple opponents at once to whipping out the nunchucks and smacking around some punks. I love the martial arts in this movie because of the cheezy 70's combat music and the
Now, that being said, is Black Dynamite for everyone? I don't know. I'm sure there will be people who watch this after reading this and tell me that it was horrible. This movie will not be for everyone. If you think you can handle an over-the-top ridiculous movie about a CIA-Liscense-to-kill-Pimp-Player-Kung-Fu-Badass who is trying to save the community and the black peoples from a secret evil ploy to sabotage them than you will probably at the very least enjoy it. If it doesn't sound like the kind of movie you would enjoy (I think the trailer gives you a pretty good idea of what its going to be like) than don't watch it. The trailer is just a small sample of the true greatness that is Black Dynamite.
I really hope that this is the first in a long line of movies that just take the ball and run with it. So many movies get stuck in a rut, either its a complete reliance on toilet humor or just a joke that gets old way before the end of the movie. Maybe movies are trying to pander to a mainstream audience and in the process have to dilute what would otherwise be a hilarious movie. Black Dynamite manages to, for lack of a better term, "keep it real". It may be a ridiculous concept but it at the very least has the faith in its idea to ride it out until the end. I wish more comedies would do this rather than take the "two and a half men approach" and cash in on poor, cheap laughs and maybe make a comedy that people will remember in 5 years or longer, anyway, I digress.
If you're looking for something different, funny, cheesy, over-the-top than I recommend Black Dynamite. I absolutely loved this movie. So few films that I wait to see have really truly hit the spot like I expected them to and Black Dynamite is one of those movies.
