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Michael Jai White, Kym Whitley, Tommy Davidson, Kevin Chapman, Byron Minns ...( see more  see more... ) , Salli Richardson , Cedric Yarbrough , Mykelti Williamson , Brian McKnight , Bokeem Woodbine , Arsenio Hall , John Salley , James McManus , Nicole Sullivan

African-American action legend Black Dynamite goes after 'The Man' for killing his brother Jimmy, for pumping heroin into local orphanages and for flooding the ghetto with hopped-up malt liquor.

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83% liked it

3,166 ratings

Critics

83% liked it

42 critics

R, 1 hr. 30 min.

Directed by: Scott Sanders

Release Date: October 16, 2009

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DVD Release Date: February 16, 2010

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Flixster Reviews (600)

  • PvtCaboose91
    December 2, 2009
    PvtCaboose91
    "We heard about your brother's death and we don't want you running around turning the streets into rivers of blood."


    The idiots responsible for Date Movie, Epic Movie, Meet the Spartans and Disaster Movie should be abducted and forced to watch Black Dy

    ...( read more)namite so they can see how a good spoof movie is done! While recent spoofs have focused on mimicking familiar film scenes or ripping off celebrities with the idiocy of a 10-year-old boy, Black Dynamite is a nostalgic throwback that simultaneously recreates and celebrates the trademarks of the 1970s blaxploitation genre - the jive pimps in garish outfits, the evil politicians, a funky R&B soundtrack, and dialogue laced with expletives, peculiar slang and ethnic slurs. A gleefully harebrained spoof of all things Shaft and Superfly that plays straight-up stupid with vintage filmmaking aesthetics, this is one of the most consistently hilarious and creative spoofs since the days of Airplane! and its brethren.


    Michael Jai White plays the titular character of Black Dynamite; a muscular badass with a lot of guns, an expertise in kung fu and a knack for getting women into bed (or anywhere else that suits him). An evil presence in the city has committed the ultimate crime: they've killed Black Dynamite's kid brother. Dynamite goes on a rampage, tearing up the streets to find the perpetrators. During his quest to serve up payback he also tries to keep kids safe from drugs and protect his bitches from harm. This all leads to the discovery of a terrifying conspiracy against black men.


    In tradition with '70s-era blaxploitation films, the protagonist is a noble ass-kicker who spouts odd slang, is very popular with the females and can make villains quake at the very sight of him, whereas the proceedings are coated with a colourful sheen of tacky clothes, crazy cars and hilariously over-the-top fight sequences. Black Dynamite is certainly knowing in its spoofing, but it rarely winks at the audience to signal any sort of self-aware comfort. The film has a fantastic poker face; committing to an enjoyably silly routine of mockery and homage without being too conscious. On top of the high batting average for laughs, the action set-pieces are pretty awesome as well. And, much like all the greatest spoofs in history, one doesn't need a thorough knowledge of the genre being sent up in order to understand the jokes. This is a major asset for Black Dynamite, because, let's be honest, how many '70s blaxploitation flicks has the average person actually seen? In a sense, Black Dynamite is to blaxploitation what the Austin Powers films are to '60s spy flicks. Not many young comedy fans would be familiar with anything like In Like Flint, but that didn't prevent Austin Powers from becoming an extremely popular franchise.


    Black Dynamite looks spot-on; as if it were an honest-to-goodness blaxploitation picture that has been sitting in a vault for over thirty years. '70s blaxploitation pictures were low-budget affairs often made without a great deal of technical skill, and Black Dynamite recreates this filmmaking incompetency with astonishing, hilarious accuracy. Director Sanders replicates everything from the colour scheme to the cheesy zoom-ins; from the one-dimensional performances to the obvious editing mistakes. Rather than taking the Grindhouse route of aging the picture in post-production, cinematographer Shawn Maurer filmed on Super-16 colour reversal stock, which generates a high-contrast, richly saturated image that's well-augmented by the excellent imitations of '70s-style clunky camerawork and awkward framing. The sets are an absolute hoot (particularly the wonderfully chintzy White House interiors used during the climax), and the mood is further sold by Adrian Younge's utterly perfect, playful score loaded with funny trills as well as "Dynamite!" vocal hits whenever the titular character enters the room or kicks some ass.


    Michael Jai White is pitch-perfect as Black Dynamite; coming across as a credible hero so tough, well-meaning and proud in his embrace of black masculinity that one could easily imagine him being perceived as a point of pride back in the '70s. White manoeuvres through the ridiculous action sequences splendidly, using his extreme physicality to punch villains through walls and brandish phallic weapons convincingly. Similar to the wonderfully obtuse Leslie Nielson (who was a crucial component for the success of the Naked Gun! series), White carries the entire movie and wins you over easily through sheer force of straight-faced absurdity. And that's the key to a great spoof: the characters can never be in on the joke. Black Dynamite nails this perspective with a satisfying consistency, which is particularly laudable when the actor has to deal with the crew's low-budget incompetence (such as a hysterical boom mic joke).


    The art of cinematic spoofing has become so degraded by the likes of Date Movie and Epic Movie that it may take several minutes to recognise Black Dynamite as part of this once-brilliant genre. Some may perceive this movie as a simplistic one-joke affair (because it kind of is), and the film does have trouble sustaining its raucous energy, but the solid laughs and inventiveness manage to compensate for the minor blunders.
  • mrpopcorn
    November 26, 2009
    mrpopcorn
    "Donuts don't wear alligator shoes."

    This is the story of 1970s African-American action legend Black Dynamite. The Man killed his brother, pumped heroin into local orphanages, and flooded the ghetto with adulterated malt liquor. Black Dynamite was the one hero willing to...( read more) fight The Man all the way from the blood-soaked city streets to the hallowed halls of the Honky House..

    REVIEW

    Black Dynamite is an absolutely perfect movie. It somehow manages to be a parody and the thing that it is parodying at the same time. You are watching this alternate universe (a fantasy of the 70s, filtered through the lens of Blaxploitation) and the characters are real and they believe in the fantasy. But you are also constantly reminded that you are watching a film, an intentionally bad one at that. All the things professional filmmakers try to avoid, they do on purpose: Boom mike hitting actor's head, obvious continuity errors, reusing the same shot to save money (exploding car flying off cliff), replacing a stunt actor in mid-sequence. The effect is delightful and hilarious.

    Black Dynamite had me belly-laughing more than once. This movie brings back all that was best (and worst) of those slightly grainy, scratched, funk and wow-wow pedal laden classics of 70's cinema. The deliberate continuity errors and goofs are hilarious. Kudos to the crew and actors for really "getting it" and going for it. (I think the only movie I've seen recently where the actors were having so much fun was Tropic Thunder.)
  • DragonEyeMorrison
    November 9, 2009
    DragonEyeMorrison
    A homage to blaxploitation movies done right. Jai White and the whole cast is great, playing their roles with the right approach. The story do feels that gets lost a bit in the middle, and the comedy can sometimes feel that is winking too much to genre fans. Neverless, it doesn't...( read more) take away anything from the overall product, this is how you revive the grindhouse. No CGI, no redundant dialogues, just the core stuff.
  • kiriyamakazou
    November 7, 2009
    kiriyamakazou
    Take out a pen and a pad and write down the name 'Black Dynamite' This is a character that will soon be on everyone's T-Shirt's, and will make a regular appearance at quoteathons. Black Dynamite resurrects the word 'spoof', which has been dragged through the mud in recent years. ...( read more)It's both a loving tribute and a fun pastiche of blaxploitation films. It isn't just a list of references, but a well crafted story in it's own right. Jai White is obviously having more fun than any man alive. Displaying unique and perfect timing in both his kung-fu routines, and his comedic moments. Like Garth Marenghi's Darkplace, this recreates the era perfectly, and uses "bad" moments, such as poor script reading and boom mic handling, to it's advantage. When people speak of fun entertainment, this is what they mean.
  • stopitgoaway
    October 16, 2009
    stopitgoaway
    This film reduced me to tears of laughter. I've just returned home from seeing it at the Edinburgh film festival and can honestly say this is one of the best movies i've seen this year. I could just list all of the best bits of the movie in this review, but i'd rather you all jus...( read more)t went to see it for yourselves.

    As a parody/homage of the blaxploitation movies of the 70's, this is perfect. If I didn't know better, i'd think this was actually made in the 70's. Its full of cool little details, the decor, the fashion, the hair styles, the Isaac Hayes/Curtis mayfield style music that details the plot in the lyrics (sometimes scene specific), the grainy picture and the intentionally dodgy camera-work, crash zooms, boom mics in shot etc. During the fight scenes, Michael jai white's kung fu yell is a spot on impersonation of Jim Kelly's (he of Enter the Dragon fame).

    Like all the best spoofs, all the actors play it completely straight. White is perfectly cast as Black Dynamite, and if there is any justice in the world, this movie will make him a star. I can almost imagine Samuel L playing this part, but I doubt he could have played it as well as white did. The scene that crystallised his performance for me, was when, during a long speech, a boom mic pops in to shot right next to his face. During the scene, the cameraman is continually trying to adjust the shot to hide the mic. Dynamite continues with his speech as if nothing is going on, but just before he is finished talking, he quickly glances at it, then finishes his speech. The way he plays it is perfect and had everyone in the cinema in fits of laughter.

    I said earlier that this is the best spoof since airplane, but I actually think this may be better. In airplane, the jokes were quickfire, but hit and miss, but in black dynamite, every joke hits its mark, and its just as quickfire as airplane. The tone is set pretty quick ( when an undercover agent is caught out cos he cant talk jive properly) and doesn't let up until the credits have rolled. I was still laughing hours after I left the cinema just thinking about it.

    Watching this made me wonder how the Austin powers films were such big hits. They were a similar kind of parody but nowhere near as funny, and at the end of the day, aside from a couple of amusing cameos, a one man show (and not a very good one at that). If this doesn't at least do Austin powers numbers, I will be very disappointed, as it deserves the success. Very rarely does a film make me laugh so hard I cry, and this movie did it several times, and its not just me, I think everyone in the cinema had the same experience. Go and see this first chance you get, I cant recommend it enough.
  • RemiLogan
    February 4, 2010
    RemiLogan
    I love that Michael Jai White can go from action films to comedy so effortlessly. While I had hoped this blaxploitation parody would've been funnier than it turned out, I stilled enjoyed it. Even made me wanna run out and rent Supa Fly for a minute. If you're a fan of the style o...( read more)f the 60s and 70s or just love black comedy, check this out. Even if you're not impressed by the laughs, you'll walk away with a lot of funny quotes in your pocket.
  • reytutiver
    February 3, 2010
    reytutiver
    This movie has it all! Kung Fu, guns, women, badass one liners, and of course, Black Dynamite! This film is everything that was good about 70s expliotation cinema.
  • mistadj2u
    January 31, 2010
    mistadj2u
    This movie is a classic to me. Its not for everyone but I think he is a great fighter and the movie is funny as hell....he all about the ladies. gonna buy this when it hits DVD.
  • robfearon
    January 31, 2010
    robfearon
    If the joke is somewhat one-note and eventually told too long and too often, at least it's a good joke.
  • greg4168
    January 30, 2010
    greg4168
    Great idea, well made, but needed to turn up the funny a couple of notches.

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Critic Reviews

October 16, 2009
Kurt Loder, MTV

Can Black Dynamite fend off the Man and the mob and the phalanx of wah-wah guitars arrayed against him and fight his way to the Honky House to mete out kung-fu justice? Most likely! full review

October 16, 2009
A.O. Scott, The New York Times

As a five-minute clip on YouTube, this spoof might be a small masterpiece. As a feature film, it's both too much and not nearly enough. full review

October 15, 2009
Moira MacDonald, Seattle Times

See this one with a crowd, and remember Black Dynamite's immortal words: "Doughnuts don't wear alligator shoes." full review

October 15, 2009
Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times

I am happy to say it brings back an element sadly missing in recent movies, gratuitous nudity. full review

May 3, 2009
Nick Schager, Slant Magazine

Generally humorless and pointless, devoid as the film is of any commentary on the genre to which it's paying loving tribute. full review

View more Black Dynamite reviews at RottenTomatoes.com

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  • Jared Hess is the writer/director of the rather disappointing "Nacho Libre", starring Jack Black. His first major feature, however, was this quirky comedy classic.  Answer »
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