"We heard about your brother's death and we don't want you running around turning the streets into rivers of blood."...( 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.
The idiots responsible for Date Movie, Epic Movie, Meet the Spartans and Disaster Movie should be abducted and forced to watch Black Dy
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.
Black Dynamite
85%
liked it
Black Dynamite
Michael Jai White, Kym Whitley, Tommy Davidson, Kevin Chapman, Byron Minns
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.
Id: 11062845
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Recent Reviews
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December 2, 2009"We heard about your brother's death and we don't want you running around turning the streets into rivers of blood."
...( read more)
The idiots responsible for Date Movie, Epic Movie, Meet the Spartans and Disaster Movie should be abducted and forced to watch Black Dy -
November 26, 2009"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) -
November 9, 2009A 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)
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November 7, 2009Take 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)
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October 16, 2009This 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)
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December 26, 2009Black Dynamite will go down as a quotable classic. From kung-fu treachery to foxy ladies, this movie has it all! At first I was unsure about whether on not I would like Black Dynamite, but after reading a few reviews I decided to go. It was totally worth seeing. I was cracking up...( read more)
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December 16, 2009One of the funniest parodies ever. This one is a homage to the 70's blaxpoitation genre movies such as Shaft. The filmmakers lovingly recreate the look of those movies by the grainy footage, jive talk, kung fu action, visible boom mike, crappy camera work, music and cheesy acting...( read more)
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December 14, 2009Film de série B qui n'en est pas vraiment un. À la fois un pastiche et un hommage, mais plus important: un excellent film. Très drôle.
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December 13, 2009Easily the funniest film of the year. It isn't a parody of the blaxploitation genre. It is one. Eternally quotable, this film may be a cult classic. "I'm Gonna Get Your Sucka" WISHES it could be this.
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