Black Dynamite REVIEW!

If I was to describe this movie in one word?...DYNAMITE! God! I enjoyed the hell out of this film! This is a perfect send-off of old classic blaxploitation films. This film captured that vibe of a very low budget film that just had one thing going for it: a cool ass character and the biggest leading man for the role. I don't even think I can go as far as to call the film a parody, because while it is hysterically funny, it doesn't hit you with the jokes as blatantly as it some other spoofs do. This film has a heart to it and it takes it's subject matter seriously to a certain extent. This is more of a film inspired by that nostalgic era in the 1970's where you just had these rushed shoe-string-budget films come out on the market. These movies were the equivalent of what a direct to video movie is these days. These films were made for a certain crowd and it was made to be just a fun time. This film nails that vibe and I ended up loving the living hell out of this film.

The script...is utter crap. Like the films that this was inspired by There is no reason for this film to exist apart from the fact that they want to make a film that had a black cop busting crime, doing kung-fu, kicking a lot of ass, sticking it to the man, and having his way with the ladies. Black Dynamite is that film that escaped from the 70's and brought into today's world. The story is just overly cheesy. The script is full of plot twists that undercut the previous plot twists. Flashbacks are used to tell stories about how characters came to be when it is not needed. It also has a ridiculous conspiracy involving malt liquor. All of this leads up to a last act that just becomes truly unbelievable. Does this mean the film's story is bad? Yes! But is it boring to watch? NOT BY A LONG SHOT! All of these flaws serve to help the film reach that level of entertainment where you can just sit back and enjoy the film's flaws for once. The script maybe mediocore, but it's just a lot of fun to watch! The film is freaking hysterical. The writers definitely knew what it wanted to be and they did a great job in making a retro-feeling blaxploitation film! There are tons of great one-liners, action sequences, fight scenes, deaths, and gags that you are just going to really dig the hell out of. It's just a treat to walk into this movie and just laugh all throughout!

The acting overall is bad. But it's purposefully bad. It's not painful to watch, but quite the contrary, it makes the fun just so damn enjoyable and fun to watch. The main actor that sticks out here is Michael Jai White's performance as Black Dynamite. He has a presence that is reminiscent of a Shaft-like character, but you don't watch this film for one second and think about Shaft or any of the classic characters of this genre. Black Dynamite sticks out among the crowd and he is fucking awesome! You can't help but cheer when this character is just kicking ass and blowing shit up or laugh hysterically when he tries to deliver a line that holds a semblance that resembles serious emotionality. Michael's performance is spot on. When the performance is off, he knows. That is the whole point! This is classic blaxploitation character that is just badass and is everything a man wishes he could be and do! Just a hysterical performance!

The one thing I walked out of this film really enjoying was the cinematography. The film was shot on a super 16mm camera and what that does is just give the film just a high contrast feel that it was made for dirt cheap. But it works to the film's advantage and the cinematography almost becomes a character in the film. There's not much to say about how the film looks. It looks like crap. The lighting is horrible, but that is the intention. The editing techniques employ a lot of the fads that was present such as split-screening during the action. Or having long periods of green-screen work that clearly couldn't be ok in any other film apart from this genre. Or even having stock footage of a car blowing up or a big budget effect. They all stand out, but it's just a hysterical thing to watch onscreen!

THIS FILM IS THOUGHLY ENTERTAINING! There are so many gags for the film buffs and the movie loving crowd that you just forgive the film and you take these "flaws" as the tone of the film! Not in a while was I more happier to just watch a "bad" film and just walk out of it really loving it. All I can say is that Tarrantino and Rodriquez are going to be pissed off. This is how you really pull off exploitation films! Unlike Tarrantino's and Rodriquez's Grindhouse (2007), this film nails that look, tone, and feeling of a exploitation film. From the script, to the acting, and the editing; this is a hilarious film inspired by the blaxploitation era. When you see all of the flaws in this film, you don't think it's a letdown or a betrayal of the filmmakers. You come to love it as it's own thing and it's not a flaw after the first few minutes. These flaws are the films biggest strengths because it is these flaws that make it so damn hysterical. This film took the best parts of blaxploitation and just made them so fuckin' fun to watch! This film is even better than the trailer and it lives up to the promise of just being a fun film to watch! This is one of the funniest films to come out all year. I certainly had a blast watchin this film! It's undeniably a high FULL-PRICE!!! Go check this out with some friends and have a blast! CAN YOU DIG IT?!