Black Dynamite (2009)

I wanted to but couldn't!

Good concept, poorly executed.

I like movies that are aware of what they are selling... without [any] greater aspirations than to make people laugh and that's it.

It's funny, it's tense, it features two great performances from two actors and the director expertly creates a web of odd tension where you actually don't know what is happening for the majority of the run time.

A new smack epidemic has overtaken the ghetto, and only Black Dynamite is man enough to clean up the streets and uncover a deeper conspiracy that goes all the way up to the top! Michale Jai White really hits the blackspoitation sweetspot for most of this movie. It's a perfect send up of 70s action with car chases and plenty of kung fu all backed by a good action movie soundtrack. It gets a little out of hand near the end when Black Dynamite finally exposes The Man behind a secret plan to shrink black men's packages with a drug mixed into a shipment of malt liquor and winds up in a nunchuck fight in the White House with Tricky Dick Nixon himself. But don't let that stop you from getting down with the revolution and checking out Black Dynamite.

Black Dynamite is one of those hidden gems that once you'll discover, it will automatically be added in your "top 10" & "must see on a weekly basis" lists. You're probably wondering why I sort of contradict myself by calling it one of the best comedies of all time, and not scoring it a 10/10, but instead giving it a solid 8. Well, I tell you, just like "The Man" tells Black Dynamite at the climax confrontation: "there's a perfect, reasonable explanation".By now, you're probably familiar with the fact that BD spoofs the blaxploitation movies, in a similar way Airplane did with the disaster films. While both films enormously succeed at it, there is a tiny difference that separates a Black Dynamite from becoming a classic like Airplane.SPOILERS:The reason why Airplane is such a classic, and Naked Gun is so toe-to- toe with it as well, is because the ZAZ team focused on capitalizing every single key moment of the film and seized it to make a joke out of it, whether if it was relevant to the plot of the movie or not. Let's take for instance "Naked gun":One of the most recurring jokes of the film is Frank Debrin's driving. In one film while parking his car, he crashes against some garbage cans, leaves the car on "Drive" and starts shooting at his own car thinking someone else was aiming to kill him. In another one, he crashes against a park meter, boosting all its coins. None of these jokes were relevant to the plot, nor it had any relation whatsoever with the characters. The same thing happens with Airplane, like the scene in which a passenger asks Elaine for "something light to read", to which Elaine offers a pamphlet of "Great Jewish sports legends". This is where Black Dynamite misses its mark and fails. It seems that either the director or the writer were a bit shy or timid with the approach of going full-throttle on the spoof/satire/comedy approach. There are parts of the movie where the plot gets a bit too serious, and you can see several missed chances and opportunities to capitalize on potential scenes that could have been hillariously funny.The dialogs could have been wittier, the clumsiness could have been squeezed even more, and even the intentional errors could have been more frequent and deliberate. Some of the jokes fly too fast and may be lost unless you pay close attention; sometimes you don't catch them until a second or even third viewing. An example of this is the scene where Chicago wind dies. If it was me filming this, I would have kept him talking to the rear mirror way longer, and have him drive the car through more curves without looking at the road, only to fall of the cliff the instant when he actually turned and started looking at the road. Or when Black Dynamite's brother is shot, when one of the shooters approaches him and says "he's dead"; well, you just shot him like 6 times from 5 feet away, of course he must be dead! But I would have taken the scene a bit further and have him shot like say, 50 times, and then go ahead with the "he's dead" line. That would have been way funnier and easier to catch by viewers.Still, even with all of these missed chances, Black Dynamite made it to my top 10 & "must watch at least once every week" lists. The jokes never get old and the absurdity of the ridiculous situations will always bring a smile to your face, just like the title of my review. 10 out of 10 in my heart 8 out of 10 objectively speaking

'Black Dynamite' is a satire combining elements of martial arts films along with movies featuring a strong black lead character such as 'Shaft.' The story follows Black Dynamite (Michael Jai White) as he searches for the man who murdered his brother, pursues a love interest, and discovers a government plot to bring down the black man. While this is not the first movie of its kind, following 'Undercover Brother' and "I'm Gonna Get You Sucka,' I think it is however superior.This movie, which is crammed with hilarious catch phrases and one liners is also filled with realistic stunt work. Professional writer/actor Michael Jai White just so happens to be proficient in ten different styles of martial arts, so when the director wanted a fight scene to look realistic White had no problem making it happen. White himself puts forth a notable performance combining just the right amount of cheesy lingo and badassery. Prior to this movie he starred in 'Spawn' and a few low budget action films, but I think that 'Black Dynamite' is what ultimately solidified his status as a respected actor/writer even with the movie's lack of financial success.Despite his numerous contributions to the movie, Michael Jai White does not completely steal the show. 'Black Dynamite' is full of well known actors including Tommy Davidson, Aresnio Hall, Nicole Sullavin, and Mykelti Williamson who played Bubba Blue in 'Forest Gump.' The supporting characters, dawning names like Creamed Corn, Chicago Wind, Bullhorn, and Tasty Freeze all have their own personalities and quirks thus adding dimension to this retro movie satire. Although, as I mentioned before, it is not the first film of this genre, but the script and acting make it completely unique. I recommend that you to grab some chicken and waffles, avoid the Anaconda Malt Liquor, and watch this movie. Never fear, it's alright, you won't be disappointed with 'Black Dynamite!'

It's difficult to actually come across consistently hilarious spoofs or comedies in general. My favorites in the genre are Airplane! and the Naked Gun series and this brilliant laughfest towers right up there next to them. There is so many razor sharp jokes spread out in this film that it's hard to decide which sequence is the funniest. In my opinion probably the Kung Fu practicing with his turkey Japs, that sequence really is pure dynamite. Some other negative reviews stated that Michael J. White is not funny and that is completely false, he's not just funny but one of the best performers of black comedy I've seen in decades (black comedy as in style not color).Michael also wrote the film which is even more impressive. Hopefully we'll see more comedy from him in the future.Dy-No-Mite--Dy-No-MiteOutstanding!!!!!