Black Dynamite (2009) Apparition/Action-Comedy RT: 84 minutes Rated R (sexuality/nudity, language, some violence, drug content) Director: Scott Sanders Screenplay: Michael Jai White, Byron Minns and Scott Sanders Music: Adrian Younge Cinematography: Shawn Maurer Release date: October 16, 2009 (US) Cast: Michael Jai White, Salli Richardson, Tommy Davidson, Arsenio Hall, Kevin Chapman, Obba Babatunde, Richard Edson, Buddy Lewis, Brian McKnight, Nicole Ari Parker, Byron Minns, James McManus, Phil Morris, Miguel A. Nunez Jr., Tucker Smallwood, John Salley, Chris Spencer, Mike Starr, Nicole Sullivan, Kym Whitley, Mykelti Williamson, Bokeem Woodbine, Cedric Yarbrough, Roger Yuan, John Kerry, Phyllis Applegate, William Bassett, Baron Vaughn. Box Office: $296,557 (US)
Rating: ****
I’m a big fan of blaxploitation movies. It stands to reason then I’m also a fan of the spoof I’m Gonna Git You Sucka. I still get the giggles when I think of Antonio Fargas strutting down the sidewalk in full 70s pimp gear replete with platform shoes with goldfish swimming in the heels. I never thought any other spoof of the genre would reach the delirious heights of the Keenan Ivory Wayans comedy until I saw Black Dynamite.
While I stop short of saying it’s a better movie, Black Dynamite does do some things better than its predecessor. For one, it looks just like a 70s blaxploitation movie with its oversaturated color scheme, split-screen shots, superfluous camera moves and dramatic angles. Cinematographer Shawn Maurer achieves the effect through use of old Super 16 film stock. Shot in 20 days in various sections of L.A., the makers supplement their work with old stock footage from Police Woman, Charlie’s Angels and Missing in Action. Like the blaxploitation filmmakers of old, director Scott Sanders (Thick as Thieves) had to come up with creative ways to stretch the low budget. The result is a movie that could easily be mistaken for a legit 70s blaxploitationer by late night channel surfers.
For another, it gives us a bad ass black hero that really looks like a bad ass black hero. Michael Jai White, co-star of such action movies as Universal Soldier: The Return and Exit Wounds, plays Black Dynamite, a Vietnam vet and former CIA agent out to avenge his brother’s murder. With his Afro, moustache, stylish wardrobe and tough persona, he evokes blaxploitation screen legends like Richard Roundtree (aka John Shaft) and Fred “The Hammer” Williamson”. He doesn’t exactly speak softly, but he does carry a big gun, a .44 Magnum to be exact. Not that he needs a gun to begin with. This dude is a walking lethal weapon capable of punching, chopping, socking, kicking and pummeling his way through any situation. He’s smooth with the ladies too. When he’s not going after bad guys, he’s either in bed with a half-naked foxy lady or putting the moves on one. Ah yes, that reminds me. Sanders makes the brilliant decision to forgo PC by featuring plenty of gratuitous female nudity. What can I say? I’m a guy; I want to see boobs!
Then there’s the matter of the plot that gets more and more convoluted as the movie progresses. Black Dynamite starts out a simple revenge movie with Black Dynamite looking for his brother’s killers. It initially looks like he was involved with drug dealers, but BD soon learns he was working with the CIA to stop the shady criminal organization flooding the streets and orphanages with heroin. Fearing what he’ll do if left unchecked, the CIA reinstates him and restores his license to kill. With the help of a team consisting of best friend Bullhorn (co-writer Minns doing a dead-on impersonation of Dolemite), gay street hustler Cream Corn (Davidson, In Living Color) and black militant leader Saheed (Morris, 3 Strikes), BD busts up the drug ring only to uncover a larger conspiracy involving an evil plan to literally emasculate all black men by way of a secret formula in a popular brand of malt liquor. The next stop on his road to revenge is Kung Fu Island to deal with his old nemesis, Fiendish Dr. Wu (Yuan, Shanghai Noon). That’s when he discovers the real mastermind behind the conspiracy. I’ll stop here because I don’t want to spoil the hilarious surprise.
In my not-at-all-humble opinion, Sanders knocks it right out of the park with Black Dynamite. He knows exactly what to do with the material. He pays tribute to classic blaxploitationers like Dolemite, The Mack and Black Belt Jones in ways only fans of the genre will recognize. He even goes so far as to copy the “one take only” style necessitated by the low budgets typically afforded such films. He purposely includes gaffes like a boom in the shot in one scene and another when one actor includes the stage direction in his dialogue.
Best of all, Sanders never condescends to his characters or the viewing audience by dumbing it down. Black Dynamite is actually a smart movie if you think about it. It does way more than just copy scenes from other movies. It takes character types from the genre and puts them in a silly scenario where logic plays no part. At the same time, it takes its plot seriously to the point of hilarity. It works largely because the actors play it somewhat straight even if their characters are goofy. This extends to the supporting characters who have names like Chicago Wind, Tasty Freeze, Mo Britches, Kotex, Mahogany Black, Chocolate Giddy-Up, Gunsmoke and Captain Kangaroo. They play their roles with just enough tongue-in-cheek to let viewers in on the joke.
As the eponymous character, White does a GREAT job! He’s a perfect black hero. His character even finds time for romance with an attractive Black Power activist named Gloria (Richardson, A Low Down Dirty Shame) who ultimately helps BD clear the ghetto of drugs and dealers. Davidson has the lion’s share of funny moments in the guise of a flamboyantly gay character who defies every tenet of PC. As we all know, blaxploitation movies are NOT PC. Sanders takes it and runs with it. He pokes fun at the sexist, racist and anti-white ideals that define the genre. It’s brilliant what he does here.
Black Dynamite is a very funny movie. I suppose that’s the most important thing about it. That it’s done extremely well is gravy. Blaxploitation fans will appreciate it more than those not familiar with the genre. Then again, maybe it will encourage them to see some of the old school movies that gave black people their own voice in cinema. Either way, it’s GREAT!
