Review of Black Dynamite (2009) by Matthew M — 27 Aug 2011

"Who the hell is that interrupting my kung fu??!!".

Can a film be an homage and a parody at the same time? That is the rare feat Black Dynamite achieves as an almost-straight-faced blaxploitaion feature with film stock that looks salvaged from Eastman-Kodak's warehouse in 1974. Black Dynamite does not wink to the camera (well, hardly.) Black Dynamite pulls no punches (well, almost.) I think you have to be familiar with the source material to truly get the most out of Black Dynamite - I've seen a handful of Shaft and Pam Grier flicks so I caught most of Black Dynamite's jibes, and they are often hilarious.

The most obvious inspirations behind Black Dynamite are the lampooning MAD-TV blaxploitation skits and the brilliantly funny film I'm Gonna Git You Sucka! Nicole Sullivan appears in a small role here and Wayans stalwart Tommy Davidson also crosses over to Black Dynamite further defining those connections. That film was a straight-up affectionate parody, whereas Black Dynamite draws cues from Tarantino & Rodriguez' Grindhouse features by including bad edits, flubbed lines, obvious stock footage, and continuity errors for terrific comedic effect. Black Dynamite goes a little over-the-top during the grand finale assault on the White House, but hey that's kinda the point.

Michael Jai White is spot on as baaaad muther...(SHUT YER MOUTH) ex-CIA agent Black Dynamite out to clean the streets of smack and avenge his brother's death (see, even Black Dynamite's plot mirrors Sucka's!) I laughed a lot during Black Dynamite which offers a lot for film buffs and casual viewers alike. But if you don't understand why I keep mentioning Black Dynamite during this review, then perhaps you should get a feel for the originals before watching Black Dynamite to get the most out of Black Dynamite.