| Black Dynamite: He Threw That Before You Came in the Room |
| Written by William Case |
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Blaxploitation revisited. Blaxploitation: A popular 1970s genre for the African-American community utilizing funk and soul music (however, a few years after the popularity wore off, it became a dumping ground for bad stereotypes and bad acting). It was what made shows and movies like “Shaft” and “Jackie-Brown” amazing in their own way. Then they died out, just like all things do in their own time, until Michael Jai White and Scott Sanders saw that The Man needed to get tousled with.These two bring back what could potentially be one of the best blaxpolitation films done. It has all the elements from the eclectic hair and clothing (all bellbottoms and afro’s) to the over-color exposure and groovy soundtrack (all of which was composed by Adrian Younge). What’s more, they do it in a fashion where they both poke fun at the genre while giving you the full experience. What you get in the end is a delicious and bubbly mixture of hilarious as well as a badly written story that you can’t help but love. The plot is all centered around Black Dynamite (White), a badass mutha that is a one-man army. His community has become hopelessly addicted to drugs (thanks to The Man) and only he can clean up the mess. He gathers a group to help all of the children in the community - people like Honey Bee, Chocolate Giddy Up, and Tasty Freeze to name a few. However, once you get midway through the movie the plot becomes less of a necessity and more of a hindrance. You basically stop thinking about what’s happening and start enjoying whatever is on screen. “Black Dynamite” delivers that perfectly. You see the occasional boom mic just inside the frame, an actor reciting his stage directions along with his lines, seeing pointless body doubles for a frame. It’s all done purposely and in good fun to remind and bring back the feelings of a time where the money and the acting didn’t matter as much as the entertainment value did. You can throw your cares of how well a director can incorporate a fade or CGI, how well the special effects work… and just have fun. Needless to say, the acting in this is superb. It’s over the top, campy, and half of them can barely remember their lines. That takes true talent for several of these stars to be able to act so poorly and yet still deliver an amazing performance. White fits the perfect urban warrior; with his meticulous afro and moustache that even Shaft would have to shut his mouth to. Even Arsenio Hall playing a tough love pimp Tasty Freeze plays it up perfectly, fitting right in with all the plush purple and pump canes. Even if this isn’t a movie for you, it’s something that you at least have to experience once just to get the full flavor of something that isn’t around anymore. Not only that, but it’s rare that you can see, hear, and almost taste the heart and dedication that went into every single joke and shot in this movie. It’s honestly one of the few movies I can say I enjoyed and watched without having to worry about anything other than when the next joke or punch was going to come in. Shaft – Directed by Gordon Parks This is really not about what the story, more about the Man. Shaft was an icon, and he took nothing from nobody. He’s the man that will steal you’re girl and you will be OK with it, while ending the cocaine cartel in your backyard. Oh yeah. Jackie-Brown – Written and Directed by Quentin Tarantino The movie centers on Jackie Brown, a flight attendant that gets caught up in smuggling her boss’s arms money and the police. A great movie to see the rights and wrongs of the genre Dolemite – Directed by D’Urville Martin The pimp with all the power, Dolemite was set up by the cops for stealing, drugs, and firearms. To fix the problem, his girls and some allies plan a way to bust him out. This is by far one of the worst of the worst, which makes it hilarious. |
