Before an hour has passed tedium overtakes Black Dynamite -- one corny martial-arts sequence turns out to be plenty -- and all the good jokes dry up.
Black Dynamite (2009)
Tomatometer
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Reviews Counted:38
Fresh:31
Rotten:7
Average Rating:7/10
Consensus: A loving and meticulous send-up of 1970s blaxsploitation movies, Black Dynamite is funny enough for the frat house and clever enough for film buffs.
Genre: Action/Adventure
Synopsis: When “The Man” murders his brother, pumps heroin into local orphanages, and floods the ghetto with adulterated malt liquor, Black Dynamite is the one hero willing to fight all the way from the... When “The Man” murders his brother, pumps heroin into local orphanages, and floods the ghetto with adulterated malt liquor, Black Dynamite is the one hero willing to fight all the way from the blood-soaked city streets to the hallowed halls of the Honky House. --© Official Site [More]
Starring: Michael Jai White, Arsenio Hall, Tommy Davidson, Kevin Chapman
Starring: Michael Jai White, Arsenio Hall, Tommy Davidson, Kevin Chapman
Director: Scott Sanders
Director: Scott Sanders
Screenwriter: Michael Jai White, Byron Keith Minns
Studio: Apparition
Reviews for Black Dynamite
As Dynamite kung-fu-fights his way through a vast conspiracy involving smack-addled orphans, malt liquor, and the best (read: worst) exploding-car scene of 2009, you’ll feel a rush of ’70s nostalgia you never knew you had.
Black Dynamite gets the details right, but so what? The result is like watching rightly vilified movies such as Epic Movie, Date Movie, or Meet The Spartans, but without as many scenes of characters being kicked in the balls.
A feisty, gleefully harebrained spoof of all things Shaft and Superfly, Dynamite is a jubilant ode to the firm cinematic pimp hand, which, in this picture, smacks bad guys around and tickles the audience with the same devotion.
This is one of the cleverest, most consistently funny spoof movies since Airplane!
Even though it sounds funnier than it plays, between the song and the nun chucks, I was happy.
The full-on embrace of the stupidity, the charm and the admirably empowering qualities of blaxploitation sets Black Dynamite apart. But, above all, it's very funny.
The climax is so outrageous I can't believe it. The ending outdoes Inglourious Basterds because it's not even about making a statement. It's just about being crazy, which is what awesome movies should be.
The details are perfect, from the particle-board sets to the porn-ready score. (And dig those polyester suits.) But just like the movies it parodies, this one feels over long before it's actually done.
An enjoyable celebratory ode to a fiercely entertaining counterculture-inspired genre.
Can Black Dynamite fend off the Man and the mob and the phalanx of wah-wah guitars arrayed against him and fight his way to the Honky House to mete out kung-fu justice? Most likely!
As a five-minute clip on YouTube, this spoof might be a small masterpiece. As a feature film, it's both too much and not nearly enough.
Even if you've never seen a black exploitation film you will be thoroughly entertained by 'DY-NO-MITE! DY-NO-MITE!'
A cheerfully affectionate if fit fully amusing spoof of '70s blaxpoitation movies, Scott Sanders' Black Dynamite painstakingly nails the cheesy look, music and martial arts moves of the originals.
If there's a night at the movies more fun than this deadpan blaxploitation flick, it's probably boosted by something bought in a dark alley.
See this one with a crowd, and remember Black Dynamite's immortal words: "Doughnuts don't wear alligator shoes."
Sanders delights in the amateurishness of blaxploitation, from clunky exposition to shootouts that violate all rules of continuity and perspective to a visible boom mic, which spends so much time onscreen that it practically deserves its own credit.
blaxploitation equivalent of the B-movies Robert Rodriguez and Quentin Tarantino cooked up for Grindhouse.
Beneath the good-natured retro silliness of Black Dynamite is something smart and new.
Latest News for Black Dynamite
October 16, 2009:
Michael Jai White Talks Black Dynamite ![]()
Can't wait to see "Black Dynamite" this weekend? Whet your appetite with a video interview for the film, hosted by Latino Review and featuring Michael Jai White, Arsenio Hall,... More...
October 15, 2009:
Critics Consensus: Where the Wild Things Are Is A Wild Rumpus
This week, we've got a wild rumpus (Where the Wild Things Are, starring Max Records and Catherine Keener), a legal skirmish (Law Abiding Citizen, starring Jamie Foxx and Gerard... More...
October 12, 2009:
Black Dynamite Prompts Big Laughs, Serious Questions ![]()
"Black Dynamite" is a tongue-in-cheek homage to '70s blaxploitation films, but it's raised some serious questions about the genre that inspired it -- what it meant then, and... More...
October 08, 2009:
New: Brand New Trailer and Poster Here. ![]()
More...
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