Black Dynamite: Hilarious Obscurity

Well, well, well, here we are. Its time for the first review from the Movie Swappers. This is my first formally written review of anything in my life, well, other than a few papers I b.s.'ed in college, so be gentle.

Black Dynamite

Kyle's first challenge was for me to watch Black Dynamite, and I have to tell you, I was less than excited at first. However, Kyle mentioned that he thought I would love this movie, and I gotta say, he was right. Now before I dig in and review the hell out of this movie, let me preface by saying this. My intentions here are not to assign a star rating, or one through ten rating of a movie. My goal is to tell you my opinion of the movie and the elements that define it. The only "ratings" I will be handing out will be simple. I either like it, or I don't like it, and maybe a few tweeners, but the rest is up to you to watch the movie and judge for yourself. If you want to take stock in what I say, you're probably very wise (wink face made with punctuation marks). Without further ado, here goes.

Pros: Slight use of gratuitous nudity, poorly executed choreographed fighting, great one-liners, jive talk, exploding cars before impact, great character names, and line delivery.

Cons: I just heard about this movie yesterday.

I loved this movie. Just over 24 hours ago, I had no idea it even existed. Why do I love it? This movie is what it claims to be and nothing more; A silly spoof comedy. Never once did this movie get up its own ass, or try to sprinkle in a "message" between its ridiculously hilarious fight scenes or dimwitted dialogue. And for that, I stand and applaud (hope you caught that Josh).

Here is what you should know, this movie is about a vigilante of sorts in the black community of the 70's. It takes a satirical angle on movies like "Shaft" or "Superfly" from the 70's, and succeeds. The main character, Black Dynamite, kicks ass and bangs chicks, all while maintaining his mission to clean up the mean streets and rid them of drugs and violence. Black Dynamite sets out to avenge his brothers death on the streets, and treks all the way to the White House eliminating scum bags.

You should also know that if you go into this movie yearning for substance and seriousness, you will be let down immediately. The people that set out to make this movie must have said, "lets make a movie that is hilarious, action packed, and dumb as hell", and if they did indeed say that, well then its a huge success. It is a movie designed to make people laugh, nothing more, nothing less. The difference between this movie and others like it, is that it stayed funny all the way through. Secondary character, Bull Horn, had me cracking up every time he was on camera. He tries to say really profound things while rhyming. Plus Tommy Davidson and Arsenio Hall showed up in the movie, all the more reason to like it.

I could go on and on, but I don't want to spoil it for you. I've named all these reasons why I love this movie, so to balance things out I'll pick one bad thing. The acting is admittedly floating at or below average most of the movie. To be fair though, I'm not so sure that wasn't what they were going for. As I watched it, it was noticeable, but it never seemed to distract me. But that's the only "beef" I have, and its not really a beef.

Alright, let me wrap this up. As for my "rating", I'll definitely say I like it. Take it at face value and expect a laugh and you won't be disappointed. I couldn't tell you who the lead actor is, but he was damn funny and one hell of a martial artist. I'll look for him again, after I find out who he is on IMDB.


Nooooooooooow..........my turn to challenge Kyle. The moment I've been waiting for.

My pick for Kyle, or Qile, is............................................................(drums please)

WELCOME TO COLLINWOOD

I love this movie, and as far as I know, only two of my friends have ever seen it. Its a comedy about a bunch of small time criminals in Cleveland, starring Sam Rockwell, William H Macey, Luis Guzman, and produced by George Clooney. If I had to make a list of my favorite 25 movies, this one undoubtedly would be in it. Much like most of my favorite comedies, by the third time you watch it, you pick up all the little nuances you missed the first two times and it becomes three times as funny. I hope you enjoy this one Kyle, as I look forward to quoting it with someone who knows what I'm talking about.



-Nick Hall