Black Dynamite
| Rated R, 90 min | |
| Black Dynamite | Michael Jai White |
| O'Leary | Kevin Chapman |
| Gloria | Salli Richardson-Whitfield |
| Directed by | Scott Sanders |
| Rated R, 90 min | |
| Black Dynamite | Michael Jai White |
| O'Leary | Kevin Chapman |
| Gloria | Salli Richardson-Whitfield |
| Directed by | Scott Sanders |
Is Black Dynamite the best movie of all time? Almost! Is it the funniest movie of 2009? Hell yes!
I think you heard me. Funnier than I Love you, Man. Funnier than The Hangover. Even funnier than Zombieland. Michael Jai White (the guy who played Spawn) is Black Dynamite, a former CIA operative who is forced out of retirement when “The Man” murders his little brother. Soon more sinister plots develop, like drugs being distributed at orphanages, and precious malt liquor being tampered with!
Set in and made to look like it was filmed in the 70’s, Black Dynamite captures nearly every wonderfully cheesy aspect of the early Blaxploitation films, from the wardrobe to the soundtrack. Intense moments are punctuated with a funky score, extreme close-ups, and of course the hero’s chant of “Dyno-mite! Dyno-mite!”
I honestly can’t recall the last time I laughed as hard as I did while watching this movie. There were a few moments where my ribs actually hurt. The film does have a small lull around the middle where it slows down a bit, but it almost came as a relief since it allowed my insides to stop aching.
The kung-fu is great, the action scenes are hilarious, the acting is spot on, and great touches like boom mics entering the shot and purposeful bad editing are thrown in for good measure. I don’t think there was anything I disliked about this film. The only downside is the extremely limited release (at the time of this review the movie is only playing in LA, NY, Seattle, Atlanta, Chicago and Philadelphia). However I hear it will be released in a few more areas over the coming months. I would like to implore all 4 of the Verbal Chaos readers to go see this film! If you’re still skeptical, check out the trailer (which refreshingly doesn’t even show the best moments of the film) at blackdynamitemovie.com.
Summation: Other than maybe a 15 minute lull, this movie had me laughing hysterically every few minutes. The acting, directing, score and cinematography are all brilliant. If you can’t catch this in the theater, be sure to rent it!
Grade: A-
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