For some reason I thought Black Dynamite was going to be more of an experiment, an attempt by the filmmakers to make a Blaxploitation movie as if it were just unearthed from a dusty tomb of lost reels. Instead, they opted for a parody, albeit one with reverence and style, but a parody nonetheless, which has been done before in Undercover Brother and I'm Gonna Git You Sucka. The problem with Black Dynamite's parody is that it tries too hard, setting up its jokes and then hammering on them until you start to notice the silences your laughter is supposed to fill. I expected them to try to write bad dialogue that was unintentionally funny, but instead they end up writing actual jokey-jokes that are supposed to be funny and often aren't. These jokes collect over the course of the movie and end up making it feel like a feature length Mad TV sketch. I was hoping for intentional camp by way of a straight-faced homage. What I found instead is an appealing leading turn by Micheal Jai White hampered by so-so jokes and some manic over-sizing of the genre staples (like kung-fu fighting President Richard Nixon for instance).
Black Dynamite was just ok, kinda fun in parts, kinda draggy in others and not as funny as it wanted to be. But the futility of adding actual jokes to a blaxploitation mash-up became even more apparent to me after watching volumes 1 & 3 of the 42nd St Forever series, a dvd collection of exploitation movie trailers that is about twenty times funnier and more entertaining than Black Dynamite or just about any other movie I can think of.
Black Dynamite was just ok, kinda fun in parts, kinda draggy in others and not as funny as it wanted to be. But the futility of adding actual jokes to a blaxploitation mash-up became even more apparent to me after watching volumes 1 & 3 of the 42nd St Forever series, a dvd collection of exploitation movie trailers that is about twenty times funnier and more entertaining than Black Dynamite or just about any other movie I can think of.
These collections (I think there is 5 in total or maybe more) are a treasure trove for trash junkies. One after the other, you are hit with 2 minute barrages of cinematic insanity and period absurdity in the form of vintage movie trailers. These lost and forgotten gems of the 60's, 70's and 80's keep coming in endless waves of awesome that you barely have time to breathe between laughs before the next one is crashing down on you, blowing your mind. None of these movies are trying to be funny (well, except for the comedies), but they are funny--fucking funny. If you like boobs, guns, kung-fu, bell bottom pants, groovy music, giant insects, revenge, car chases, and blood that looks like ketchup than you owe it to yourself to track down this series. Not only will they have you clawing at your face in amazement, but they will dredge up that niggling doubt you have in the back of your mind, the one that makes you think that maybe living in 2010 means you missed out on everything cool by about 4 decades. You did, you totally did.
You know what, I heard if you don't like Black Dynamite you are racist. I won't be watching it either way cuz black people scare the shit outta me.
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