Old-School Saturday Matinee Fun

Black Dynamite is a cheeky homage to the "blaxploitation" flicks of the 1970s. It's not so much a spoof like I'm Gonna Get You Sucka or Undercover Brother, but more like a love letter to those things that made those back-in-the-day films such cheesy fun. Things like an over-the-top hero:Black Dynamite, played by Michael Jai White, is an ex-Vietnam vet, ex- CIA agent, martial arts expert, down for the cause, smooth talking ladies' man. And an over-the-top plot: BD is out to avenge the death of his brother, save orphans from smack, foil a diabolical plot involving malt liquor, get the girl, and take out The Man. In addition, the film looks and feels just like its low-budget predecessors--grainy footage, boom mics hitting actors in the head, bad acting, blustering soul music, gratuitous big breasts, gleeful and free-flowing expletives, and the use of the same footage over and over again. Then there are things that are just silly-- a pimp who looks like Captain Kangaroo? Anyway, it had all the makings of old-school Saturday matinee fun and left a smile on my face.