Let Black Dynamite take you for a ride in his $5000 car (and $100 suit)...
Reteaming after a long ten years, director Scott Sanders and martial arts extraordinaire Michael Jai White have thrown together probably the best Grindhouse-era ode ever with Black Dynamite. A throwback more than anything, many of the scenes could be watched blow-for-blow with the likes of Coffy, perfectly capturing the ambiance and sensibilities of the blaxpoitation genre. As the man says, "Donuts don't wear alligator shoes," and this one's a donut, thru and thru.
The story follows Black Dynamite (Michael Jai White, looking somewhere between Dolemite and Fred Williamson), as he seeks revenge on the mob for killing his brother, not to mention the dealers, the CIA, the Nixon Administration, and some "kung-fu treachery" thrown in for good measure. And, on top of all that, he's trying to win the heart of political activist Gloria (Pam Grier fill-in Salli Richardson-Whitfield) while shoving off "the rest of the bitches" who just can't get enough. All of this cumulates in a triple-dose of a finale—showdowns abound—with quite possibly the greatest twist in movie history (and one that requires two minutes of roundabout explanation).
As Dynamite, Michael Jai White hits all the right notes, including the outrageous kung-fu yells and frequented "Ooohs!" Tommy Davidson's Cream Corn steals the show as a Sammy Davis gone Blaxpoitation—just hilarious beyond belief. Arsenio Hall, always a treat, is perfect as the pimp Tasty Freeze (the names!), as is the gorgeous Salli Richardson-Whitfield, playing the love-interest Gloria. Co-writer Bryon Minns adds ridiculous spontaneous narration and makes a great sidekick to other co-writer White. And though you may not recognize him at first, you can't help but hear Mykelti Williamson's (Heat) signature voice under all that style.
And what style it is! The costume selections (as well as the aforementioned names) make the movie. As co-star Phil Morris said in an interview, "...they had nothing [i.e. a budget], except for crazy suits and us and fros and chops and great dialogue, great music, it's a great style, and it's just done everything they ever could've wanted it to." Well-stated, Mr. Morris.
Do wish there could've been more of Mike Starr—it looks like his scenes were filmed over the course of an hour. The same goes with the underappreciated Richard Edson, who shows up briefer than the briefs he runs his ass out of (though, after all, this is blaxpoitation). And being such, coming with the package are the flaws of the genre: slower sections, lots of smiling/not enough laughing, a lack of directorial flair; as with his previous effort, Sanders gets the most out of White (a must see performance in Thick as Thieves) but really not much else. Though ambitious, he seems to have trouble holding it all together. Considering the material, however, that doesn't really hurt him here.
In the end, Black Dynamite is a welcome blast from the past that comes in the form of Dy-no-mite knockin' three mofos out quicker than you can say "Oooooh!"
*** out of ****
~ Patrick Fryberger
