Black Dynamite

I don't know how the actors in this goofy send-up/homage to 70s blaxsploitation films kept from giggling, but they played it absolutely straight, which made it very, very funny!

Due to the bushy 70s Afros and moustaches, the retro polyester clothing, the "Shaft"-type lead (and sound track), plus the mannered moves, automobiles and plot, this farce is hilarious. It suffers from some second-act problems, but everything is done with such good spirit and wicked satire, I'd like to see it succeed.

Our hero is played with dead-pan intensity by Michael Jai White ("The Dark Knight"). "The Man" has murdered his brother and is getting kids hooked on heroin before they leave the orphanage. Even worse, the ghetto is being flooded with a malt liquor that is adulterated with a chemical that reduces one's "manhood!" Obviously, this is a job for "Black Dynamite!"

Of course we are treated to Asian martial arts, lots of manly grandstanding and outrageously big guns. The attention to detail gets extra points in my book.

Post Script: This ended up being a great audience favorite at the 2009 Seattle International Film Festival. Although it made it into the positive side in the SIFF judging, I suspect they thought it was too politically incorrect to merit official praise.