I was going to start with my top five films of the year so far. I spent some time trying to put together a list and although there have been contenders (The Expendables, The A-Team, Iron Man 2, Youth in Revolt) I was struggling to compile a top five. I trawled lists of the years releases only to find that the problem is not with my memory; the problem lies with the year in film.
So in place of my top five I will begin with my top one; a top one which actually done the rounds at festivals during early 2009 but was given a (very) limited release last month.
BLACK DYNAMITE
I stumbled upon Black Dynamite when checking the film times at the local cinema for the coming week. This was the first time I heard the name and saw the tag-line:
He's super bad. He's outta sight. He's Black Dynamite!
Already a fan of 70s Blaxploitation cinema I was immediately looking forward to this. That was until I watched the trailer. Then I was sure this could be the best movie I would see this year.
I wasn't disappointed.
Black Dynamite tells the tale of a 70s action hero cleaning up the streets following the killing of his brother. Our protagonist wages war against the city's drug dealing crime lords, impressively finding the time to pleasure countless women and all without breaking a sweat. Without giving away too much of the plot Black Dynamite uncovers a dastardly plan hatched by the Fiendish Dr. Wu from Kung-Fu island before ending up in White House fisticuffs. If you haven't already seen it then this paragraph alone should have been enough to convince you.
Who the hell’s interrupting my Kung Fu?!
Shot in just 20 days the look of the film is authentic to the point that you wouldn't disagree if someone told you it was original to the 70s blaxploitation genre. The fight scenes are excellent and dialogue perfect throughout. There is enough humour and nudity to keep the attention of casual film-goers and enough self-righteous post-modernism to enthrall cinema buffs alike. There is barely a shot, never mind a scene, in this movie that did not invoke hilarity during the screening. This film is sure to be a cult classic in years to come and hopefully leads people to revisit the original blaxploitation films such as Sweet Sweetback's Baadasssss Song (1971) and Super Fly (1972). Although derivative to the core, Black Dynamite appears wholly original when viewed against anything else receiving cinematic release in the last few years.
With an animated series currently in the works, Black Dynamite is already available on DVD/Blu-Ray in the USA/Europe, a UK release should be on it's way. Until then:
It may be bigger than you and it may be bigger than me but it’s not bigger than you and me!
Can you dig it?
Can you dig it?
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