Black Dynamite (2009)

Black Dynamite is the greatest African-American action star of the 1970s. When his only brother is killed by The Man, it's up to him to find justice.

Director:

Scott Sanders

Writers:

Michael Jai White (screenplay), Byron Minns (screenplay)

Stars:

Michael Jai White, Arsenio Hall, Tommy Davidson

1 win & 4 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Phyllis Applegate	...	Aunt Billy
Obba Babatundé	...	Osiris (as Obba Babatunde)
William Bassett	...	Captain Yancy
Troy Lindsey Brown	...	Kid #1
Fredella Calloway	...	Waitress
Cheryl Carter	...	Black Dynamite's Mother
Juka Ceesay	...	Valet Girl (as Juka Cesay)
Kevin Chapman	...	O'Leary
Tommy Davidson	...	Cream Corn
Lucky Davis	...	Paperboy
Nicholas Earley	...	Neighborhood Kid
Richard Edson	...	Dino
Jason Jack Edwards	...	Soul Brother (as Jason Jack Edwards)
Jon Kent Ethridge	...	12 year old Black Dynamite
Mary Evans	...	Woman at table

Storyline

This is the story of 1970s African-American action legend Black Dynamite. The Man killed his brother, pumped heroin into local orphanages, and flooded the ghetto with adulterated malt liquor. Black Dynamite was the one hero willing to fight The Man all the way from the blood-soaked city streets to the hallowed halls of the Honky House..

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Plot Keywords:

outnumbered | man in curlers | license to kill | mob execution | vengeance | 

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Taglines:

He's super bad. He's outta sight. He's...

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Genres:

Action | Comedy

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for sexuality/nudity, language, some violence and drug content

Details

Official Sites:

film website for promotion Official Facebook

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

13 January 2010 (France)

Also Known As:

Black Dynamite - yhden miehen armeija

Filming Locations:

Los Angeles, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$2,900,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$131,862, 18 October 2009, Limited Release

Gross USA:

$228,477, 25 October 2009

Company Credits

Production Co:

Destination Films, Ars Nova, Goliath Entertainment

Technical Specs

Runtime:

84 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital DTS SDDS

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The opening scene which features an African-American actor using an effected quasi-English accent and precise diction while delivering his lines is a play on several well known actors who are featured in blaxploitation yet got their roots in William Shakespeare performances. William Marshall, star of Blacula (1972), starred in eight different productions of Othello before playing Mamuwalde/Blacula in 1972.

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Goofs

In the diner, Black Dynamite writes "M&Ms" on the black board, but later on the second "M" looks more like a squiggle and there is no "s" at the end.

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Quotes

Aunt Billy: Your mother would turn over in her grave if she were here to see this.

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Alternate Versions

The international version of the film contains six minutes of additional footage, consisting of extra dialogue in some scenes and extended fight sequences. In the scene where Black Dynamite and Cream Corn take a helicopter and leave Kung Fu Island, they use it to destroy Fiendish Dr. Wu's complex before heading off to the White House.

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Connections

Featured in WatchMojo: Top 10 Martial Arts Comedy Movies (2015)

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Soundtracks

Sunny Side Up
(uncredited)
Music by Duncan Lamont

User Reviews

Best spoof since airplane!

This film reduced me to tears of laughter. I've just returned home from seeing it at the Edinburgh film festival and can honestly say this is one of the best movies i've seen this year. I could just list all of the best bits of the movie in this review, but i'd rather you all just went to see it for yourselves.

As a parody/homage of the blaxploitation movies of the 70's, this is perfect. If I didn't know better, i'd think this was actually made in the 70's. Its full of cool little details, the decor, the fashion, the hair styles, the Isaac Hayes/Curtis mayfield style music that details the plot in the lyrics (sometimes scene specific), the grainy picture and the intentionally dodgy camera-work, crash zooms, boom mics in shot etc. During the fight scenes, Michael jai white's kung fu yell is a spot on impersonation of Jim Kelly's (he of Enter the Dragon fame).

Like all the best spoofs, all the actors play it completely straight. White is perfectly cast as Black Dynamite, and if there is any justice in the world, this movie will make him a star. I can almost imagine Samuel L playing this part, but I doubt he could have played it as well as white did. The scene that crystallised his performance for me, was when, during a long speech, a boom mic pops in to shot right next to his face. During the scene, the cameraman is continually trying to adjust the shot to hide the mic. Dynamite continues with his speech as if nothing is going on, but just before he is finished talking, he quickly glances at it, then finishes his speech. The way he plays it is perfect and had everyone in the cinema in fits of laughter.

I said earlier that this is the best spoof since airplane, but I actually think this may be better. In airplane, the jokes were quickfire, but hit and miss, but in black dynamite, every joke hits its mark, and its just as quickfire as airplane. The tone is set pretty quick ( when an undercover agent is caught out cos he cant talk jive properly) and doesn't let up until the credits have rolled. I was still laughing hours after I left the cinema just thinking about it.

Watching this made me wonder how the Austin powers films were such big hits. They were a similar kind of parody but nowhere near as funny, and at the end of the day, aside from a couple of amusing cameos, a one man show (and not a very good one at that). If this doesn't at least do Austin powers numbers, I will be very disappointed, as it deserves the success. Very rarely does a film make me laugh so hard I cry, and this movie did it several times, and its not just me, I think everyone in the cinema had the same experience. Go and see this first chance you get, I cant recommend it enough.