Woodyanders Review of Black Belt Jones

Black Belt Jones (1974)

A hugely entertaining 70's blaxploitation blast

[8/10 · 24 January 2010]

Hip and smooth ace martial artist Black Belt Jones (a supremely affable and charismatic performance by Jim Kelly) takes on a bunch of no-count mobsters who want to take over an inner city karate school in the Watts area of Los Angeles. Director Robert Clouse, working from a witty tongue-in-cheek script by Oscar Williams, relates the eventful story at a constant snappy pace, stages the wall to wall rough'n'tumble fights with considerable aplomb, and adds a winning mix of goofy humor and lowdown boss attitude to further enhance the infectiously wacky merriment. Kelly makes for a likable protagonist; he receives excellent support from the foxy Gloria Henry as the sassy Sydney, Eric Laneuville as eager student Quincy, and the always terrific Scatman Crothers as rascally karate grand master Pop Byrd (the sight of Crothers busting loose with some fancy chopsocky moves is positively sidesplitting!). The villains are a colorful bunch of over-the-top nasty dudes, with stand-out turns by Andre Philippe as evil gangster Don Steffano, Malik Carter as vicious drug pusher Pinky, and Vincent Barbi as fearsome capo Big Tuna. The crazy monkey noises Kelly makes as he beats numerous folks up, the typically garish 70's fashions, an outrageous climax set in a soap-filled car wash, and plenty of priceless campy dialogue ("Boy, we're gonna turn you into fudge") add substantially to the film's delightfully kitschy charm. Luchi DeJesus' funky syncopated score hits the right-on groovy spot while Kent Wakeford's cinematography makes nifty occasional use of gnarly freeze frames and strenuous slow motion. A great deal of vintage 70's drive-in fun.