Slashing The Seats

On paper Black Dynamite has all the ingredients to be an absolute crap fest; with it’s over-ripe source material and the terminally unfunny spoof-ensemble, it should come out making Date Movie look like Shakespeare, so it’s a very refreshing surprise to find an old school spoof with plenty of actually amusing gags lurking in a script that’s blessed with a modicum of wit.

Director Scott Sanders shows off an obvious affection for early ZaZ movies Airplane! and particularly Top Secret! as well as a genuine affection for the blaxploitation flicks he’s riffing on, following erstwhile Spawn Michael Jai White on a ridiculous mission to stop the ubiquitous Man from wreaking his diabolical mischief.

Story-wise, it’s a Vietnam vet avenging the death of his brother, caught selling drugs – not really of course, he was framed by honky – and battling his way through various superfly hoods with names like Cream Corn and Tasty Freeze to get to Mr.Big.

Jokes are scattershot but generally seem to have been thought out, rather than simply acting out scenes from other movies with added silly voices, the script takes aim at the fashions, recycled stories and budget constraints – there’s a very funny moment where the crew run out of fake tears during an emotional break-up scene – that made movies like Dolomite so much fun in the first place and manages a high hit rate.

With booms lurching into shot, incoherant edits, our hero forgetting which part of Asia he actually fought in and a nun-chuck wielding Richard Nixon, it’s bloody stupid, but none the worse for it. The recreated action scenes are spot-on, and even though they’re predictable they’re very, very funny. Things do get a little too OTT in a climax that’s thoroughly bizarre but even here there’s plenty of laughs to be had.

Won’t make anyone’s top ten list, but ideal for a night in with a pizza and a few beers.

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