The Movie
The celebration of cinematic cheese is something of a tightrope walk: How to conjure up the memories of movies so bad they're good, without falling victim to the same artistic pitfalls even while reinventing these idiosyncrasies as modern parody? Blaxploitation films have been satirized before (I'm Gonna Git You Sucka) but never quite as keenly as in the pet project of star Michael Jai White, Black Dynamite.
As the eponymous former CIA agent out to avenge his brother's death and clean up the streets of his community circa 1972, the impressively kung-fu-chopping White sports a killer 'fro and deadly sneer while somehow reminding us that the next gag will be along soon. The jokes transcend the obvious racial stereotypes to include script and moviemaking gaffes at times so subtle I had to scan the disc backward a few seconds to make sure I got it. Dynamite also manages to attain that elusive vibe whereby the audience remains amused even between the laughs. And to that I exclaim: Solid.
The Picture
To achieve that authentic low-budget look (and perhaps even to save a few contemporary dollars), Black Dynamite was shot on 16mm film for an extra grainy appearance, and even the lighting is reminiscent of the era. Perhaps owing to this intentionally humble medium, the quality of the blacks (the color black that is) is noticeably limited, resulting in the usual lifeless shapes but also the distracting anomaly of a big afro that can be seen as solid darkness save for a few tiny spots of reflected light, like stars in space. Other homages are well-preserved however, like the out-of-focus "good enough" takes and weird color shifts between shots in a single scene.
The Sound
The DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 is aggressively mixed with active rears and enough bass to keep things interesting. Discrete channels are utilized for doors opening and closing, and a nice bit with a boomerang commands our attention with its perfectly phased whizzing from speaker to speaker. The quality is very clear and rich, the musical score in particular. In fact, the audio is so big and well-produced, it seems incongruous at times to the movie on the screen. But it's so enjoyable, I won't complain.
The Extras
Director Scott Sanders, star Michael Jai White and actor Byron Minns--co-writers all--are reunited for their proud audio commentary. We can see that much from the 25 minutes of deleted and alternate scenes; 17 in all, in standard definition; was recycled into the movie's main montage sequence. "Lighting the Fuse" (23 minutes) reveals the evolution of the project from the very first notion, and "The '70s: Back in Action" (14 minutes) details the look, the sound, the style of the era, how the black action genre came of age, and how it all influenced Dynamite. And "The Comic-Con Experience" (18 minutes) captures the live filmmakers-meet-the-fans panel from San Diego, July 2009. These three featurettes are presented in a crisp, high-bitrate MPEG-2. The disc is also BD-Live-enabled, with support for Sony's online movieIQ option, for relevant info while the movie is playing.
Final Thoughts
Black Dynamite is a modern take on a dated genre, so would the Blu-ray version have been better served by looking better, or sounding worse? Ultimately it's the best of both worlds, and a chance for audiences to finally discover this fun comedy, albeit a deservedly R-rated one.
Product Details
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