Black Dynamite

Colour, 35 mm
USA, 2009, 83 min
Section: Midnight Screenings

Synopsis

Panic is spreading through the ghetto. The Man supplies the local orphanage with heroin and distributes adulterated malt liquor, both with disastrous consequences. After the Man gets revenge on one of his dealers, the victim’s brother comes on the scene, the admired and feared eponymous hero Black Dynamite. Seeking vengeance, he equips himself with firearms, nunchucks, and irresistibly scathing remarks. Thirty years after the most famous blaxploitation films, Scott Sanders has shot a tribute to the genre that is also an outstanding parody. The filmmakers poke fun at many a cliché, and the strong satiric undertones guarantee that this flick will please those who’ve never even heard of the cult movies Shaft or Sweet Sweetback’s Baadassss Song. One of the biggest audience hits of this year’s Sundance festival, the movie stars Michael Jai White – actor, screenwriter, and black belt in seven styles of martial art.

About the director

Scott Sanders, screenwriter and director, debuted in 1999 with the feature film Thick as Thieves featuring Alec Baldwin and Michael Jai White, who earned acting, writing, and story credits for Black Dynamite. Sanders is also a highly popular Los Angeles DJ, mixing under the name Suckapunch.