Bad Black Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		2.5
Video		2.0
Audio		2.5
Extras		5.0
Overall		2.5

Bad Black Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman June 17, 2019

Note: This film is available as part of Wakaliwood Supa Action Volume 1: Who Killed Captain Alex? + Bad Black.

“Wakaliwood” may well be an unknown word to many coming to this review, and there’s probably a good reason for that: it’s an “invented” coinage that comes courtesy of one Isaac Godfrey Geoffrey Nabwana, a native Ugandan who also brands himself as Nabwana IGG. Nabwana is one of a new breed of Ugandan filmmakers, and as is made abundantly clear in a number of supplements included on this “double feature” disc, Nabwana is not exactly shy about proclaiming his ambitions to make the Ugandan film industry the “next Bollywood”. Nabwana doesn’t even stop there, also stating that his ultimate ambition is to have Wakaliwood completely subsume “La La Land” as the global center of film production. That may be a pipe dream of rather considerable proportions, but the two films included on this set are certainly great examples of just how much can be done today on micro-budgets (there are several reports that Who Killed Captain Alex? was done for only a couple hundred dollars). Neither of these films is a model of narrative clarity or technical expertise, but there’s a certain Ed Wood-ian joie de vivre (and/or joie de mort, as the case may be, given the violence on hand) to both of these offerings which may well appeal to those who have a fondness for lo-fi entertainment that obviously is not taking itself very seriously.

Bad Black doesn't make one ounce of sense, as even the "commentary" by VJ Emmie repeatedly references. As such, a plot summary may be unnecessary, other than to say this is another completely over the top "action" film that involves a couple of supposed health care professionals who are out to clean the Ugandan streets of nefarious activity. This has a certain "blacksploitation" quality to it that's actually quite inviting, and the film has the same almost manic energy that helped to define Who Killed Captain Alex. Like that film, there's a perhaps none too subtle subtext here outlining some of the sociopolitical hurdles facing Ugandans, though to think that this film is any real way a "penetrating critique" of such issues would probably be a mistake.

Bad Black Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Bad Black is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of AGFA with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 1.37:1. There's no prefatory text on this film as there is on Who Killed Captain Alex, but that said, this has the same "video" like appearance as did the other film, albeit one with arguably better overall detail levels. The weird thing about this presentation is that some scenes look anamorphically squeezed and perhaps sourced from some less decent looking element (see screenshots 7, 13 and 14 for three examples). With an understanding that this presentation is therefore at least intermittently heterogeneous looking, there are certainly moments here that offer above average fine detail levels, and the palette is often nicely vivid, though as can probably be made out, there are occasional contrast issues even in the best looking moments where whites can bloom and colors "bleed" slightly. Still, my personal advice is for anyone interested in this release to carefully parse the screenshots accompanying this review. I'm rating this higher than Who Killed Captain Alex, but this one comes with its own set of unique issues.

Bad Black Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The "main" Dolby Digital 2.0 track on this release features VJ Emmie, and some may find his shouted "commentary" and/or "narration" to be more annoying than helpful. The track is awfully boisterous and in fact downright noisy at times, with Emmie's voiceover conflicting with what's actually on the "real" soundtrack. I frankly can't say for certain if the film was released with Emmie's overlays (it seems like it was, with the whole thing being part of a Wakaliwood "in joke", evidently), but I found the decision to be kind of baffling at times, though that said, some of Emmie's "announcements" are quite funny.

Bad Black Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

As mentioned above, both Wakaliwood films offered on this release are presented on one disc. While most of the supplements under each film are devoted to that film, there are at least a few that might be termed more generalist in nature, and so I'm including the sum total of the supplements in this listing:

Who Killed Captain Alex Supplements

• Director's Commentary (480p; 1:13:27) comes with a very interesting text prelude that mentions it was recorded under perilous circumstances, and also is appended to what sounds like a work print and/or preliminary version of the film, and so this piece runs longer than the "actual" film that is accessed by hitting the Play link on the Main Menu.


• Wakaliwood Kickstarter 2015 (1080p; 7:36) is a daffy appeal for funding.


• Fantasia Film Festival Q&A 2015 (1080p; 19:44)


• Welcome Videos stem from various screenings:

  Philamoca Philadelphia, PA (1080p; 2:26)

  
  

  Fantasia Film Festival Montreal (1080p; 1:20)

  
  

  Invasion U.S.A. (1080p; 1:14)

  
  

  Proctors Schenectady NY (1080p; 2:06)

  
  

  Third Man Nashville, TN (1080p; 3:35)

• Fan Videos

  Who Killed Captain Alex Animated (1080p; 00:53)

  
  

  Tebaatusasula Reloaded (480p; 00:40)

  
  

  Commando vs. Tiger Mafia (1080p; 1:51)

  
  

  Captain Alex Da Sequel (480p; 1:11)

  
  

  Paris vs. Wakaliwood (1080p; 5:28)

  
  

  Return of Uncle Nerfman (1080p; 4:05)

  
  

  We Love Wakaliwood (1080p; 1:02)

  
  

  Battlefield One Reveal Trailer (1080p; 1:06)

  
  

  Captain Alex Da Turkish Rambo (480p; 1:41)

  
  

  Captain Alex Anime (1080p; 1:31)

  
  

  Avengers vs. Tebaatusasula (1080p; 2:32)

  
  

  Put Your Hands in Da Hair (1080p; 1:00)

  
  

  Cool Cat Saves Wakaliwood (1080p; 3:43)

  
  

  Lets Watch Captain Alex (1080p; 4:01)

  
  

  Captain Alex vs. MLG (1080p; 00:58)

  
  

  Captain Alex vs. MLG Da Sequel (1080p; 7:06)

  
  

  Wakaliwood on House of Fools (1080p; 1:11)

  
  

  Captain Alex vs. Japan (480p; 1:26)

• Trailers and Commercials

  Ugandan Film Centre (480p; 2:25)

  
  

  Qadafi Kapati TV Commercial (480p; 2:01)

  
  

  Who Killed Captain Alex (Original Version) (480p; 1:44)

  
  

  Black (Original Version) (480p; 1:58)

  
  

  Tebaatasusula (480p; 00:41)

  
  

  Bukunja Tekunja Mitti the Cannibals (480p; 00:56)

  
  

  Rescue Team (480p; 00:47)

  
  

  Return of Uncle Benon (480p; 1:59)

• Wakaliwood Around the World (Part 1) contains an aggregation of promotional pieces:

  First Time on TV March 2013 (480p; 9:50)

  
  

  New Wave of Ugandan Action Cinema (Vice TV) (1080p; 12:14)

  
  

  IHE Search for the Worst (1080p; 29:21)

  
  

  CCTV Africa October 2014 (1080p; 2:59)

  
  

  Sahara TV Africa (1080p; 2:20)

  
  

  In the Field Ugandan TV (480p; 7:28)

  
  

  Weltspiegel October 2015 (480p; 7:51)

  
  

  NTV Uganda (1080p; 4:06)

• VJ Emmie, Uganda's Best Narrator is featured on an alternate audio track available under the Set Up Menu.

Bad Black Supplements

• Director's Commentary


• Behind the Scenes of Bad Black (1080p; 26:41) has more engaging if often pretty goofy candid footage.


• Fantasia Film Festival Q&A 2017 (1080p; 25:21)


• Welcome Videos all stem from screenings:

  World Premiere @ Fantastic Fest, USA (1080p; 1:20)

  
  

  Fantasia Film Festival, Canada (1080p; 3:10)

  
  

  Brussels Film Festival, Belgium (1080p; 2:50)

  
  

  Bucheon Film Festival, South Korea (1080p; 2:29)

  
  

  Supa World Tour (1080p; 3:46)

  
  

  Slovenia vs. Slovakia (1080p; 1:43)

  
  

  Estonia (1080p; 2:04)

  
  

  Seattle (1080p; 1:42)

  
  

  Orlando (1080p; 2:37)

  
  

  Australia (1080p; 00:53)

  
  

  Mumbai (1080p; 1:06)

  
  

  Paris (1080p; 1:03)

  
  

  Nashville (1080p; 1:30)

  
  

  San Sebastian (1080p; 1:04)

  
  

  New Jersey (1080p; 1:26)

  
  

  Vienna (1080p; 00:43)

  
  

  Kazakhstan (1080p; 00:43)

  
  

  Hollywood (1080p; 00:40)

  
  

  Wisconsin (1080p; 00:55)

• Music Videos

  Official Tourism Video of Uganda (1080p; 2:23)

  
  

  Thank You Grandma from Who Killed Captain Alex (1080p; 3:37)

  
  

  Buddha Fire by Nakos Riddem Masta (480p; 3:12)

  
  

  King Kong Loves Da Blonde One by Go Go Gorillo (1080p; 3:18)

  
  

  Time by The Shy Lips (1080p; 3:21)

  
  

  Nocturno by Cuchillo de Fuego (1080p; 4:31)

  
  

  Bruce U by Maniacs in Da Mailbox (1080p; 4:17)

• Trailers and Clips

  A Nice Audience in Texas (1080p; 00:29)

  
  

  Black (Original Version) (480p; 1:58)

  
  

  Who Killed Captain Alex (Remastered Version) (480p; 1:44)

  
  

  Ugandan Expendables Operation Kakongoliro (1080p; 1:53)

  
  

  Demon Village (1080p; 1:22)

  
  

  Revenge Ugandan Ghost Story 1 (480p; 1:19)

  
  

  Revenge Ugandan Ghost Story 2 (480p; 1:40)

  
  

  Eaten Alive in Uganda Clip (1080p; 3:21)

  
  

  Kasumaali Robot Test Footage (1080p; 00:08)

• Wakaliwood Around the World (Part 2) contains an aggregation of more promotional pieces:

  Ugandan Expendables on Live TV (480p; 2:12)

  
  

  Bad Black vs. MLB (480p; 1:44)

  
  

  Ebola Hunter is Cooming (1080p; 1:59)

  
  

  Madrid vs. Ebola (1080p; 1:17)

  
  

  Wakaliwood on Arte Creative (1080p; 7:17)

  
  

  Action Film Aus Dem Slum Wakaliga Zoom TV (1080p; 1:49)

  
  

  After Bollywood - Uganda Brings Wakaliwood (1080p; 2:41)

  
  

  City Magazine Africa (1080p; 9:27)

  Welcome to Wakaliwood - CNN International October 2018 (1080p; 23:55)

  
  

  Wakaliwood Meets Fangoria (1080p; 00:47)

  
  

  Birthday Message for a Supa Fan (1080p; 00:34)

• VJ Emmie is again featured, albeit this time evidently as part of the actual soundtrack of the film. That track and a "Behind the Scenes Commentary" track are available on the Set Up Menu.

Bad Black Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Bad Black is an off the charts viewing (and listening) experience, and one which provides some intermittent giggles along with some completely hyperbolic action elements. Once again technical aspects have some limitations, but the film's weirdness and a really excellent supplemental package may make it irresistible for some potential consumers.