Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		4.5
Audio		4.5
Extras		0.5
Overall		4.0

Black Belt Jones Blu-ray Movie Review

B.B. on BD.

Reviewed by Randy Miller III September 17, 2024

One of Blaxploitation's most memorable classics (for better and for worse), Robert Clouse's Black Belt Jones has finally gotten a promotion to Blu-ray from Warner Archive for its 50th anniversary. Film fans might remember Clouse's name as the director of Enter the Dragon, released the previous year, which co-starred Jim Kelly and John Saxon alongside, of course, the late, great Bruce Lee. Black Belt Jones hastily thrusts Kelly into the karate spotlight as this ultra low-budget spy thriller's title character, a smooth-talking martial arts expert enlisted to take down the Mafia before they seize a beloved local karate dojo owned by "Pop" Byrd (Scatman Crothers). He'll need a little help, obviously.

Black Belt -- that's "B.B." to his close friends and co-workers, or sometimes just "Belt" -- eventually gets help in the form of a few random girls on trampolines (yes, really) and also lovely Sydney (Gloria Hendry), Pop's daughter and an expert fighter in her own right. Eventually they'll work their way up the Mafia ladder but, for now, are mostly dealing with mid-level drug dealer "Pinky" (Malik Carter) and his thugs, who are basically in charge of repossessing Pop's dojo via an ever-increasing I.O.U. debt that soon exceeds the building's value. After an accidental death raises the stakes and Sydney's younger brother Quincy (Eric Laneuville) is kidnapped, B.B. and his lovely sidekick spring into action -- with the help of those trampoline girls, obviously -- while eventually falling for each other in the process.

It's obvious that Black Belt Jones was meant to duplicate the phenomenal success of Enter the Dragon, a much more ambitious but still fairly low-budget production that catapulted Bruce Lee into superstardom before his untimely death only weeks before its U.S. theatrical release. In many respects, Black Belt Jones similarly plays to Jim Kelly's strengths and could've easily led to bigger and better things, but was only a modest hit and he would soon retreat to supporting roles in films like Gordon Parks, Jr.'s Three the Hard Way. While Enter the Dragon buried some of its limitations under exotic spectacle and supernaturally fierce fight sequences, the smaller-scale Black Belt Jones struggles to generate as much overall excitement: portions of its plot are patchy and even confusing at times, which unfortunately tends to get in the way of its winking comedic appeal. Kelly's mostly in top form, though: he's certainly got the looks, charisma, and fighting chops to lead the show, and Gloria Henry (who just appeared in Live and Let Die) pulls her own weight too. Black Belt Jones still requires more than a little "camp forgiveness" for viewers to truly enjoy the ride.

That said, it's a decently fun picture with plenty of memorable quotes and moments, and if nothing else serves as perhaps the most obvious influence for Black Dynamite. Simply put: if you're looking for a few laughs (intentional or otherwise) to go with lightweight 1970s martial arts action, look no further. As usual, Warner Archive's welcome new Blu-ray is led by another top-notch restoration that makes this unpolished gem shine as much as possible.

Black Belt Jones Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Warner Archive's 1080p transfer of Black Belt Jones is sourced from a recent 4K scan of the original camera negative, which typically all but guarantees a very high video rating due to the boutique label's track record. Simply put, those who like their 1970s films to look like... well, 1970s films will be enormously pleased here, as the low-budget but still very competently-shot Black Belt Jones clearly retains its decade-specific grain structure and color palette. Fine detail is quite good, black levels hold steady with excellent contrast and saturation, while the total content fits quite comfortably on this dual-layered disc and runs at a smoothly supportive bit rate from start to finish; random spot-checks seemed to hover in the mid-30Mbps range, and only a handful of mild compression artifacts such as light macro blocking could be found along the way. All told, this is excellent work -- the film is very clean but still raw and true to its source, and this 1080p presentation likely rivals or even exceeds most original theatrical showings. Top-tier work, for sure.

Black Belt Jones Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Black Belt Jones' comparatively more down-to-Earth DTS-HD 2.0 Master Audio mix also gets the job done, offering clean and crisp dialogue along with plenty of heavily overdubbed hits and other fight-related sound effects -- including tons of broken glass -- that fit comfortably within genre expectations. Everything seems to be mixed well on this split one-channel track (which also includes the very era-specific original score by prolific composer Luchi DeJesus, who mostly worked in television), one that isn't exactly overpowering yet still forceful during the right moments.

Optional English (SDH) subtitles are included during the main feature only.

Black Belt Jones Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

This one-disc release ships in a keepcase with vintage poster-themed artwork; no slipcover or inserts are included. Extras are unfortunately limited to the film's original trailer, which is disappointing but doesn't ruin the party.

• Theatrical Trailer (3:00) - This spoiler-heavy but fun promotional piece can also be seen here.

Black Belt Jones Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Robert Clouse's Black Belt Jones is a fun but fairly frivolous follow-up to his phenomenally popular Enter the Dragon released only a year earlier, but that's more due to its patchy plot and a very limited budget than the potent on-screen appeal of hopeful star Jim Kelly. Even so, it's still a good time at the movies and absolutely belongs on the shelf of any self-respecting martial arts and/or Blaxploitation enthusiast, which makes Warner Archive's welcome new Blu-ray edition all the more easy to recommend. Happy 50th birthday! Now let's go to McDonald's.