Black Dynamite: Season One Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		3.5
Audio		4.5
Extras		3.0
Overall		3.5

Black Dynamite: Season One Blu-ray Movie Review

*Insert blatantly offensive, dubiously racist joke here*

Reviewed by Kenneth Brown August 2, 2014

Where to start? The 1970s? The origins of Blaxploitation? That bad mutha, Shaft (1971)? The lesser known but no less influential Sweet Sweetback's Baadasssss Song (also 1971)? Other cult classics of the genre? The controversy that's plagued it since its inception? The difficult to discern line between racism and satire? Empowerment and provocation? Should we skip past the '70s and dive into later Blaxploitation homages and throw-backs? I'm Gonna Git You Sucka (1988)? Jackie Brown (1997)? Pootie Tang (2001)? Scott Sanders, Byron Minns and Michael Jai White's Black Dynamite (2009)? The trio's more recent Cartoon Network/Adult Swim animated series of the same name? Shutcho mouth. Let's just start here. The animated series. A niche among niches. What to expect, and who's likely to dig it. Will you? Take a quick second and scan the screenshots included with this review. Go ahead. I'll wait. Back? Still interested? If so, chances are good that you're exactly the kind of person that'll get a big kick out of Black Dynamite. If the screenshots offended you, good God. Look for laughs elsewhere.

Black Dynamite (voiced by Michael Jai White) is a 1970s renaissance man with a kung-fu grip. He's a lover and a fighter who's not afraid to leap before he looks. His sidekick extraordinaire is Bullhorn (Byron Minns), the brains and cunning that complements Black Dynamite’s hard-hittin’, bone-crushin’ style. Providing comic relief on the mean streets is Cream Corn (Tommy Davidson) and classing up the place is the gorgeous Honey Bee (Kym Whitley).

What to expect? Movie references heaped atop movie references. Violence. Sex. F-bombs. Barrels pressed to the screen. Abandonment issues. Supervillain and arch nemesis Richard Nixon. Maniacal puppet That Frog Kurtis and his vindictive son That Bastard Kurtis. Ninjas. Ninjas. Ninjas! Young Michael Jackson. Thriller Michael Jackson. Decaying Michael Jackson. Undead Michael Jackson. Porn stars. Back taxes. Black taxes. Talking cars. Drug-addicted Richard Pryor. Lunar adventures with O.J. Simpson. Elvis' corpse. Sun Tzu's ghost. An army of Isaac Washington robots. Girls. Guns. More girls. More guns. Girls wielding guns. Gun-wielding KKK members. Alien conquerors. (No guns. Just tridents.) If Black Dynamite doesn't offend your sensibilities at some point, you're a racist's racist. If it doesn't make you laugh at something you shouldn't laugh at, you're lying. Even if you don't like the series, it's hard not to get caught up in the absurdity and hilarity of it all. The only problem being just how hit or miss -- or obscure -- the jokes and references are, which leads to as many crack-ups as head scratches.

Is it for you? If you haven't figured that out by now, nothing in this review is going to sway you any further. I had a blast watching Black Dynamite, even when it wasn't all that good. (There are stretches that drag, others that fall flat, and still others sure to fly right over most heads.) Sanders' 2009 feature film was sharper, more focused and more consistently hilarious. The animated series is more erratic and often feels a bit too desperate. Desperate to offend, desperate to drop jaws, desperate to surprise, desperate to shock... and that desperation does get tiring. But when Black Dynamite strikes, it strikes gold. If The Boondocks (2005-2010) kept you in stitches, add another hash mark to the "must-see" column for Black Dynamite.

Black Dynamite: Season One Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Black Dynamite throws down with a splashy, vibrant 1080p/VC-1 encoded video presentation. There are a handful of somewhat severe issues, though, among them banding, macroblocking and aliasing. None of it proves all that distracting, but it's there; in the background, on clothing, on faces, anywhere the animation's gradient lighting is in full effect. Granted, most, if not all, of these anomalies trace back to the source, but there are times that they're out in force and the image suffers, if only subjectively. Otherwise, everything is on point. Colors are bold, primaries bolder, blacks are blaaaack, and contrast is striking. Detail is terrific too, despite some inconsistencies and intermittent softness. Edges are generally refined and the animators' hard work and personal touches have been preserved. All in all, it's a flawed but solid, arguably great presentation that handily bests its DVD counterpart.

Black Dynamite: Season One Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Loud. Unruly. Explosive. Gunfire, bombs, engines, ninja attacks, evil militant puppets. Big bad action. Bigger, badder action. Black Dynamite has it all, and so does its Dolby TrueHD 5.1 surround track. Low-end elements have the distinct roundness of those in every low budget '70s action movie, but the LFE channel still packs plenty of power and presence. The rear speakers grab hold of the battles, fist fights and shoot-outs too, spreading chaos around the soundfield with a directional prowess and precision that only intensifies the retro sonics the series deploys. Voices are clean and clear regardless, and prioritization is smart and savvy. No complaints here.

Black Dynamite: Season One Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• The Making of Black Dynamite (HD, 11 minutes): Executive producer Carl Jones, producer/co-creator Michael Jai White and producer/co-creator Byron Minns discuss the genesis of the series, the titular character and the inspiration behind his development, the differences between the film and the animated series, Jones' artistic vision and more.
• Audio Commentaries: Five commentary tracks are available, including "Just Beat It, or Jackson Five Across Yo' Eyes" with Jones, White, Minns and voice actor Tommy Davidson; "Bullhorn Nights, or Murder She Throats" with Jones, White, Minns and Davidson; "Taxes and Death, or Get Him to the Sunset Strip" with Jones, White, Minns and Davidson; "Apocalypse This, or For the Pity Fools A.K.A Flashbacks are Forever" with Jones, White and Minns; and "Honky Kong, or White Apes Can't Hump" with Jones, Minns and voice actress Kym Whitley.
• Pilot (HD, 11 minutes): The series' original pilot episode.

Black Dynamite: Season One Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Black Dynamite has a future -- Season Two is already on the way -- and that's fine by me. The first season isn't perfect by any means, but there are some big laughs to be had. If, that is, you're in on the joke. If you aren't, prepare to be offended, offended again, and offended until you give up and hit eject. If you find yourself having a good time, though, you're in for a treat. A hit or miss treat, but a treat all the same. Warner's Blu-ray release delivers too, thanks to a solid video presentation, a strong Dolby TrueHD 5.1 surround track and a decent assortment of extras.