What you say?..."Black Dynamite".  That's what everyone in this film is hollering out.  The drug dealers, the pimps, the pushers, the cops, the pigs, the ladies, the hoes, the regular class citizens, the corrupt, and definitely The Man.  Yes, they are all screaming out "BLACK DYNAMITE!".  And who is this Black Dynamite?  He is an ex-CIA agent who begins a rampage through his city to take revenge on the killers of his brother and track down the enemy who started pushing heroine to the kids in the neighborhood. 

Famed martial artist Michael Jai White is the writer and star of this Blaxploitation remake.  And it is obvious through his flawless portrayal of the Black Dynamite character, he has an affinity for the Blaxploitation genre.  Director Scott Sanders also does an amazing job by paying homage almost perfectly with how these 70's cult classics were shot back in the day.  The costuming and wardrobe, slang talk, afros and perms, bell bottoms, location shots, and editing were right on point.  Honestly if you didn't recognize the current actors in the movie to let you know it was created in the present day, you would think you were watching a film made back in the 1970's.  And the cameos were some of the best caught on film:  Arsenio Hall, Tommy Davidson, Bokeem Woodbine, Kym Whitley, and Brian McKnight just to name a few.  As I was watching this movie I couldn't figure out why it made me think about MTV's The Jersey Shore?  And then I realized why.  You have the star Black Dynamite as well as Tasty Freeze, Sweet Meat, Chocolate Giddy-Up, Chicago Wind, Mo Bitches, and my personal favorite Cream Corn.  Now who could think of better nicknames than that?  These names might give JWoww and The Situation a run for their money.   

Now I would call this the first 'official' remake of a Blaxploitation film.  There have been many films that have paid homage to this genre.  One of the most popular in the African American community was Keenan Ivory Wanans' I'm Gonna Git Sucka.  While this movie was considered a parody of the genre, its release in the 1980's introduced a whole new generation to Blaxploitation movies while simultaneously making you fall out of your seat laughing.  But even more popular was Quentin Tarantino's blockbuster Pulp Fiction where Samuel L. Jackson played a greasy, jerry curl flossing, bible-quoting killer.  Though this movie was not a remake it was filled with numerous Blaxploitation undertones.   The funny thing is this movie basically turned Samuel L. Jackson into a megastar, revived the career of John Travolta, and made pretty much made Quentin Tarantino one of the most sought after directors in Hollywood...go figure.  Tarantino went on to create a modern remake of Jackie Brown starring the original bad mama herself Pam Grier.  And though this wasn't a true remake, I thought the film was excellent.  And last and most certainly least was the modern remake of Shaft starring Samuel L. Jackson.  I'm not sure what the creators of this film were thinking but it didn't deserve to wear the title of one of the most well-known black characters of all time.         

One fact has become very clear to me: you either love black exploitation films or you don't.  There's not really an in-between.  And I am one who does.  How can you not?  Where else will you find a Black superhero these days?