Pure dynamite entertainmentThe CIA sets out to stop the nefarious plans of T.F. Kurtis, the star of a popular children’s puppet show. Once one of the most outstanding educators America has ever produced, Kurtis has now gone rogue. He plans on using his power and influence to corrupt America’s youth. Only one thing stands in his way, that bad motherfucker known as Black Dynamite!
In case you didn't see the 2009 movie this series is based on (trust me, you should), Black Dynamite is a true homage to the Blaxploitation style characters that dominated the 70's, complete with an afro, unmatched fighting skills and a sex appeal that would make A-list celebrities jealous.
Produced by Adult Swim, the show manages to keep the swearing, sex and violence that helped to make the film brilliant. We are also treated to more of the film's hallmarks, such as another funny Black Dynamite flashback to him as a kid, complete with his trademark moustache, and the Dynomite theme from the film makes a more than welcome return, signifying this isn't a cheap knock-off. Joining Black Dynamite on his adventures are the best of the films characters, Honeybee, Cream Corn and Bullhorn, (all voiced by their film counterparts) making a motley crew of which it'll be a blast to watch every week.
The pilot episode proves that we shouldn't be worried by the leap from live-action movie to animated series, as all that was loved about the film is clearly on display right here. The show manages to keep it's insane humour and drive it at us in full force, as we are given a naked Black Dynamite jumping at a helicopter with his dick censored by a large black rectangle, and I empthasise on how large the rectangle is. The animation is extraordinarily done with very much detail and a lot of style, making this one of the better looking animated shows on Adult Swim.
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| Would you really want to mess with him and his toned muscles? |
Being animated also brings its privileges, as the show is able to do things that would've been more costly and difficult to make work live, like have an all-out battle between Black Dynamite's crew and puppets. The series also comes complete with a catchy opening theme tune (not as catchy as the Dynomite theme). The Sesame Street-esque villians are hilarious additions to the ever-expanding Black Dynamite universe who would definatley not be suited for kids, as we are treated to a street "fuzzy pimps, fuzzy hustlers and fuzzy hoes", and the best of the lot, their Kermit The Frog type leader/pimp, T.F Kurtis, as he asks Cream Corn whether he wants to be slapped in the face by a frog dick.
One problem I had with the show is that the pilot is only 11 minutes long, not giving enough time to sit back and enjoy the show, whilst not allowing for a wider plot to run and more depth to be put into the characters. But, that problem's been fixed, as the rest of the series' episodes have been doubled to 22 minutes each.
One of the best things about the film was that the film was also a portrayal about how the Blaxploitation era was done badly, what with the deliberate acts to make it look badly filmed, badly acted, badly delivered lines, etc, and this helped to make the film even funnier than it already was, and with the change to animated series, this part was obviously not going stick around, and the show doesn't really suffer for it, but that doesn't mean I can't miss it.
With upcoming episodes apparently going to spoof the likes of Richard Pryor and The Jackson Five, Black Dynamite looks to be a fantastic addition to Adult Swim, and an amazing continuation of the brilliant film
Black Dynamite will air on Adult Swim next year, but the pilot episode is available to watch on Youtube now
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