It's important to note that Black Dynamite is not a spoof movie.  It's not like Scary Movie, Date Movie, or even I'm Gonna Get You Sucka.  The best way to explain this fantastically funny movie might be the following SAT style analogy:  Black Dynamite : Blaxsploitation :: Planet Terror : Apocalyptic Grindhouse Sci-Fi.  I had a good feeling about Black Dynamite going into it, but I had no idea that it would turn out to be one of the best times I've had at a theater this year.

Though I've seen Shaft and Black Belt Jones and some Dolemite, I can't claim that I'm student of the genre.  Thankfully, I don't think that you need a lot of experience with Blaxsploitation to simply enjoy this film on its own merits.  Michael Jai White is perfect as Black Dynamite.  He's physical and badass when he needs to be, his comic timing is perfect, and he rolls with the film's subtle and not-so-subtle goofs.  He should, he co-wrote the thing!  Of course the characters are misogynistic, they perpetuate horrible stereotypes, and the heroes are all of questionable moral fiber, but the film itself never feels like it agrees with those things.  I suppose that without the history of Blaxsploitation films, this movie seen in a vacuum might be one of the most egregiously offensive movies to be released in 2009, but then again, it wouldn't even exist without that history.

The simple truth is that Black Dynamite had me laughing from the opening pre-title malt liquor commercial all the way until the ridiculously over-the-top finale.  The movie delivers on all of the promise of its poster: a guy who fights with a gun and nunchucks, flamboyant pimps, sexy ladies, helicopter stunts, and a nefarious kung fu master!  All of that is accompanied by a superb score that hits the funky soul notes as well as it does the spooky synth notes when Black Dynamite is in full-on detective mode.  Skip the Soundboard, Trailer, and anything that actually shows you parts of the movie and just go in expecting to have your mind blown.  It's much more fun to discover the film's many, many perfectly executed moments than to see glimpses of them before you go.

If you need any proof that you will love this movie, watch this faux PSA that is not a part of the movie but was made to promote Black Dynamite's crusade against Smack in the Orphanage.  If you don't love this, don't bother with the film, but how could you not love it?