Starring: Michael Jai White, Tommy Davidson, Byron Minns, Kym Whitley, J.B. Smoove, Clifton Powell
Distributed by: Warner Bros
Rated TV-MA
Running Time: 264 minutes
Release: Jul 15, 2014
Season: 2 out of 5 stars
Extras: 3 out of 5 stars
“Black Dynamite” is an animated series based on the 2009’s cult classic feature film. Made with the direction of Carl Jones (“The Boondocks”), the series features the voice talent of Michael Jai White (“The Dark Knight”), Tommy Davidson (“In Living Color”), Kym Whitley (“The Cleveland Show”) and Byron Minns (“Mongo Wrestling Alliance”), all who were all in the film. I was excited about this show being a fan of the movie but it gets old very fast. By episode three, the fad of this being funny is long gone. This show hasn’t aired since September 2012 and yet Adult Swim supposedly has renewed it for a second season it air sometime in 2014, but it is already nearly July so not sure what is going on, nor do I really care to be honest. Put it this way if you like “The Boondocks”, which I do not, then you will love this show.
Official Premise: The series’ titular character Black Dynamite (Michael Jai White) is a 1970s renaissance man with a kung-fu grip. He is a lover and a fighter who is not afraid to leap before he looks. His sidekick extraordinaire is Bullhorn, 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 I do have to give to this show is a star for a it’s great episode titles: 1. “Just Beat It or Jackson Five Across Yo’ Eyes”; 2. “Bullhorn Nights or Murder She Throats (a.k.a Mandingo’s Got a Pink Toe)”; 3. “Taxes and Death or Get Him to the Sunset Strip!”; 4. “A Crisis at Christmas or The Dark Side of the Dark Side of the Moon”; 5. “Panic on the Player’s Ball Express or That’s Influenza Sucka!”; 6. “The $#*! That Killed The King or Weekend At Presley’s”; 7. “Apocalypse, This! or For the Pity of Fools (AKA Flashbacks Are Forever)”; 8. “Honky Kong or White Apes Can’t Hump”; 9. “The Race War or Big Black Cannon, Balls Run!”; “10. Seed of Kurtis AKA Father Is Just Another Word For Motherf#@ker”
Warner Bros is delivered this release as a combo pack with a Blu-ray + UltraViolet digital copy. The 1080p transfer works with the animation and looks good. But The Cartoon Network/Adult Swim Blu-ray’s always fall short in the audio department. This season only comes with a Dolby Digtal 5.1 track, which is a DVD track not a Blu-ray track. So that is a bit of a let down. In terms of special features, there is some decent content. There is a behind-the-scenes look into this show with “The Making of Black Dynamite”. There are also video commentaries with the cast and crew on selected episodes, which made watching them a little easier but not much. Lastly also included is the pilot episode for “Black Dynamite”.