"Outlaw Johnny Black" is the latest movie from Michael Jai White and his team that brought us the amazing "Black Dynamite". (If you have not watched "Black Dynamite" yet, you are missing out on what would be the funniest movie to come out in the last 20 years had "Tropic Thunder" never been made. It is that good.) Being that it is the same crew, you will see many of the same faces returning to the party.
Johnny Black is a man driven by vengeance that leads him on a journey to finding himself. I will leave it at that to not spoil anything as the plot is actually more in depth and with more twists and turns than would be expected from what is a concept that has existed as long as stories have been told.
Where BD was a *chefs kiss* spoof of a Blaxploitation film, OJB is more a comedic western along the lines of "Blazing Saddles". More Mel Brooks than Sergio Leon, MJW does a good job of bringing the laughs while also having a good bit of character growth and life lessons thrown in.
The only issue I had with the movie is that it is fairly long, and some parts are there to expand on the plot and not hit you with the comedy. Whereas BD was nonstop zingers from start to finish, OJB is more spaced out with the comedy at the beginning and picks up a bit in the later half.
Some people make take issues with how some characters are portrayed, but just remember that it is all done deliberately to mimic a style of the past and how things were done then. I could understand what the intent was and thought everything was hilarious.
As this is a *follow up* (for a lack of better term) to BD, you may be wondering if you need to see BD beforehand. The answer is no. This is a completely standalone movie that can be enjoyed by itself. However, you will miss out of several jokes that are direct callbacks to BD (hence my review title).
While I would give BD a solid 10/10 due to the genre it is spoofing and the nonstop comedy from start to finish, I will give OJB a 7/10 for being a little longer, more sparing with the jokes and being of a genre that lends itself less to the full-on belly laughs.
Definitely recommend the watch.
Johnny Black is a man driven by vengeance that leads him on a journey to finding himself. I will leave it at that to not spoil anything as the plot is actually more in depth and with more twists and turns than would be expected from what is a concept that has existed as long as stories have been told.
Where BD was a *chefs kiss* spoof of a Blaxploitation film, OJB is more a comedic western along the lines of "Blazing Saddles". More Mel Brooks than Sergio Leon, MJW does a good job of bringing the laughs while also having a good bit of character growth and life lessons thrown in.
The only issue I had with the movie is that it is fairly long, and some parts are there to expand on the plot and not hit you with the comedy. Whereas BD was nonstop zingers from start to finish, OJB is more spaced out with the comedy at the beginning and picks up a bit in the later half.
Some people make take issues with how some characters are portrayed, but just remember that it is all done deliberately to mimic a style of the past and how things were done then. I could understand what the intent was and thought everything was hilarious.
As this is a *follow up* (for a lack of better term) to BD, you may be wondering if you need to see BD beforehand. The answer is no. This is a completely standalone movie that can be enjoyed by itself. However, you will miss out of several jokes that are direct callbacks to BD (hence my review title).
While I would give BD a solid 10/10 due to the genre it is spoofing and the nonstop comedy from start to finish, I will give OJB a 7/10 for being a little longer, more sparing with the jokes and being of a genre that lends itself less to the full-on belly laughs.
Definitely recommend the watch.