Flaws:
It's a bit long and heavy on plot
Not much action and some poor computerized effects
It's a bit uneven, silly sometimes and dry at others
I've seen some of these jokes before like the "stretching my calf on the windowsill" one or the lamp-broken-by-erection gag
It's a bit racist towards Native Americans, who are all played in a silly way by white people and people of other ethnicities but this could also be seen as a clever sendup of other westerns that have done this unironically. Indian-Canadian Russell Peters has a nice cameo as the Native chief.
Pros:
Michael Jai White is amazing, hilarious, and can still do great stunts. And his writing and direction of the film are pretty good too. He and Byron Minns really show off their acting abilities a lot more than they did in Black Dynamite which is nice to see.
The story is engaging though some of it's twists feel sitcom-ish. The messages about faith, revenge, forgiveness, justice, community and truth are poignant. This movie has a good heart.
The movie isn't always extremely funny, sometimes it's focused on plot and that's okay, especially in the first act, but when it does go for laughs they mostly hit big time. The ensemble cast that comes together in the second act really propels this film into truly gut-busting hilarity. Erica Ash in particular delivers one of the funniest performances of the film and deserves recognition.
Overall it's not as funny as Black Dynamite, but it's not trying to be, it's a totally different animal. It's in some ways better than that film. It's more structured and less screwball. Feels like a lot of heart was put into making it. By taking itself just a bit more seriously it's able to tell a really good story while still being fun and funny. It's definitely not perfect but I enjoyed it enough to get the dvd! Great job MJW and crew!
It's a bit long and heavy on plot
Not much action and some poor computerized effects
It's a bit uneven, silly sometimes and dry at others
I've seen some of these jokes before like the "stretching my calf on the windowsill" one or the lamp-broken-by-erection gag
It's a bit racist towards Native Americans, who are all played in a silly way by white people and people of other ethnicities but this could also be seen as a clever sendup of other westerns that have done this unironically. Indian-Canadian Russell Peters has a nice cameo as the Native chief.
Pros:
Michael Jai White is amazing, hilarious, and can still do great stunts. And his writing and direction of the film are pretty good too. He and Byron Minns really show off their acting abilities a lot more than they did in Black Dynamite which is nice to see.
The story is engaging though some of it's twists feel sitcom-ish. The messages about faith, revenge, forgiveness, justice, community and truth are poignant. This movie has a good heart.
The movie isn't always extremely funny, sometimes it's focused on plot and that's okay, especially in the first act, but when it does go for laughs they mostly hit big time. The ensemble cast that comes together in the second act really propels this film into truly gut-busting hilarity. Erica Ash in particular delivers one of the funniest performances of the film and deserves recognition.
Overall it's not as funny as Black Dynamite, but it's not trying to be, it's a totally different animal. It's in some ways better than that film. It's more structured and less screwball. Feels like a lot of heart was put into making it. By taking itself just a bit more seriously it's able to tell a really good story while still being fun and funny. It's definitely not perfect but I enjoyed it enough to get the dvd! Great job MJW and crew!