Blaxploitation History Month ends with Michelle's review of Black Belt Jones
 |
| "Check out the size of my sack!" |
Kung Fu films have
always enjoyed popularity in African American culture but in the past did not
have any prominent black martial artists portrayed. Jim Kelly (a black world
champion karate master) changed all that by co-starring with Bruce Lee in Enter
the Dragon, which opened up new opportunities for more diverse casting in
martial arts movies. After the blockbuster success of Enter the Dragon,
director Robert Clouse decided to give Kelly a starring role in his own feature
film, Black Belt Jones. While this film
isn’t nearly as high quality, it still has a cheesy Blaxploitation charm that
is infectious and fun to watch.
Jim Kelly is Black
Belt Jones. That’s his official name. He even answers the phone: “Hello, Black
Belt Jones here, whatchu want?!” A local dojo has got into trouble with the
mafia and they enlist the funky fresh fighting skills of Black Belt Jones to
help them out. The story is very silly and has that schizophrenic quality that
poorly edited movies tend to have. It doesn’t weigh down the film too heavily
though and things move along at a quick pace (even if it doesn’t make sense
most of the time).
 |
| "Whachu talkin' bout Willis?" |
If I can offer a
female perspective for a moment: Jim Kelly was a very good looking cat. He
spends a lot of time without a shirt on and is in very good shape. Just
saying…ahem. There is nothing cooler than seeing a guy with a giant afro, bell-bottom
pants and sky-high platforms roundhouse kicking some fools in their chest. He
also has a fondness for punching people in their beans and franks, if you get
my drift. The fight scenes are poorly choreographed, to be honest, but you can
still tell that Kelly is a talented fighter and they do pick some ingenious
locales for the battles. There is also a female fighter that gets to kick a
whole lot of ass and that’s always a joy to watch. Scatman Crothers makes a
cameo appearance as well and provides some extra comic relief.
Black Belt Jones is
pretty average as far as kung fu films go but it had the distinction of
featuring a mostly black cast and paved the way for classic films such as The
Last Dragon. It’s worth a watch for martial arts film fans and as a curiosity
piece.
-Review by Michelle Kisner