If I were reviewing just the soundtrack, I'd give it 5 stars easy. Now,since I'm having to review the film as well, things are different. And no, the bulk of the rating isn't just for the music. This movie has some good merits on its own. The cars and clothes are awesome. The gritty NYC locationwork is great adding a
nice touch of realism and relatability, the acting is mostly decent (for what it is), and the same goes for the dialogue. I'm generally very kind to every type of movie I watch, I always try to focus on the positives and be asforgiving andunderstanding as I can with the short comings. For some of those short comings, if they don't impact the overall effect, they aren't a big deal and can be overlooked.
This is one of the most well known, better made, and influential Blaxploitation. Even though it does have its fairshare of critical and scholarly haters, this film is pretty competently made, and does have some good subtext and deeper stuff going on. For that, I give it more props than I already do. Take some ofthat away, and the movie is still pretty entertaining, even if more shallow. While some of the film's content is responsible for some of the stereotyping that comes along with these films, it's played pretty straight and serious. Oh, there's humor, but it's intentional (most of it- some of the dialogue and racial slurs had me laughing when I probably shouldn't have found it that funny). As far assome of the backlash is concerned- this isn't nearly as violent asI thought it would be, or as it could have been. I will admit that it does glamorize drugs and the drug culture, (something the soundtrack does not do), but it doesn't really get too overboard with it. Honestly, I think this film is entertaining whether you watch it for what it is, or, like me, you want (and have to) read into it. (I'm writing a Master's seminar paper on Blaxploitation).
June 11, 2010
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