BLACK SAMURAI is your typical low rent American martial arts movie, starring man of the moment Jim Kelly who appeared in a whole slew of cheapjack kung fu flicks in the late 1970s. This one's a typical Al Adamson movie, which is no recommendation: it's cheap, badly edited, disjointed feeling, and very, very silly.

There's barely any plot to speak of, just a long running sequence of fight scenes in which Kelly uses his martial arts abilities to kick various bad guys in the face, over and over again. It becomes repetitive and yet these sluggish fights are the best thing about an otherwise incredibly cheap production.

The acting is wooden, the cinematography poor, and the film as a whole looks incredibly cheap. Felix Silla (Twiki from BUCK ROGERS IN THE 25TH CENTURY) has a role as a miniature hit-man which has to be seen to be believed. Overall, BLACK SAMURAI isn't one of the worst films out there - at least it's unintentionally funny throughout - but it is a real mess.

OK, if we've seen "Enter the Dragon" and "Black Belt Jones", then we should know not to expect any kind of life-changing experience from watching a Jim Kelly movie, just to enjoy it. And with "Black Samurai", you'd better believe that you will! Kelly plays D.R.A.G.O.N. agent Robert Sand, who one day learns that his hubby has been kidnapped by a crime syndicate. From there, the movie is basically a series of ass-kicking scenes, no matter how unrealistic. And no great acting either. It's obviously an excuse for him to buck The Man's mores...which he does perfectly.

I should identify that if you're expecting a repeat of "Enter the Dragon", you'll be disappointed. Jim Kelly is NOT graceful like Bruce Lee was. I think that his main asset is his cool Afro. If you expect nothing more from this movie than the sort of kick-ass fun characteristic of blaxploitation movies, you won't be the least bit disappointed. It's the sort of movie that really makes one idolize the '70s.

Yes, this movie stinks. But before you start ragging on it too much, understand that for this director (Al Adamson),this is a very good film and a massive improvement over his usual films! So, while this movie is of course quite bad, at least it's better than many of Adamson's other grade-z films, such as "Dracula Versus Frankenstein", "Brain of Blood" and "Hell's Bloody Devils". It's not an exaggeration to say that Adamson could easily be the worst director in film history--even worse than the famed Ed Wood, Jr..

As for the film, it is pretty typical for an Adamson epic, though I am surprised that Jim Kelly needed the money so badly that he'd agree to make the movie. I am also surprised that Kelly actually made two films for this schlock-meister! He sure has sunk a long way since his breakout role in "Enter the Dragon".

The film features some terribly exciting scenes. One is a Cadillac that goes off the road and down a small embankment...then naturally explodes (you can see that the car was LATER exploded and this clip was clumsily stuck in after the car goes off the road). Another great scene is using his martial arts on midgets--ooh, gotta be careful of those ninja-midgets (Hmmm...wouldn't it be a cool remake if they made "Snow White and the Seven Ninja Dwarfs"?). And, not content to do this once, Kelly fights another midget later in the film. Not surprisingly, the little guy was amazingly easy to beat! Imagine that! Additionally, Kelly fights an assortment of baddies whose martial arts talents are nil--so you never really get a chance to see the sort of action Kelly actually is capable of doing. In fact, I think that fighting the ninja midgets was about the best fighting in the film!!

Despite the film being filled with deficiencies, there are a few positive things I should point out. Kelly drives a really, really cool sports car and I am surprised the budget could afford it (perhaps it belonged to Adamson or one of the other cast members). Also, at one point he flies around using a jet-pack! In reality, one of these machines can only remain airborne for a few seconds (20-30 tops) but various clips were strung together to make for a neat scene--though oddly, a few "throwaway" scenes were allowed to remain (such as when he crashed into the creek).

As for the plot...well, forget it. Who cares?! It's a confusing melange concerning kidnappings, drugs and a devil cult...nuff said??!!

Overall, bad action, bad acting, a terrible script and pitiful direction make this a rather stupid film from start to finish and is only of interest to bad movie fans like myself. Chalk up another to Adamson, King of Dreck!

By the way, if you do see the film, isn't it interesting that one of the bad guys looks a lot like Damon Wayans!