This high-gloss take on Gordon Parks Jr’s funky vision of the hustle goes so far into sheer, unabashed rap-video excess that calling it gratuitous would miss the point. Until it suddenly, brutally isn’t.
A lot of racism is surrounding this film and people are trying harder than they should to make it out as controversial. As a straight white male who grew up in the hood, I gotta say nearly every white person criticizing this film for "racism" is taking advantage of Metacritic and IMDB's rating systems. This film isn't the Revenant but if your review is worse than The Room, then your clearly incapable of having an honest opinion, that's not taste its just a lack of objective thought. This film isn't amazingly shot, but its a clean and cohesive action film with a badass protagonist. The soundtrack is also pretty kickin. Honestly there are so many white Americans who have been brainwashed into the world is against them and that somehow watching and enjoying a film like this is a "betrayal of their race". The reality is it's a harmless film with a small tad of social commentary. Its a solid between 7.5-8.0 depending on your tolerance cartoony action films. Giving it a ten because the film is simply not a 5.5, there are opinions then there is intolerance.
I always find it tough to watch a film like Superfly because the idea of the American Dream becomes ever present. I don't condone toxic (whether natural or unnatural) substance use, abuse, or the marketing (of any kind) for the aforementioned type of substances. Yet, it's always interesting having the conversations that ensue after watching a film like Blow, Scarface, Donnie Brasco, Swordfish, etc. especially concerning people not living super fly lives.
People are fighting hour-to-hour to make a living and there are so many opportunities available that people are not aware of which will greatly enhance their stance in life. No, I'm not talking about drug dealing unless you want to work in the pharmaceutical industry as a certified employee. I don't mean the previous sentence in a sarcastic sense either. Some might deem themselves certified street pharmacists. The real point is, a film like Superfly shows another side of the American Dream that proposes a potential reality for some - an actual out - from their paycheck-to-paycheck lifestyles.
Let's be real. Some people have gone down a path of no return by choice. This is not an implication that all of these paths are wrong. In life, people have to make decisions about their life - confirmations in a sense. In many instances, these people are glorified and vilified. The glorification and vilification of these certain people magnifies them. Superfly superimposes these ideas well through some of the most important aspects of a child's life - a caring and present parent and social relations. Now, there is a huge area for conversation concerning the mothers and their sons in the film which I will not touch upon in the review. As one might already notice, entering the conversation of the American Dream might seem to take away from the rest of the review - but, it only makes Superfly so much more appealing. This is not the only film displaying the glorification and vilification of considerably corrupt behaviors in theaters.
How does one get super fly? There's already a statement about being Superfly in the beginning of the film which basically says, stick to what you're good at and get super fly investors (a bit of a sarcastic statement concerning the investors though an actual aspect to recognize of reality - even banks have investors - consumers being of the most important of them). The film looks good and its elements fit the story well. The only blatantly confusing aspect occurs in a final scene at Priest's home. Otherwise, the film resettles afterward, comes to a reasonable end, and leaves viewers with a dream fulfilled. The story telling works well especially with the narration from Trevor Jackson as Priest throughout. Plus - the film really touches on topics that certain communities are having trouble handling.
K.D.
Overall: 7.981/10
P.S. There are people that don't want to be super fly, and - there are people that will do anything to get super fly. There's nothing wrong with being rich, not flashy, and not famous. But - don't live a life that's aimless or negatively directed.
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Superfly escapes superficiality thanks largely to strong performances from Jackson; Jason Mitchell as Priest’s workmanlike partner, Eddie, and Michael Kenneth Williams as Priest’s mentor, Scatter.
When the new SuperFly does show flashes of street-smart wit...its energy is infectious. Mostly, though, it needs to take its hero’s advice and take things up a notch.
Did the original “Super Fly” need to be remade? Not really. The new film is a decent example of the barrage of reboots storming theaters lately, but that’s all it is: decent.
Antwan "Big Boi" Patton appears in an entertaining role as Atlanta’s weaselly mayor. Atlanta may have dibs on Youngblood Priest this time, but even though the character is still fly in this reboot, it would be a stretch to regard him as truly superfly.
The new Superfly is, simply, a terrible movie. It is slick, and it boasts action, hot tunes and style to spare. But beyond the polish that a deep-pocketed studio backer can buy -- in this case, Sony's Columbia Pictures shingle -- this is a shamefully hollow movie that fails on multiple levels.
I enjoyed the movie. Lots of action here. Hell **** only a movie. Somebody here goes on about promoting better black images. Fine, I'm all for that. But like I **** A MOVIE. What part of this don't you understand? Movies are about enjoyment and entertainment. This movie was definitely entertaining.
You’ve seen this story a hundred times, but it’s fine enough. For every decent performance there’s an over-the-top cartoon, for every entertaining action scene there’s one out of the “Zach Snyder needless slo-mo” school.
Well black people upset because we had black panther and now we back to been gangsters. Well I couldn't cause I find this movie terrible. Heard this story like so many times that it's just ripping off of other gangsters film. Acting bad, action sequences over-the-top, the villains are dumb and bad CG. The best part of the movie is Jason Mitchell and Micheal K. Williams. Everything else is ****
7 months ago
This is the familiar story of a criminal Youngblood Priest, a coke dealer played by Trevor Jackson, who wants to make one last score and then get out of the **** is handsome and stylish, but the role calls for charisma and a commanding presence. But he's not there yet. He seems like just some ordinary guy when he walks into a nightclub to collect a debt. And that giant pompadour is distracting. Not cool or interesting. At the beginning of the movie, he has a showdown with a generic villain with an equally goofy hairdo. The bad guy has parked a Lamborghini in the middle of a nightclub and is blasting tunes for everyone to dance to. Superfly big entrance culminates with the line, "Give me the keys." Not well thought-out. Then there's a fight scene that looks clumsy and unconvincing. And the rest of the movie follows suit. Director X was a music video director and it shows. Here's hoping for more next time around.