"Superfly" Review
Whoa boy, Superfly is something, but not in a good way. It’s a reimagining of the 1972 Blaxploitation film that had the famous Curtis Mayfield soundtrack to it. The newest version comes to us from veteran music video director, Director X, who makes his feature length debut with this film. I was a little nervous about the film when after it began shooting this past January, Sony announced it was going to be released five months later. It’s worse then I feared. Devoid of any personality of its own, this is a misfire on all accounts, from the questionable acting to poorly staged scenes and everything in between. It also makes one of the worst cardinal sins of any film: it’s boring.
If you’ve seen the original film, the newest version hits on the same basic story, for the most part. Priest (Trevor Jackson) is a successful drug dealer in Atlanta who has enough to get by and flying low from capturing the attention of the authorities. After getting into an altercation with Juju (Kalann Rashard Walker) of the rival Snow Patrol gang, which leaves a bystander getting shot, Priest wants out of the game and wants to make one last big score with his pal Eddie (Jason Mitchell). Since Priest’s mentor Scatter (Michael Kenneth Williams) won’t give him more coke, Priest goes directly to Scatter’s source and makes a deal with the Gonzalez family, a Mexican cartel. Supplied with more coke than they ever gave Scatter, Priest makes his way into trying to make fast cash and then exit the game for good, hoping he doesn’t get killed or captured along the way.
If there’s anything that I liked about the film, which isn’t much, it’s that Williams, Mitchell, and Big Boi (playing Mayor Atkins), are decent enough in the film. These three knew the type of film they were acting in. Whenever Mitchell is on screen as Eddie, it makes you wish that the filmmakers decided to have him play the lead role of Priest, because that version would have made things more interesting to watch. The soundtrack curated by Future, who also produced this update, got the job done, and it was nice to hear some of the classic Mayfield songs from the original film in this. Whenever those songs played, the film suddenly became slightly better. Finally, there were some lines in this that made me laugh, whether that was intentional or not.
Too bad the screenplay sucks the life out of the film. The screenplay, credited to Alex Tse (whose last credit was the under-appreciated and underrated 2009’s Watchmen adaptation), hits the same plot points and beats that you would typically see from a cliché gangster/drug dealer film about someone who’s trying to get one last score equipped with the same basic narration from the main character we hear from every film of this type. Even though this has more story than the original film, it’s all over the place to the point that you won’t care at all as the film tackles police corruption, drug cartels, and potential gang war during the course of the runtime. Superfly is the type of film whose bread crumb trail is comprised of biscuits! You know exactly what’s going to happen, so there’s no tension at all. At least the original film had style to it; this one lacks style or any type of personality. It’s just bland.
From the opening frame of the film, you can feel something’s off. Even though Director X is a music video veteran, you can tell this is a work from a first time feature length filmmaker. The few action scenes that are in this are poorly edited with no flow and a lot of quick cuts to the point of overkill. Even for a dialogue scene, Director X and his editor overcut to the point of distraction. The pacing that Superfly has is extremely slow. For a 103-minute film, this feels even longer than that. Acting wise, the actors ranges from completely amateur hour, like Walker’s Juju or Big Bank Black as Q, Snow Patrol’s leader, to over the top, like Jennifer Morrison’s Detective Mason. I also hate to say this, but the film was completely miscast. No disrespect to Jackson, since he’s good as Aaron in Grown-ish, but I couldn’t believe him as Priest since he looks way too young. There’s no character development for anyone and I didn’t care for any of the characters for me to sympathize with.
Overall, Superfly is easily one of the worst films I’ve seen in the theaters this year. Could a remake have worked in today’s age? I think it could have, but for this iteration, it showed that the filmmakers clearly didn’t care, or had no idea about how to properly adapt it for today. Coming out five months after you started shooting doesn’t help matters at all. With careful development and maybe a different filmmaking team on board, this had the potential to be an entertaining update. Alas, this is a generic, cliché film that follows formula with a capital F and is ultimately super-forgettable. You don’t need to pay money to see this. Truth be told, don’t even bother watching this update. Stick with the original version and whatever you imagined for a remake, it would be infinitely better than what you would have paid to see this. Skip this one.
Rating: D
Why "Straight Outta Compton" is a Powerful Biopic (Review)
“Straight Outta Compton” is worthy to be mentioned in awards talk this year. Clocking in at 147 minutes, the bio-drama will keep you riveted in your seat without glancing at your watch. While the film takes certain liberties with history, there is no doubt that N.W.A took a stand, transformed music, and made an impact on a generation that can still be felt today.
From 1986-91 the group N.W.A made a mark in hip hop music that crossed boundaries and changed the landscape of American music, and some may argue the world. One of the earliest groups to popularize gangsta rap, N.W.A consisted of Ice Cube (O’shea Jackson Jr.), Dr. Dre (Corey Hawkins), Eazy-E (Jason Mitchell), DJ Yella (Neil Brown Jr.), and MC Ren (Aldis Hodge). Formed at a time when police brutality and harassment in black communities was turning up, the group’s message was forged out of that oppression and living in the tough Compton neighborhood, which gave them a spirit and drive to have their voices heard.
The film covers the group over a ten year period. It focuses mainly on Eazy-E, Ice Cube, and Dr. Dre’s journey during that time. As the three most notorious members of the group, we’re able to see their home lives and stage life, and how they all mixed together. Each of the three get just the right amount of time to shine, while pushing the story forward. Fans will definitely enjoy seeing other famous performers like Snoop Dogg (Keith Stanfield) and Tupac (Marcc Rose) portrayed and sprinkled in throughout the film.
The movie’s power is found on numerous levels. Writers Jonathan Herman and Andrea Berloff do a great job of harnessing the intrinsic drama of the rise and fall of N.W.A. They started out as teens with a dream, and accomplished it! Yet, with the success came egos and issues surrounding money which led to the group splitting up. Another issue that the film deals with is violence against the black community from police officers. Unfortunately, almost 25 years after Rodney King, young black men are still a target of not just police batons but unwarranted bullets on what feels like a monthly occurrence in the news. So the energy that stems from perhaps their largest record, “F**k the Police”, sadly still resonates today.
The film paints a picture of N.W.A as fighters for free speech and self expression. While they spoke explicitly about their environment and the movie covers the media, FBI, and certain groups of people trying to suppress their message, it excludes the misogyny in their music. This was a large part of the protest in real life, but is conveniently left out in the motion picture. So the group looks more like oppressed freedom fighters, which works for Hollywood but some may take issue to.
Regardless of slight alterations or omissions, director F. Gary Gray captures and paints a masterpiece in this biopic. His camera frames the glamour of the come up, their wild lifestyle during the height of their success, and the ugliness of oppression. The pacing of the film is warranted even under the lengthy running time. The performances of these young actors are excellent. Entertaining, funny, and solemn at times, “Straight Outta Compton” is the perfect combination and a must see!
Rating: A