In the 70s I enjoyed reading Marc Olden's "Black Samurai" novels, and I always wondered why the novels were never adapted for film. Well, it appears this awful film is supposed to be about Olden's Black Samurai, although Jim Kelly's character is NOTHING like the original Sand character fro the novel. The film is a disaster. It is so bad that it appears to be a parody akin to the "Fistful Of Yen" segment from KENTUCKY FRIED MOVIE, although "Fistful Of Yen" is actually less funny than this.....thing. Absolutely appalling in every aspect.

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.