Although he has a lucrative business dealing in counterfeit dollars, a Mafia godfather by the name of "Don Steffano" (Andre Philippe) decides that he wants to purchase some land where a huge civic center is about to be built so that he can make a hefty profit. The problem is that on this land is a karate school run by a man named "Papa Byrd" (Scatman Crothers) who has no interest in selling it to anybody. So Don Steffano gives the task of obtaining this parcel of land to a black mobster named "Pinky" (Malik Carter) who doesn't dare to cross him. Unfortunately, Pinky goes a bit too far one night and accidentally kills Papa Byrd and this results in the karate school going directly to Papa Byrd's daughter "Sydney" (Gloria Hendry) who not only wants to keep the school but also wants to find out who killed her father. And one of the few people who can help her do both is a student of Papa Byrd named "Black Belt Jones" (Jim Kelly). Now rather than reveal any more I will just say that I was slightly disappointed in this movie for a couple of reasons. First, although I didn't mind the fact that this martial arts movie also doubled as a Blaxploitation film, I thought the romantic scene between Sydney and Black Belt Jones was rather clumsy and the fight scene at the very end was much too long and boring. Likewise, most of the humor throughout the movie needed some serious improvement as well. Having said all of that I suppose this movie was still somewhat entertaining and for that reason I have rated it accordingly. Average.

"Black Belt Jones" is one of the most fun movies to come out of the 1970s. It's a rousing and funny mixture of martial arts action and blaxploitation as the cool-as-can-be title character (Jim Kelly) takes on all comers. BBJ works at a karate school run by cheerful Papa Byrd (Scatman Crothers, as wonderful as he's ever been). The Mafia wants the property, and one night they go too far and murder Papa. His long estranged daughter Sydney (Gloria Hendry) comes home to join BBJ and help him fight the good fight.Film director Robert Clouse, who'd worked with Kelly on the martial arts classic "Enter the Dragon", doesn't try to reinvent the wheel here. He just serves up a lot of nifty combat (choreographed by Robert Wall) and other assorted set pieces, while combining all of it with a great deal of comedy. There's no graphic violence to offend some viewers, just a lot of good thrills and laughs. The movie is rated R mostly for profanity. The unqualified highlight is undeniably the amazing final battle because it's set at a car wash and many of the combatants end up covered in suds.The characters are all very damn entertaining, too. Kelly is not a great actor but he is a great action hero. Sexy Miss Hendry is a feisty leading lady, and holds her own all the way through. You have to love her reaction when it's suggested that she "do the dishes". Eric Laneuville, Alan Weeks, Andre Philippe, Vincent Barbi, Mel Novak, and Nate Esformes are fine in support, but the show is largely stolen by Malik Carter as aggressive bad guy Pinky. At one point, he launches into a priceless rhyming routine about his love of money. Crothers is such a hoot as the rascally Papa. You haven't lived until you've seen him with that rug on his head, and watched him attempt to bust out karate moves. Marla Gibbs, Henry Kingi, and Ted Lange have uncredited bits.A lively, invigorating diversion, underscored by superior music by Luchi De Jesus.Now let's all go to McDonald's!Eight out of 10.

When the Mafia, as best represented by Don Steffano and Big Tuna (Philippe and Barbi) try to overrun Pop Byrd (Crothers) and his BlackByrd karate studio because they want the land it's on, a conflict ensues. So the best man for the job is called in to clean up the mess with the mob: Black Belt Jones (Kelly)! Enlisting the help of Sydney (Hendry), who's one bad mama, the two do what they do best: kick and punch the unwitting baddies until their heads spin. But will the mafia give up, or will they continue to fight? Find out today! Black Belt Jones is classic 70's Blaxploitation all the way. It's an extremely enjoyable and lighthearted romp, filled with everything that makes the era great: fly threads, cool cars, big hair, evil whiteys and of course the music, the theme by Dennis Coffey and the rest by Luchi DeJesus. The music is integral to the film and goes a long way towards propelling the action. It's also completely great in its own right, and while it, surprisingly, has never been reissued on CD (as far as we know), there is a reissue LP that's floating around out there.It's easy to forget this, but Jim Kelly's actual name in the movie is Black Belt Jones. No other name is given - ever. So dialogue like this is heard: "Belt, you better get over here quick". This among many other examples. But Jim Kelly is one cool customer, and everything he does is cool - he even presses a button for an elevator in an amazingly cool way. Most of the movie is just entertaining and funny, in that way that movies were in the blissful age before political correctness corroded the world.It also was ahead of its time, as it features prominently women on trampolines, predating The Man Show by 25 years, and, having a character named Big Tuna, it predates The Office by a whopping 31 years. There's also what might be dubbed a "Black Belt Funeral" (not for Jones, of course - but don't you want some strong Black Brothers practicing their moves next to your coffin - next to what looks to be a painting of Toshiro Mifune? We thought so.) And the movie all comes to a head at a car wash with an insane amount of suds everywhere. Apparently car washes were huge in the 70's.We had seen this movie on the Warner Brothers big-box VHS, but then re-watched the Widescreen DVD, which is a nice improvement and a worthwhile purchase. So travel back in time to when Martial Arts was FUN and definitely see Black Belt Jones! For more action insanity, drop by: www.comeuppancereviews.com

Hip and smooth ace martial artist Black Belt Jones (a supremely affable and charismatic performance by Jim Kelly) takes on a bunch of no-count mobsters who want to take over an inner city karate school in the Watts area of Los Angeles. Director Robert Clouse, working from a witty tongue-in-cheek script by Oscar Williams, relates the eventful story at a constant snappy pace, stages the wall to wall rough'n'tumble fights with considerable aplomb, and adds a winning mix of goofy humor and lowdown boss attitude to further enhance the infectiously wacky merriment. Kelly makes for a likable protagonist; he receives excellent support from the foxy Gloria Henry as the sassy Sydney, Eric Laneuville as eager student Quincy, and the always terrific Scatman Crothers as rascally karate grand master Pop Byrd (the sight of Crothers busting loose with some fancy chopsocky moves is positively sidesplitting!). The villains are a colorful bunch of over-the-top nasty dudes, with stand-out turns by Andre Philippe as evil gangster Don Steffano, Malik Carter as vicious drug pusher Pinky, and Vincent Barbi as fearsome capo Big Tuna. The crazy monkey noises Kelly makes as he beats numerous folks up, the typically garish 70's fashions, an outrageous climax set in a soap-filled car wash, and plenty of priceless campy dialogue ("Boy, we're gonna turn you into fudge") add substantially to the film's delightfully kitschy charm. Luchi DeJesus' funky syncopated score hits the right-on groovy spot while Kent Wakeford's cinematography makes nifty occasional use of gnarly freeze frames and strenuous slow motion. A great deal of vintage 70's drive-in fun.