Who is cooler than Jim Kelly? And what film defines the genre 'grind house' better than "Black Samurai?" This bizarre, James Bond/Blaxploitation/martial arts hybrid has it all; impressive fight scenes, gorgeous women, beautiful exotic cars, foreign settings, and off the wall soundtrack, combined with a story so out there, you will wonder if someone put a rufie in your drink. Acting and screen presence are two different things, and Jim Kelly might not have been the strongest actor, but this man certainly had an indescribable screen presence. Here Kelly portrays Secret Agent Robert Sand, A karate expert who becomes embroiled in an outrageous cat and mouse game, when his girl, who happens to be the daughter of a far Eastern Ambassador, is abducted by the eccentric and insane, terrorist-like 'Warlock,' an inventor of a dangerous weapon called "the Freeze bomb." Warlock is of course, also involved with a top drug cartel and human trafficking as a way of funding his terrorist activities. Jim Kelly must battle midget assassins, as well as voodoo ritual murders. This could easily be high comedy..but the beauty of this film is that it is played serious throughout, and you will find yourself absorbed in this bizarre action film.For those who truly appreciate the grind house/exploit genre, this film is a shining example. It possesses this extreme nostalgic style and feel, and it looks beautiful. it has a way of taking the viewer back to his childhood, to another, forgotten time. The cinematography is gorgeous, and just riding around with Kelly in his purple Ferrari is going to make you feel like a better person just for having seen this diamond of a film. It's a bit sad to see that some people poke fun at this movie, and others like it. These people clearly have zero understanding of this underrated genre of film making. After seeing just a few Jim Kelly movies, I have placed him up there with Bruce Lee, as one of my all-time heroes. Unfortunately some truly unsavory characters have seen fit to butcher this iconic film for it's DVD release, by censoring it, and even more unforgivably, by adding stupid overdubs to some fight scenes, in an effort to make the movie look stupid. Presently I am searching for an uncensored VHS of "Black Samurai," which has got to be the Holy Grail for fans of exploitation cinema.

Al Adamson had little luck mastering the horror genre and it would appear from this misbegotten, Jim Kelly vehicle that his gleeful ineptitude as a director was at its zenith with 'Black Samurai'. If they haven't benumbed themselves already, bad movie aficionados will find themselves in a terminal state of physical and spiritual paralysis mid-way through a screening of this confounding example of horribly inept and sickeningly opportunistic "cinenema". It's such a shame that the name of Ed Wood gets bandied around as filmdom's most foolhardy auteur, when a myopic, amputee, feral child could have edited 'Black Samurai' with more panache than Adamson; you could gaffer tape a Bolex into the hand of a 30 year old corpse and engender a more profound cinematic statement than 'Black Samurai'. If one had the choice of ramming a frozen stoat repeatedly into both eyes, or watch 'Black Samurai'; find yourself an icy mammal, as I can assure you the latter is infinitely more painful.

When a Hong Kong diplomat's daughter is kidnapped by drug smuggler / Satanist named Janicot, Robert Sand aka the Black Samurai (Jim Kelly) is called in to rescue the girl. And it's more than a job, it's personal. Sand and the girl have a relationship. Sand must use all his skill karate skill and training to bust up the bad guys and free the girl.In something I wrote recently about the movie 100 Rifles, I called Jim Brown "wooden". That was before I saw Black Samurai. Jim Kelly makes Jim Brown look positively animated. Kelly may have been a martial arts master and good in the choreographed fights scenes, but a thespian he ain't. You can't question Kelly's athletic ability, but his acting ability – forget about it. Believe it or not, Kelly isn't the worst this movie has to offer. Most of the rest of the cast is even worse.Everything about Black Samurai is, in a word, amateurish. The movie is a technical mess. Editing, cinematography, lighting, sound, etc. are horrible. Al Adamson has to be one of the most untalented directors ever. It's amazing he was able to find people willing to hire him to make so many movies. Ed Wood comes off looking like Alfred Hitchcock in comparison.Even with all the faults, and there are plenty, there is some entertainment value to be had in Black Samurai. Where else are you going to see Jim Kelly kicking butt, battling midgets, fighting a vulture, flying in a jet pack, and just being plain old cool?

This is quite literally the funniest thing I've ever seen ever. I almost suffocated myself with laughter three times during this film, and me and my friends still yell out the word Jetpack for no apparent reason in response to the utter hilarity that is Black Samurai.This movie makes about as much sense as a Schizophrenic on Acid. If anyone can explain to me what the hell was up with the cavemen lead by a cowboy midget, I would be willing to pay handsomely. And why is that stripper taking off the same piece of clothing for about 15 minutes? Did the director really think that they could get away with just looping a scene 10-12 times in lieu of actually shooting? But seriously... This is a great movie to watch in the middle of the night, drunk or high, preferably with six or seven of your good humored (And by good humored, I mean Mystery Science Theater fans) friends. Be prepared for what has to be the most non-sensical thing ever created by man. Enjoy.