SuperFly

SuperFly

Starring Trevor Jackson, Jason Mitchell, Michael Kenneth Williams, Lex Scott Davis

Directed by Director X

The Story:
Priest (Trevor Jackson) is a young cocaine dealer in Atlanta, someone who's been hustling at a young age and who's learned the art of dealing drugs and other illegal activities without drawing attention of the police and getting along with rivals including the leader of rival gang Snow Patrol Q (Big Bank Black).  Yet after a near-fatal run-in, he decides to go for one last big score with his partner Eddie (Jason Mitchell), and then leave the business for good.

As it goes, it's harder than Priest imagined to achieve this goal, as he finds himself in contention with Snow Patrol, crooked cops, an angry former mentor (Michael Kenneth Williams), and a Mexican drug cartel, all of which escalates as the film progresses, throwing Priest into one dangerous situation after another.

The Synopsis:
A remake of the 1972 blaxploitation classic, "SuperFly" showcases the raw talent of up-and-coming actor Trevor Jackson, but other than his mesmerizing presence, the film comes off as a very long rap video that tackles every trope of the inner city drug race in a way that serves merely as a checklist.  Director X (who is best known for directing rap videos) manages to check off each tired theme in a way that isn't new, fresh, or exciting - ultimately the film enters the dangerous territory of "been-there-done-that" and becomes a film that'll be easily forgettable as soon as you get into your car.

Set in the beautiful city of Atlanta, we meet the film's protagonist Priest.  He rules the streets but, unlike other godfather-like rulers, does so with a simple elegance and even humanity.  He gives jobs to people without jobs, and he has his finger on the pulse of everything that goes on in the streets.  Everything is going fine for him - he even has two female lovers who don't mind sharing (especially in the shower - at least they like to conserve water) - until he runs across Snow Patrol (not the band known for the song "Chasing Cars," although that would've been interesting to see): a rival gang whose leader is pretty much alright with Priest, but a hot upstart doesn't like him because...reasons.  So this kid tries to take Priest out, who has a come to Jesus moment and decides to quit the business - after one big last score.

You've probably heard those words before: one big last score.  Of course, everything goes off swimmingly and everyone achieves their goals in record time and everyone lives happily ever after, because that's what happens when you go for one last big score.  By this I am meaning to sound facetious, as instead we face Murphy's Law: everything that can go wrong, does.

First Priest has to find a dealer, so he turns to a Mexican drug cartel (stop me if you've heard this before), going behind the back of his former mentor (again, stop me if you've heard this before).  Then there's a gang of corrupt cops (still, stop me) who want in on the action, plus the Snow Patrol guy who wants his head for, again, reasons.  So basically Priest encounters every single problem you can think of in hopes of achieving financial bliss, and we just have to sit back and watch him tackle each problem in rapid succession.

Or not so rapid, as the film is almost two hours long, when it could've easily cut out thirty minutes.  There's repetitive scenes reminiscent of rap videos where people make it rain, and gunshots ring out everywhere.  It could've worked if it only happened once, but when pretty much every twenty minutes you have one of those two things happening, it becomes monotonous and boring.  The film does a good job at stylistically filming everything, which helps from making it a "bang-my-head-against-the-wall" type of movie, while instead making it one where I'm just begging for it to stop.

There's several shining moments in the film, and most of them are unintentional.  The Snow Patrol is laughably idiotic, as the performances are so over-the-top, and then there's the strict rule of staying true to their name (they only wear white, drive white cars, live in a white mansion, and even their guns are white).  Jason Mitchell shined as Eddie, who plays Priest's right hand man.  He hams up his performance brilliantly, if not purposefully.

Then there's Trevor Jackson, who's holding the weight of this extended rap video all on his own.  He does a great job portraying Priest as an intellectual drug dealer who's always one step ahead of the game, and comes off with a steely cool demeanor - as well as amazingly perfect hair.  He was a pure delight to see, and I look forward to bigger performances from this up-and-coming actor.

Still, despite that, the film is nothing more than a typical inner city drug war, with all the typical problems and characters you expect to see, and adds nothing new to the genre.

The Summary:
While it's not as bad as it could've been, "SuperFly" suffers from extreme boredom and a generic story that has been done way better in different films, leaving you thinking why the film was made in the first place.

The Score: C-