Not sure what to expect from a modernized blaxploitation movie? Don’t worry, we’ve got you covered.
If you’ve seen the trailers for Superfly over the past few weeks you might still be confused on what the film is actually about - so here’s the basic rundown. The movie is based around the big city cocaine trade centered in the ATL. The film is told through the eyes of a local druglord, Youngblood Priest (played by Trevor Jackson), as he sets out to land the biggest drug score of his life for a big payback and a chance to get out of the game for good. While it’s loosely based around the original 1972 film, this 2018 “remix” is an updated version of a modern-day blaxploitation film.
Upgrading from a street hustler, Priest matured to be an upstanding businessman firm in his principles. Now running his own businesses, he’s more so interested in taking care of his people than engaging in street-level beef - that is until his empire becomes threatened by a local drug gang called Snow Patrol. Between trying to cool down a street war and expanding his plug’s product all over the South, Priest is on a mission to keep everything on track so he can escape the drug world. With the help of his right-hand man Eddie (played by Jason Mitchell) and muscle Fat Freddy (played by Jacob Ming-Trent), they try to make the impossible happen, but along the way to plans go awry with friends, foes, and dirty cops getting in the way.
If you’ve ever seen the original film you may notice a few similarities and differences, but the vision for the film tries its best to switch things up. Incorporating elements of Hip-Hop and fantasy, the new remake tugs more at imagination than the original did as far as displaying blatant societal and institutional racism. The film doesn’t acknowledge these same issues, but it does touch on them in a way that appeals to the weak attention span most people have. Contrastingly, the new Superfly stays true to the 1972 film’s roots, with Priest’s character still sporting a smooth and silky hairstyle, setting him apart from the average dope boy; however, most of the characters in the movie are still extremely flashy, sticking to the extravagant ATL hustler lifestyle.
Music video director veteran, Director X, made his movie debut by bringing to life one of the greatest classic action films. Using his lane of expertise, he utilizes a lot of special effects including slow-motion for fight scenes and car chases in the movie, enhancing the already action-packed feature. Still based on the original screenplay, the movie features the same character lineup. Joining Jackson and Mitchell on the cast are Michael K. Williams (Scatter), Lex Scott Davis (Georgia), Andrea Londo (Cynthia), and Omar Chapparo (Adalberto). Cameos in the movie include southern natives like Rick Ross, Big Boi, Zaytoven, and Sean Garrett as well as others like Jacob Latimore and Lecrae.
For this high-end dope boy movie, ATL superstar Future provided the perfect soundtrack for the film.
Superfly is in theaters everywhere now so make sure you go check that out ASAP.
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