The greatest strength of Al Adamson's Black Samurai is that it is cognizant of its own insanity and of how over-the-top it is. The film's sheer enthusiasm manages to redeem its shoddy production values and slightly sociopathic protagonist. Black Samurai is very poorly made and deserves the low score that I have given it. But I still enjoyed it immensely. The plot is about as threadbare as they come: when his girlfriend is kidnapped by a crazed criminal who fancies himself as a master of the Dark Arts, Robert Sand, agent of D.R.A.G.O.N. (Defense Reserve Agency Guardian Of Nations), must bust some heads, kick some ass, and get her back. Here are some of the film's biggest flaws: the fight scenes are occasionally poorly choreographed, needless (and sometimes homophobic) banter was added over some fights in post, and the film can never really establish where it is taking place. During one sequence which I could have sworn was taking place in Europe, Sand is ambushed by a group of African/South American natives. The film's biggest highlight is an extended jet-pack action scene which was actually done rather well from an effects standpoint. We get POV shots that show human hands controlling the "jet-pack" hundreds of feet off the ground. I shudder to think how they did it...but it was impressive nonetheless. A quick side note: why is Sand called the Black Samurai? Because he knows martial arts? He's not very honorable. In fact, he kills several helpless opponents. He doesn't even fight much with a sword! He's just a black...martial artist. But then again, I guess that's not as catchy as "black samurai."
4/10
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