With a new generation of rappers who were yet to be thought of during the time when so many of these gangster legends were popular, who will the kids have as their Nino Brown?
Have no fear, the new Youngblood Priest is here!
Should you watch the original to understand the remake? Not really. A skim through of the original’s Wikipedia page should do. All you really need to know about Super Fly is that Curtis Mayfield produced the soundtrack which includes the title track and “Pusherman,” both of which appear in this movie.
The costume designers probably deserve the biggest round of applause. Everything was on point from the cars, guns and clothing. It really made Atlanta look like a world where luxury and the underworld are entangled. Priest’s perm may not be a fashion for most men this Summer, but it definitely serves its purpose in giving his character an iconic look. The Snow Patrol had the best costume design hands down. The all white everything ensemble from their guns to their Air Forces made them look intimidating and silly at the same time. The cameos were great too, there were plenty of people in Superfly that made you go “wait, isn’t that…?” Some of the cameos are done so subtly that if you aren’t up on who’s who then you won’t think anything of it. In the words of Pusha T, if you know, you know.
Superfly’s writing also deserves an applause for its authentic dialogue and consistent pacing. Nothing was forced or felt exaggerated. There were also some moments in the movie that had what I like to call “tight writing,” which is essentially when a potential plot hole is plugged before it can appear.
For a while the movie keeps you in the blind about what’s to come of Priest and his right hand man Eddie, and I was curious to see where they would end up. It was a fun ride to experience, and like any good ride, I only wish that it was longer.
!! WARNING !! mild spoilers ahead. To read my concluding thoughts on Superfly you can skip ahead to right about…
My biggest issue with Superfly is in the way it wraps up. With about 20 minutes left in the movie Priest has this eureka moment where he realizes that all his adversaries set themselves up to play themselves, and it’s pretty much over from there. For all that we went through for the past hour and a half, to see it all tie up so swiftly was a bit disappointing. I felt robbed of a well written ending.
The movie could’ve been 2 and a half hours and I would’ve been fine with that, just give me a great ending. It was like Alex Tse was writing the script and somebody—could've been Director X or Future—barged in and in a Chris Tucker voice said “Alex, you’re STILL writing the script?! Dayyyum! C’mon man, hurry up! Whatchu trying to win, an Oscar?! Wrap it up, man, the soundtrack been finished!”
For what it’s worth, with the way things ended, it was hard for me to really believe anything was at stake for Priest. Which sucks because there were so many possibilities in which this movie could’ve ended. Even with the way it ended, it still could’ve came to that conclusion in a different way.
There’s a popular crime trope when it comes to drug dealers and their public image. This is most popularly seen in moments when he asks his significant other what she sees of him.
“When you look at me *breathes in and broadens chest* what do you see?”
“Well, you’re not freaking Santa Claus!”
A lion is a lion and a drug dealer is a drug dealer. It doesn’t matter how many people are employed because of him, how many soup kitchens he opens or how many fur coats he owns. Superfly teased this topic into the mix, but it didn’t go beyond its initial conversation.
No matter the good that may come from a drug dealer’s wealth the bottom line is this: you sell drugs. Drugs can hurt people. Drugs can make people hurt people. So no matter what, as long as you’re selling drugs, somebody is getting hurt, even if you’re making somebody else smile.
Power has made this a running theme of the show and it’s kind of ridiculous. But the biggest difference between Priest and Ghost is that Ghost actually wants to venture into something legitimate. Priest just wants to cash out and dip. Which isn’t bad considering that Priest isn’t a family man like Ghost, and therefore doesn’t have the extrinsic motivation to reinvent himself into an honest man, but at the same time, I’d rather root for a guy who wants to do more than sip martinis on a yacht for the rest of his life.
I get it though, Moonlight isn’t trying to tell the same story as Superfly or Power. But there’s something to be learned in the way Moonlight handled that part of the story that can be used in future crime films and shows to come.
… HERE!
Superfly is a pretty good movie that’s worth the full price and guaranteed to generate plenty of discussion. The only thing I hold against it is that it ended too quickly.
If you want something a little grittier than The Incredibles 2, Superfly is your best option for this weekend.
3.5/5
No comments:
Post a Comment