REVIEW:
Jim Kelly, best known for his co-starring role in Bruce Lee's "Enter the Dragon" (1973) stars in this blaxploitation action film from B-genre director Al Adamson. Combining a hideously cheesy plot and acting with decent fight scenes between Kelly and a host of oddball opponents, "Black Samurai is either a B-movie fan's dream or an insult to one's intelligence.

Considering that a glaringly large proportion of martial arts films, particularly ones produced in the U.S. are B-grade, expecting a quality viewing experience from watching "Black Samurai" is an foolish expectation. On the other hand, seeing Jim Kelly trounce on dwarfs, African tribalists, redneck racists, practitioners of black magic, and one buzzard while spouting poorly dubbed slanders such as "whitey," "chump" and "your momma" is simply too much fun to miss.

Kelly, an accomplished karate practitioner had previously starred in several blaxploitation films before this one including "Three the Hard Way" (1974) and "Blackbelt Jones" (1974). While his acting abilities are obviously limited, Kelly's sufficient martial arts skills and charisma carries the viewer through this ridiculous plot. After learning that his girlfriend, the daughter of a samurai is kidnapped, Kelly leaves his vacation to accept an assignment from a faceless organization known as Dragon. After dispatching with two would-be assassins, one of Kelly's associates tips him off about a party being held by Janicott and Kelly wanders, meeting the somewhat confused vixen, Synne. He is immediately recognized as an agent and ends up making a hasty exit with Janicott's lackeys in hot pursuit. Later, Kelly's associate receives information that Janicott is holding his girlfriend at a secret location and he arrives via a long rocket ride to end up in a trap set by a taunting dwarf and two African Americans in African tribal garb. Finally after beating the snot out of a mob of villains tracking him, the wary Kelly receives a final tip from his associate that leads him to Janicott's villa where he finds his girlfriend but ends up being caught. But thanks to a marvelous mini flame thrower he just happens to be carrying, Kelly frees himself and his Dragon associate who had also been caught and proceeds to crack skulls in a series of bouts, climaxing in a fight with a muscle-bound lackey.

Little more needs to be said about this laughable little gem. Kelly and his reasonably well choreographed fights, compared with other American films is the only real reason to see this film. Everything else is just a sad rehash of schlocky '70's film clichés done better in other exploitation films of the era.