Apparently, the Director X-directed Superfly is a remake of some 1972 film by Gordon Parks Jr., which I never saw.
You’ve got to give credit to Director X, aka Julien Christian Lutz for making the thing. Well, not really. It’s a bit of a self-indulgent tirade of ambiguous nonsense.
The story revolves around cocaine Kingpin “Youngblood Priest”, a badass gangster who follows the ticking of his own clock. Mr. Priest realises he has to bail from the game after surviving an attack from a crazed rival.
Hoping for one last score, Priest and his partner travel to Mexico to arrange a deal. Mr. Priest now finds himself trying to outmaneuver the cartel, two corrupt police officers and all the double-crosses that threaten his path to freedom. There seems to be something following the theme of the American Dream by the lead character, who spends the entire film trying to maintain control.
Trevor Jackson is convincing as the scared rogue, covered in bling, and sporting what one character derides as ‘Morris Day Hair’. The major drug supplier has two live-in girlfriends, the quietly sophisticated Georgia (Lex Scott Davis) and the younger, flintier, Cynthia (Andrea Londo). He’s got a beautiful house and a beautiful car and commands respect. Presiding over an uneasy peace with Snow Patrol, a competing drug gang that wears all white.
Superfly fits on the DVD shelf alongside all those other movies you sent into storage ten years ago. It has the staying power of a McDonald’s burger. You might get drawn in by the flashy signs and promise of glossy self-preservation. But afterwards, all you will smell is a rancid bacon-and-egg-roll fart.
The script from Alex Tse just can’t quite figure itself out. It jumps around like a jester about to be executed. Its saving grace is a few original songs in the hip-hop soundtrack. There’s evidently some De Palma influence, in desiring the power of Scarface (1983). Perhaps gangster films themselves seem somehow dated or are trying too hard.
I probably don’t have to ward people off this film, as no one is probably rushing off to see it. But the verdict seems to be around 50 per cent. You can always trust Janks Reviews to give you 100 per cent accuracy though.
Fun Fact:
The original soundtrack is produced by Future.
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