The Return of Superfly

The original "SUPERFLY" has always been one of my favorite films, and is undoubtedly an important milestone in urban filmmaking. So, what is there to say about this lame sequel? For one, it is an attempt to get back to the original, with a somewhat interesting plot, bringing the character of Priest back to the drug scene he managed to stray away from so many years ago, unlike "SUPERFLY T.N.T.", which went an entirely different, yet plausible route.

The biggest problem, and perhaps this is the factor that's really holding it back, is the miscasting of Youngblood Priest, this time played by Nathan Purdee. Purdee is a sore choice to fill Ron O'Neal's shoes. You can't make a SuperFly movie without Ron O'Neal, plain and simple. Just as the original tag-line read: "Never a dude like this one!" Precisely. Purdee ain't SuperFly, which keeps this one grounded, throughout.

The best thing this film has going for it is Curtis Mayfield, who is back to score. Here he does a fine job of balancing the roots of his original music with a contemporary spirit, that suits the film well.

In my opinion, between the two sequels, "SUPERFLY T.N.T." is far superior, yet it sorely lacks the input of Mayfield and Gordon Parks, Jr. But, on the other hand, we at least have Ron O'Neal reprising his role. With "THE RETURN OF SUPERFLY", we unfortunately, don't have that option, yet we do have a new score by Mayfield. Go figure.

Now, if only these two sequels could have met somewhere and shared a cup of coffee, we might be on to something... the melding of a perfect sequel.

I avoided this movie for 30 plus years. No other reason: Tico Wells and Leonard L Thomas is worth watching this movie. One of the best supporting cast assemble, which is a problem as I more interested in Tico and Leonard than the lead. Second problem: The clock was never set. I paused the movie with 20 minutes remaining to see the end, it could have went on FOREVER. The ending: The ending is to clever for its own good.

This is one of the worst movies ever made!! I was so dissapointed when I saw this, I almost walked out! I was thinking that this would pick up where the original "SuperFly" left of. The plot, if it was one, was lost at the beginning. The actor who played "Priest", I don't even remember this guys name, but he couldn't act to save his life. Margaret Avery, ("Color Purple", "Which Way Is Up?") who is a pretty good actress, was totally lost in this horrible movie. This movie was just plain terrible. Bad writing, bad directing, bad acting, it was just plain BAD!!! You couldn't even pay me to see this again, that's how bad it was!! No wonder Ron O'Neal didn't reprise his role as Priest, it was BAD!! This movie is a total waste of time.

All of the Superfly films have entertained me in various ways. The original Superfly starred Ron O'Neil as slick street hustler Priest who "sticks it to the man" and leaves New York and heads to Europe. O'Neil gave his best performance as Priest in the second movie Superfly T.N.T., but many Superfly fans disliked that sequel. Superfly T.N.T. was panned and I wasn't surprised when O'Neil didn't return for a third Superfly. Return of Superfly put Nathan Purdee in a tough situation with some fans because "he's not Ron O'Neil", but I doubt that O'Neil's inclusion would have improved matters since many of these same fans weren't happy with O'Neil's reprise of the role either.

In the previous Superfly film we saw a Priest still fresh off the New York streets and trying to adjust to life in Europe. Return of Superfly takes place much later when he's a successful legal business owner who has lived in Europe for many years. Purdee is far more in control than the often confused drug using Priest of the past, but that makes sense. Superfly T.N.T. had pointed Priest in a more controlled direction and Return of Superfly shows that. Purdee's cool head strikes a definite contrast to his drug crazed opponents. Most importantly, Purdee maintains the main character's standing as a strategist and that's what I've always liked about Priest.

Priest's lady in Return of Superfly is played by the very sexy Margaret Avery and that's a plus. Also the soundtrack features the return of the great Curtis Mayfield whose "Superfly 1990" track does a great job of revealing the mindset of the main character since the 70's. I get chills just hearing the man's lyrics for this one! Return of Superfly isn't as inferior as some say IMHO. I had a great time with it. The police car scene had me jumping off the sofa and cheering! Anyone who disrespects the lovely Ms. Avery deserves that sort of treatment in my book. Go get 'em Priest.

This POS is a disgrace to the original 1972 SuperFly. The only reason why I gave it 2 stars is because an actor going by the name of Sam Jackson (Samuel L. Jackson) has a small part in this schlockfest of a film. Other than that, this is a movie to miss.