Superfly TNT

Well I thought the original was all over the place ... the sequel is actually even more so. Even if they did a location change (and I reckon since Italy was quite cheap to shoot at in the 70s they probably shot there too, not that it matters), this is quite a dull watch overall. Even with the charismatic lead.

As with the first one, I am not aware of production issues or the history of the making of. Historically it is known that it wasn't easy for African American/black people to get an acting job. So I guess it makes sense that Ron O'Neal directed this as well. Maybe he bit more than he could chew though. Even with the addition of a great character actor, there was not much to save ... Blaxploitation fans may feel different overall. And maybe I'm spoiled with something like Black Dynamite that is just pitch perfect ...

Having left New York City with a large sum of money gained by his sale of illegal drugs, "Youngblood Priest" (Ron O'Neil) has eventually settled down in Rome with his girlfriend "Georgia" (Sheila Frazier). Yet even though he spends his time driving an expensive Lamborghini and playing poker with some acquaintences, Priest is still not content with life. This changes when he meets a man named "Dr. Lamine Sonko" (Roscoe Lee Browne) who tells him that he is trying to wage a revolution in his West African nation of Umbria and needs Priest's help in laundering diamonds into money to pay for weapons. Although he has seen poverty all of his life, Priest refuses to help and this leaves Dr. Sonko extremely angry with him. And with that Priest feels even more empty inside. Now rather than reveal any more I will just say that this sequel wasn't nearly as good as the original in that it lacked the passion and raw energy of its predecessor. Even so it wasn't terribly bad overall and for that reason I have rated it accordingly. Average.

After becoming a star with Super Fly, actor Ron O'Neal decided to co-write and direct the sequel. Actually, he helped think of the story with the resulting screenplay by noted author Alex Haley. Perhaps because of the criticism of the glamorizing of drug life in the previous one, O'Neal's Priest character is totally out of the business (though that was his intent from that first film) but gets roped into a more, perhaps, worthy one in dealing with guns for a country that wants independence. Also, instead of taking place in NY City, the setting is now in Rome where he and his girlfriend, Georgia (Sheila Frazier), from the first one have settled. I'll just say while I found the movie quite dramatic concerning Mustafa (instead of Youngblood) Priest's trials near the end, I can understand why many fans of the first one weren't so enthralled. It's certainly a different flavor, that's for sure! I'm also entertained by the score by Osibisa and the fact that both Robert Guillaume and Roscoe Lee Browne, who subsequently played butler Benson and his replacement Saunders, respectively, on the hit comedy series "Soap", were also in this movie though not together. Guillaume, by the way, shows his singing talents when he does "O Sole Mio" in a restaurant scene, here.

The premise of this sequel is not a bad one: a retired Priest, living in Europe, has his conscious stirred by African rebels needing help overthrowing their colonial government, and decides to help them. However, this movie takes forever to get started, and then takes forever to get to an end that feels unsatisfying and unfinished. Unlike the first movie, the musical score is terrible. It's no wonder this movie bombed in theaters and took forever to be released on video.

The movie opens with scenes of what turns out to be Rome. I didn't know where this was set, and I had no knowledge of the original 'Superfly', but I was curious. When I saw the Colosseum, I knew where it was.

A group of rebels in an African desert gets ambushed, their weapons are taken, and the men are killed. Dr. Sonko is in the room when one of the rebel leaders is informed about what has happened. Later, Dr. Sonko goes to Rome. As it turns out, he wants Priest to help him.

The first half of the movie didn't make a lot of sense, possibly because I didn't know the characters. I know they were playing poker, and that's about it. I did like Jordan Gaines, who was funny, and I wouldn't have recognized him had I not seen Robert Guillaume's name in the credits. I enjoyed hearing Priest say things like 'Can you dig it?'

The music added to the movie, especially where there was what sounded like a traditional African performance mixed with 70s American soul. Scenes of African culture about halfway through the movie, including women carrying baskets on their heads, and people doing local crafts--these added to the movie as well.

Roscoe Lee Browne is such an excellent actor. So I was surprised that he seemed distracted by his French accent, and not as talented as usual. But when he gave his big speech to Priest about why Priest should care about Umbia (I'm guessing at the spelling), THAT was the Roscoe Lee Browne I expected.

Sheila Frasier did a good job as Georgia. Ron O'Neal's ability came through more in the second half, with some good though violent scenes where Priest had to use both intelligence and physical ability. The ending was great.

I'd like to see the original 'Superfly'.