Actually, he helped think of the story with the resulting screenplay by noted author Alex Haley. I'd like to see the original 'Superfly'.Īfter becoming a star with Super Fly, actor Ron O'Neal decided to co-write and direct the sequel. 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. Sheila Frasier did a good job as Georgia. 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. So I was surprised that he seemed distracted by his French accent, and not as talented as usual. Roscoe Lee Browne is such an excellent actor.
#SUPER FLY T.N.T. MOVIE#
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. 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. 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 know they were playing poker, and that's about it. The first half of the movie didn't make a lot of sense, possibly because I didn't know the characters. As it turns out, he wants Priest to help him. Sonko is in the room when one of the rebel leaders is informed about what has happened. A group of rebels in an African desert gets ambushed, their weapons are taken, and the men are killed. When I saw the Colosseum, I knew where it was. I didn't know where this was set, and I had no knowledge of the original 'Superfly', but I was curious. The movie opens with scenes of what turns out to be Rome. With his beautiful voice it's easy to see why, for a while, he played the lead in the play "Phantom". By the way, one thing to look for if you do see the movie is Robert Guillaume singing near the beginning. It's a shame, as the plot wasn't a bad idea-it just was so slow and dull when it should have been anything but. As a result, the film is certainly watchable but not a whole lot more.
Also, I agree that the soundtrack was incredibly disappointing, as the original film had one of the best blaxsploitation scores ever-second only to the one from "Shaft".
It was clearly a slow film and could easily have been tightened up quite a bit. I do agree with one of the reviews that complained that it took so long for this plot to develop. I appreciated, however, that the character finally showed some conscience and a sense of purpose (to quote Steven Martin from "The Jerk"-'I found my purpose!!'). This, I'm sure, is a big disappointment to fans who want the confident and ultra-bad anti-hero-not this confused and more likable guy. Finally, Priest has a purpose to life and his performance throughout the film is very restrained and low-key. However, he is also vaguely dissatisfied and despite his repeatedly saying he's only out to make money and take care of himself and his woman, he is eventually persuaded to help a man (Roscoe Lee Browne) in his attempt to start a revolution in his small African nation against the colonial powers-he wants Priest to smuggle in weapons for their struggle. Here, the film finds him living the good life in Europe-he's retired and financially secure. You see, in the first film, Priest was completely amoral-and made his fortune selling dope and women. However, this time he's quite different-a kindler, gentler sort of Priest. Priest (Ron O'Neal) is back in a sequel to the hit "Superfly".