Superfly Trailer, My Thoughts

On August 4, 1972, the film Super Fly was released. Directed by Gordon Parks Jr., it starred Ron O'Neal as Youngblood Priest, an African American cocaine dealer who was trying to quit the drug business. This film would become one of the most famous films of the Blaxploitation genre. The film was known for its soundtrack that was produced by the late Curtis Mayfield. It was also known for employing a crew that was primarily non-white (a rarity for Blaxploitation), and was funded by numerous black-owned businesses.

The film is regarded as a classic, but it did get negative reception from African-Americans at the time, as it was felt that that this and other films in the genre were feeding a negative image of African-American people. Despite this, the filmmakers insisted that the film was meant to show that the drug culture was empty and terrible.

The film was a success, making roughly $4 million, and leading to two sequels: 1973's Super Fly T.N.T., in which O'Neal reprised his role as Youngblood Priest, and 1990's The Return of Superfly, in which the role of Youngblood was taken up by soap star Nathan Purdee. Both the sequels were critical and commercial failures. However, this year, Superfly is getting a reboot, starring Trevor Jackson as Youngblood. And here is the trailer!

Was that Rick Ross? Looks like Rick Ross.

Is that Trevor Jackson's voice? He sounds like he smokes ten packs a day.

Ah, Atlanta. Home of the Civil Rights Movement, Coca-Cola, and the Braves.

Ah, the old cliché, glittering major metropolitan city has a dark side. Gotta love it.

Superfly got super-tech. Get with the times or get left behind.

Fight! Fight! Fight!

Ah, so this version is going to the do the whole "one last score" bit. Maybe they can call Scott Lang for some tips. I'm sure they'd find some Pym Particles rather useful.

This film seems to me like it will be one of those films that you can just turn off your brain and enjoy for a couple of hours. It may not revolutionize the genre, and people will complain about remakes, but I'll give it a shot. Honestly, I never saw the original, but after seeing this, I do want to.