Tubi Thursday: Black Gunn (1972)

 You see, because the gun is his...firearm.
What were you thinking about, weirdo?

Blaxploitation with Jim Brown- I'm in!

A group of men rob some Gangsters- while dressed in hoods right out of The Town That Dreaded Sundown- and one of them is killed.

As part of the robbery, they take some books full of dates of deals, which the Mob is obviously keen to keep private.

The leader of the Gang has to hide out with his brother.

Man, you could do far worse in life than to have a Brother who's Jim Brown.
And yes, I did mean that statement both ways that you could read it.

Things are now complicated as Brown (aka Gunn) is a Businessman who is now running afoul of the Mob, a Businessman working with the Mob and the Police, who are investigating the robbery.

If you thought he'd take it lying down, you don't know Jim Brown!

The main henchman is Bruce Glover, who was always good at playing someone who's...off.  He's fresh off of his most famous role in Diamonds are Forever (which was parodied on Codename: Kids Nex Door) here.

This is far better than when he played Dracula- that's for sure!

A Used Car Dealer- Martin Landau!- is behind the death of Gunn's Brother and plans to make a big drug deal using his cars.

Guess what happens.

Eventually, Gunn learns that he should work his 'brothers' to help avenge the death of his actual brother.

One of them- Bernie Casey!

You know how these Films end, but check it out anyways, won't you?

A fun, if pretty basic Film.  Its Plot is by-the-numbers, it doesn't have some really unique gimmick to it and there's no major surprises.

That said, it is Jim Brown kicking ass.  The Film is dated in all of the right ways, from the fashion to the music to how many times they say, 'the man.'  Fight the power!

Glover really shines here as an erratic, but also calm Enforcer, while Landau really 'gets the assignment' as the cliche villain.  He's so hammy and smug- you gotta love it.

Brown is very stoic in all of the non-Action Scenes, really giving the Film a nice baseline to compare to the more over-the-top performances.  In any other Film, it might be considered a 'sleepwalking' performance, but it really works here.

The finale has an oddly funny bit where they do what is supposed to be a big stunt.  What is it?  A car jumps a small ramp, barely leaves the ground and rolls over.  I think I'm just too used to Fast & Furious Films, aren't I?

Is Black Gunn a must-see, epic Film?  No.
Is Black Gunn an enjoyable romp for those that love this kind of thing?  Hell yes.

No need to fight now...

While there are far more over-the-top Films like this, it is still quite enjoyable.  No complaints here.