Black Belt Jones

R

1974

1h 27m

Adventure

List

Reviews

69%

Audience Score

1,000+ Ratings

A martial artist (Jim Kelly) helps a father (Scatman Crothers) and daughter (Gloria Hendry) save their school of self-defense from Los Angeles mobsters.

Read More

Read Less

Watch on Fandango at Home

Premiered Apr 16

Buy Now

Fandango at Home

Prime Video

Rent Black Belt Jones on Fandango at Home, Prime Video, or buy it on Fandango at Home, Prime Video.

David Nusair

Reel Film Reviews

...slowly-but-surely begins to wear out its welcome...

Rated: 2/4

Jun 29, 2022

Full Review

Dennis Schwartz

Dennis Schwartz Movie Reviews

Standard issue street karate film designated for the youth market in the inner city.

Rated: C

Jun 23, 2015

Full Review

Read all reviews

Audience Member

Exactly what you’d expect it to be!

Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars

05/01/21

Full Review

delysid d

loved the music in this film

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

07/20/18

Full Review

Audience Member

Something to watch for ironic interest or for a nostalgic return to a blaxploitation classic. It's actually a pretty boring film, and if you consider Clouse directed Enter the Dragon just before this, it's a step backward for martial arts cinema.

Rated 1.5 out of 5 stars

02/01/23

Full Review

Audience Member

An inner-city karate school is empowering the kids while keeping them off the streets, but the mob wants that building since it's sitting on valuable land. They try to seize it with their army of thugs, dope pushers, and corrupt politicians, but none of the bad guys reckoned with the face-kicking heroics of Black Belt Jones (Jim Kelly). Director Robert Clouse rehired Jim Kelly after his scene stealing performance in Enter The Dragon and, despite the boilerplate plot, this kung fu blaxploitation hit is easily the most popular film that Mr. Kelly headlined. The script is campy, the acting almost defines amateurish, certain scenes drag on, and the cartoonish action sequences evince The Three Stooges more often than Bruce Lee, but this cheeseball film can still be pretty entertaining if one is down for this sort of thing. The slapsticky climax in the car wash alone is ample evidence as to why Black Belt Jones has earned a space in the heart of many who adore cinematic junk food.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

02/05/23

Full Review

s r

Not a bad 70s king fu flick.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

03/31/23

Full Review

Audience Member

After the release of Enter The Dragon (1973), Warner Bros. hired it's director Robert Clouse, to do another kung-fu film immediately. Jim Kelly, who had made his film debut in Enter The Dragon, was given the lead role in this film. Despite being very much a product of it's time, and the fact that it has become unintentionally hilarious in places, the action sequences done in the film are quite well fought out. The Los Angeles Mafia, led by Don Steffano (Andre Philippe), have bought up a large plot of land, and are wanting to develop on it, but they're unable to as there was one building they're having trouble buying, a karate school run by Pop Byrd (Scatman Crothers), whose best student is Black Belt Jones (Kelly). To open the karate school, Pop Byrd had borrowed money from drug dealer Pinky (Malik Carter), who had in turn stolen the money from the Mafia. But it turns out the building belongs to Sydney (Gloria Hendry), not Pop Byrd. So when the Mafia bring in more men to get the karate school, Black Belt Jones puts up a fight to put a stop to this. It is an incredibly silly film, but it does have it's moments, including an unbelievable finale in an out of control car wash which proves that this is definitely a 70's film. Mixing Blaxploitation with the current Kung Fu craze that was sweeping cinemas at the time. Not all of it works, but it doesn't matter at all.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

02/05/23

Full Review

Read all reviews

Post a rating

Robert Clouse

Director

Jim Kelly

Black Belt Jones

Gloria Hendry

Sydney

Scatman Crothers

Pop Byrd

Alan Weeks

Toppy

Eric Laneuville

Quincy

Show Less Cast & Crew

Show More Cast & Crew

View more photos

Synopsis

A martial artist (Jim Kelly) helps a father (Scatman Crothers) and daughter (Gloria Hendry) save their school of self-defense from Los Angeles mobsters.

Director: Robert Clouse
Rating: R
Genre: Adventure
Original Language: English
Release Date (Streaming): Jan 1, 2009
Runtime: 1h 27m

Most Popular at Home Now