Black Lightning (2009)

Best movie of this year hands down!

Simply Perfect

One of my all time favorites.

By the time the dramatic fireworks start popping off, each one feels earned.

Take the Spiderman movie, replace New York with Moscow, the spider suit with a flying GAZ-21 Volga, the green goblin by some billionaire in a flying Mercedes, throw in a bit of Iron Man, Batman as well as Transformers.... and you pretty much get "Chernaya Molniya".Say what you want, but this movie is just a Russian cocktail, throwing together several of the recent American superhero movies. Only, "Chernaya Molniya" is actually better, but I can't really pin down exactly why. Is it the Russian music, the Russian humor or just the overall exotic nature of a big budget comic style movie taking place in the heart of Moscow, with Russian actors and spoken in Russian?I don't know or care, really. All I can say is that I enjoyed this movie, in spite of its very cliché plot, its very cliché action scenes and its strangely familiar Hollywood style atmosphere. For those who're in the mood for some light entertainment but are tired of the same old Hollywood crap, this film is something like a subtle breath of fresh air. It has all the familiar plot twists, all the clichés and the same atmosphere of a comic style Hollywood blockbuster movie, but it's served by a Russian cast and a Russian director... that in some way makes it not just bearable but even enjoyable to a guy like me who's tired of the same old Hollywood crap.But maybe that's just me. Hate it or like it... but this is a movie I'm sure you'll remember.

Let's pretend for a moment that it's 1999. There is no Spiderman. The last Batman movie with Mr Freeze is a recent but quickly fading memory and we have not even heard of Chris Nolan...well outside of Australia at least, and the only thing we know of the transformers is that it's a plastic robot toy from the 80s that used to...hang on, that's right, turn into a truck or something... I'd also be 11 years younger and perhaps a little less cynical and forgiving of schmaltzy, clichéd stuff. So, in this imaginary world where we have a time traveling De Lorean or equivalent, I would have walked out of Black Lightning and thought "Man, what a cool movie. Those Russians really are breakthrough...how awesome was that!". "Yes it's a bit back to the future, but who cares...that was FUN!!"...Except it's not 1999, and I am 11 years older. I've seen Spiderman where he discovers his gee whiz powers, where his gr amps gets killed, with great power comes great responsibility, etc. I've seen transformers where a beat up old car becomes something awesome. And i've heard the brooding music from Nolan's Batman. I've seen Iron Man take his enemy up in the sky until they both froze up and he ran out of fuel and dropped back to earth...should i go on?So why the heck did they make this movie? Did they just assume that no one in Russia watched all of the above and they could put together a greatest hits compilation of some of the better super hero American fare? Probably. But for those of us who have seen these movies, Black Lightning (the name makes me cringe!) is a Frankenstein cut and paste, in many cases scene by scene steal of far better movies. It's b grade schlock made for an uneducated audience. Yes, I'm being harsh. I enjoyed the movie for the first 30 or so Min's. It seemed fresh and interesting. Then at about the point where the car first takes off I felt this sense of dread. Oh oh...that bit looks like America's Greatest Hero...and that bit is Transformers...and that bit is Spiderman (why am I watching this again?...never mind...it'll get better)...and that bit is just like (well you get the idea)...And the flying Volga is actually more ridiculous than a flying De Lorean...I should say some kind things about the film...let's give this a go. The heavy metal Russian soundtrack is pretty cool. The girl in the movie is rather lovely, but her flipping between the boys got old real quick. The special effects are not too bad considering it's a low budget film (although they are cheesy) and the surround mix is typically over the top for a 5.1 modern Russian film.At the end of the movie I felt disappointed and embarrassed for all concerned with this production. And Bekmambetov really should have known better!So if all the above disclaimers don't concern you, go ahead and watch it. But, you have been warned...

Granted, the movie does contain ideas and motives from other superhero movies, yet the Russian cast has managed to present the story in whole new light.One thing that makes this movie more interesting is the fact that the action takes place at a different location - Russia (Moscow), not the well-known USA (Manhattan). Other things that differs from the majority of the created movies nowadays are the ways that characters express their emotions and the believes / principles they have.On the negative side there are moments with poor computer graphic effects and impossible physics which has had a negative influence on my vote.Overall this movie managed to keep me watching till the end. I can't say the same for other movies that seem to have higher ratings.

The movie is a first Russian attempt to make a superhero movie. Not very impressed by it I must say. Half way through the film I realised that I am basically watching a recycled spider-man movie. The same idea, similar events, just some details changed. A hero is a student, then he gets some special abilities and uses it for his own gain until a member of his family is killed resulting in him fighting crime thereafter. There is also a rich friend, a girl who goes for a friend first and falls for hero later... Not a single bit of originality in the plot. Even the famous scene of spider-man in front of US flag is remade. We see Black Lightning flying besides a star of Kreml. The CGI is very fake, all the laws of physics are simply forgotten beyond the usual Hollywood standards. I can not understand HOW this film got so many positive reviews in Russia. Yes, of course it has a love story and teaches people to care for each other rather than just themselves. But it doesn't make this movie worth watching. Personally, I just couldn't help but wanting to rather watch Spider-man again instead... P.S. the flying Mercedes looks pretty much like flying DeLorian from Back to the future... Just a notice... P.P.S. the sequels have been announced... Batman and Superman movies, BEWARE...