Jim Kellyis one of the most undersung martial arts stars of the ’70s, encapsulating much of the decade through his varied and wild action movie filmography. More than just an actor, Jim Kelly began his life as an athlete and genuine martial arts expert, becoming one of the most decorated karate practitioners in the world with four distinct championship wins in major competitions in 1971. This notoriety allowed his film career to begin, most notably with one ofBruce Lee’s best films,Enter the Dragon.
However, Kelly’s legacy extends far beyond his prestigious role opposite one of the greatest martial artist movie stars of all time. Kelly was a staple ofthe Blaxploitation genre, a unique film subculture that gave African American actors, directors, and producers a voice. These films often relied on mystery, sexual titillation, and snappy martial arts action to fill seats, and it was in this space that Jim Kelly thrived. While most of Kelly’s films were martial arts related to some degree, he didn’t have the biggest filmography in the world, making parsing down his catalog a straightforward task.
Afro Ninjais quite the obscure film, but still ranks among Jim Kelly’s best appearances due to its timing. Towards the end of his life, Kelly slowed down his movie appearances dramatically, allegedly being uninterested in most of the scripts put his way after the ’70s. However, of all things,Afro Ninjawas able to rouse him from a malaise of documentary appearances with his first actual character performance in years in 2009.
Afro Ninjais a passion project made bythe subject of the infamously viral clipof the same name, which features the film’s star, writer, director, and producer Mark Hicks faceplanting and stumbling after botching a nunchucks routine. The film incorporates this hilarious mishap as a plot point, capitalizing on Hicks' 15 minutes of fame, while also attracting a cameo from Jim Kelly himself as Cleavon Washington. The movie is certainly amateurish, but full of heart, and hard to discount the appeal of.
While a small appearance in a passion project made by an internet punching bag may seem like a low bar to clear for Kelly’s career,One Down, Two to Gobarely manages it. Coming in at the tail end of the Blaxploitation craze in 1982, the film features a litany of talented celebrities, including Kelly, Richard Roundtree, Fred Williamson, and Jim Brown. Roundtree and Kelly are a pair of grizzled cops and dojo co-owners going after an organized crime syndicate that messes with their martial arts tournament.
For how much talent there is among the credits ofOne Down, Two to Go,it’s a remarkably slow and plodding film that takes ages to get to the good stuff. The cinematography is interesting enough to help the very slow build-up each action scene gets, but nothing on display is worth writing home about. Still, for all the faults the film has with pacing, Jim Kelly is as charming and exciting as ever.
Death Dimensionis a film that’s just as off-the-wall as its name implies. This B-list action thriller goes by a variety of alternate titles, includingIcy DeathandFreeze Bomb, that imply the plot. A mad villain called “The Pig” searches for the plans for an experimental freeze bomb. The plans are contained within a microchip embedded in the head of a woman named Felicia, who is assigned to be protected by Jim Kelly’s Detective Ash.
The made premise of this film barely scratches the surface of the eclectic insanity lurking within. Kelly spends the whole time beating up bad guys, jumping on cars, and even shooting down small aircraft with his oversized police revolver. Pepper in references toAlfred Hitchcock movies, James Bond, and even an appearance by a fake Bruce Lee imitator, andDeath Dimensionends up a wildly entertaining romp full of jaw-dropping elements that swirl together in a hurricane of fantasy.
7The Tattoo Connection
Relishes In Kelly’s Bruce Lee Connection
Hitting it big withEnter the Dragonso early in his career, it makes sense that so many of Kelly’s other films would seek to capitalize on similar team-ups. While Blaxploitation was thriving, another strange genre also arose in the wake of Bruce Lee’s tragic death.Called “Bruceploitation”, these films copied Lee’s trademark fighting style and mannerisms, sometimes acting as sequels to Bruce Lee’s actual films.The Tattoo Connectioncombines both genres into a hypnotic mix.
The straightforward plot sees a CIA agent head to Hong Kong in search of a valuable stolen diamond, only to stumble into the dangerous lair of the perpetrators. At the same time, one of the criminals experiences some moral conflict when his girlfriend begs him to leave his life of crime behind. In between the unintentional hilarity of terrible dubbing and obvious mannequin stunts most ’70s low-budget action films are laden with,The Tattoo Connectionhas some of the best showings of Kelly’s raw charismatic appeal, inlcuding a particularly eyebrow-raising shirtless fight scene.
Enter the Dragonwouldn’t be the only collaboration between Jim Kelly and director Robert Clouse, who once again sought out Kelly inGolden Needlesfollowing Bruce Lee’s death. Essentially a martial arts-infusedretelling of the classic noir filmThe Maltese Falcon, the story revolves around the capture of a priceless Asian artifact. Only this time around, the MacGuffin in question is a golden statuette that, when combined with the titular needles, magically enhances a man pierced by the same needles in multiple ways.
Joe Don Baker, often referred to as the “white Bruce Lee”, is pretty excellent here, wielding his signature 2x4 with impunity against the bad guys. Jim Kelly is phenomenal in his brief appearances, but is unfairly robbed of more screen time, though he does steal every scene he’s in. Overall,Golden Needlescould be better planned and more absurd considering how bananas its premise is, but is still one of the better Jim Kelly portfolio pieces of the mid ’70s.
WhileGolden NeedlesandEnter the Dragonnever fully fork over the spotlight to Jim Kelly,Black Samuraiknows exactly how valuable his charm and real-world martial arts prowess is. Despite what the title may imply,Black Samuraiis not a period piece, actually offering the first draft of the “freeze bomb” idea hilariously recycled byDeath Dimensiona year later. Kelly plays a super-spy agent of an organization called D.R.A.G.O.N. who has to rescue his girlfriend, the daughter of an ambassador, from the clutches of a foul criminal kingpin.
The resulting action features everything from deadly kung fu fighters of surprisingly short stature to rabid animals Kelly must nevertheless unleash his karate chops on.Kelly is as smooth and commanding as ever here, and the film takes the time to show off everything from his glistening muscles to his real-life tennis skills, yet another impressive athletic career he was able to nurture between filmmaking. His character thinks nothing of flying around in a jetpack or punching bad guys where the sun doesn’t shine, making this a bombastic, if formulaic, appearance.
For his first feature film appearance,Melindaranks shockingly highly among Jim Kelly’s wider catalog. Calvin Lockhart stars as a fast-talking, free-loving DJ who suddenly falls in love with a woman at first sight. Tragically, his fairy-tale romance comes to a grisly end when she’s murdered, her dead body dumped in his apartment. It’s up to Lockhart’s character to unravel the mystery and get revenge on behalf of the titular love interest.
Jim Kelly has a supporting role here as karate dojo runner and friend of Lockhart’s character, who ultimately aids him in the final assault.Melindais surprisingly heartfelt and emotional for a Blaxploitation film, with the tragedy of Melinda’s death not being lost on even the most cynical viewer. Kelly may not yet be the star of the show, but he’s a welcome dash of seasoning to a relatively grounded Blaxploitation story.
Jim Kelly would occasionally spread his legs outside of the narrow confines of Blaxploitation, often resulting in some of his best work. EnterTake A Hard Ride, a thrilling American cowboy flick from the ’70s competing with the esteemedSpaghetti Westernsof the same era. The story features an honest, hard-working ranch hand who teams up with a sleazy gambler in order to make it across the Mexican border with an outrageous sum of money, all while being hunted by a bounty hunter played by the one and only Lee Van Cleef.
Jim Kelly stars as the mute Native American Kashtok, one of several eclectic characters the lead pair come across on their journeys. Despite being a Western,Take a Hard Ridefinds plenty of excuses to unleash Jim Kelly’s martial arts skills, which somehow explode off the screen all the better in the unique period setting. He may not have the biggest role in it, butTake a Hard Rideis undoubtedly one of the best entries out of Kelly’s career.
For all the other martial arts Blaxploitation films that Jim Kelly starred in, all of them could only hope to emulate the shadow ofBlack Belt Jones.As the eponymous hero, Kelly plays a retired super spy who has resigned himself to a quiet life teaching martial arts to underprivileged inner-city youths at a local dojo. Jones is forced into action when the dojo owner’s gambling debts come back to haunt him, not to mention a predatory white gang seeking to steal his property.
Black Belt Jones is perhaps the coldest Jim Kelly character ever, knocking down bad guys in schools, trains, parking lots, and car washes. Kelly’s effortlessly cool mannerisms and charisma are impossible to recreate elsewhere when compared toBlack Belt Jones, not reliant on ridiculous setpieces or extravagant city-ending plots to maintain tension.Black Belt Jonesis slightly more grounded that the rest while still polishing Kelly’s appeal to a mirror shine.
It’s almost unfair that Jim Kelly easily peaked so early in his career when he fought alongside Bruce Lee inEnter the Dragon.Theiconic staple of the martial arts genresees Lee play a martial arts instructor contacted by British intelligence to infiltrate an underground martial arts tournament held by a criminal millionaire on a private island. Upon realizing that the man behind the action is also responsible for some personal tragedies in his own life, Lee accepts, eager to face whatever opponents may come his way.
Along the way, Lee makes friends with John Saxon’s Roper and Jim Kelly’s Williams, a pair of Americans scamming the tournament for their own reasons. Kelly is an amazing and memorable element of the plot, boasting some of the best fight scenes in a movie that alos features Bruce Lee. Saxon, Kelly and Lee all have excellent chemistry, which is the secret ingredient that makesEnter the DragoneasilyJim Kelly’s best film even all these years later.
