Outlaw Johnny Black

Johnny Black is an outlaw with a heart full of hate...especially for the many racists and bullies in this version of the old west. However, when he is mistaken for a preacher by a town made up mostly of blacks, his nastiness begins to ease and he finds himself caring for the first time in many years.

"Outlaw Johnny Black" is a film directed, co-written and starrng Michael Jai White, the brilliant actor who brought us "Black Dynamite". However, "Outlaw Johnny Black" clearly is NOT "Black Dynamite"...though occasionally it seems a bit like it. But the problem is that it sure looked as if White wasn't sure whether he was making a comedy, a drama, or just a very low-budget film with a bunch of his friends...whereas "Black Dynamite" is a wonderful comedy.

Overall, a film with some nice moments but also some occasionally poor acting (never by White), flat laughs and a cheapness that works against it. Not a great film....and one that left me a bit frustrated because I know how great White can be.

Michael Jai White's "Outlaw Johnny Black" (2023) attempts to blend martial arts action with Western comedy, but ultimately falls flat, delivering a lukewarm and utterly unmemorable cinematic experience. The film suffers from a severe lack of narrative focus, meandering aimlessly between its action sequences and attempts at humor without ever truly committing to either. The supposed "charming" interactions and comedic timing feel forced and contrived, lacking the genuine spark necessary to engage the audience. Despite Michael Jai White's physical presence, the dialogue often feels clichéd and uninspired, as if the writers simply strung together a series of genre tropes without any regard for natural conversation or compelling comedic timing. Instead of a fresh and energetic take on the Western, it offers a superficial and often irritating spectacle of forced whimsy.

Is it worth watching? No, unless you have an exceptionally high tolerance for formulaic action-comedies and a desire to see a predictable narrative unfold. There are far more engaging and genuinely entertaining Westerns available.

Something that Micheal Jai White does better than Marshal Arts is making Blaxpolation films. Although, I believe White would rather I refer to this as a western, but he can't deny at the end of the day he was paying homage to the likes of Fred Willimson and the late great Jim Brown.

Some big shoes to fill but he filled them and almost busted out of them. It was action packed and humorous and still drove in a valuable message for the masses. It seems he also sneaked in some of his own value system as well without kicking us in the chest with it.

But of course, he does some kicking. Not a lot of moves but some real good ones. White is shining in this movie and the whole cast is impressive.

Left the theatre just wanted so much more.

Brillant film.

Well... that was a watch that leaves me baffled. And I'm a bit sad...

I hoped this one to be more like Black dynamite, but it really ended up confusing me. I actually really liked the more dramatic and traditional western stuff more and those parts are strong 7-8 to me. And I really liked those over the top hilarious stuff, and they were even higher, strong 8-8.5. But this movie mixed those two together the way I can't really like this as a whole movie. So it ends up 6-6.5 in the end. That's really a shame. This movie should have been more "real" or it should have been a proper spoof, but as it is it does not work.

When I stumbled upon this 2023 Western titled "Outlaw Johnny Black" here in 2023, I had never heard about the movie. But seeing that the movie had Michael Jai White on the cast list was more than sufficient to make me stop and take notice. Needless to say that of course I opted to watch the movie solely because Michael Jai White was on the cast list.

Writers Byron Minns and Michael Jai White put together a rather enjoyable and entertaining script and storyline. It is a script that combines both good storytelling, action, comedy, and good old fashioned Western. And I have to admit that I was more than genuinely entertained throughout the course of the 130 minutes that the movie ran for.

The acting performances in "Outlaw Johnny Black" were good, and Michael Jai White definitely carried the movie quite nicely. It was a good cast ensemble, with the likes of Barry Bostwick, Chris Browning and Randy Couture as the only familiar faces for me. But I will say that the likes of Anika Noni Rose, Erica Ash and Byron Minns also were great in the movie.

"Outlaw Johnny Black" looked and felt like a Western, and the added light action and comedy elements were sprucing up the movie quite nicely, making it all the more of an enjoyable movie to sit through.

My rating of "Outlaw Johnny Black" lands on a seven out of ten stars.