BAADASSSSS! (2003)

Honoring his father even by using the same number of superfluous letters in his title, Mario Van Peebles has assembled one of the most bracing films about guerilla filmmaking ever committed to celluloid. Not only that, but as a witness to and subsequent reenactor of the events in the film, Van Peebles brings a gritty authenticity to BAADASSSSS! that makes it a 1970s time capsule on par with a film like Boogie Nights. Van Peebles is unflinching in his portrayal of father Melvin's struggles to bring the granddaddy of blaxploitation films to the big screen, which manifested themselves in such a dramatic physical way that the elder Van Peebles almost lost his eyesight. The fact that Mario plays Melvin heightens the intensity, as the role requires him to relive childhood traumas from the perspective of the man doing the traumatizing. In fact, the film gives the phrases "labor of love" and "project close to my heart" entirely new meanings. It's as much an achievement in mature filmmaking for Mario Van Peebles as Sweet Sweetback's Baadasssss Song was for Melvin, since Mario had not directed a film in five years, and had never directed a film with any acclaim, possibly excepting New Jack City. The scenes of the patchwork crew scrambling through locations without permits and scaling all heights to finish on schedule are priceless bits of urban filmmaking lore. It's also interesting to see an early incarnation of Earth, Wind & Fire agreeing to record the soundtrack for shockingly low pay. ~ Derek Armstrong, All Movie Guide