The fact that Ron O' Neal actually comes off as a sympathetic character in this mess is pretty amazing. Even more so than "Shaft," this has not aged well. Wrapped in every early 70's urban cliché, you've got coke magnate Youngblood Priest tooling around town in a stereotypical pimped-out Caddy Eldo wearing pimp threads with no apparent thought given to keeping a low profile. Yeah, he wants out of the game after scoring $300K on 15 kilos but he's conflicted--- it's not enough money after splitting it with his partner and he's running up against some greedy (also stereotypically) corrupt cops. Gordon Parks Jr. has a lousy grasp of cuts and staging. You don't have to be a USC Film School grad to see how much superfluous padding was added to almost every scene to stretch out the running time. The acting itself ranges from barely competent to laughable with the fight scenes looking like outtakes. The mess is lifted considerably by Mayfield's score and the glimmer of O'Neal's acting talent. "Super Fly" was a monster hit and wrought the even worse "Super Fly TNT" sequel, but this one makes audiences appreciate "Shaft," directed far more competently by Park's father. I could rant about the ridiculous early 70's urban fashion sense, the lack of production values, etc., etc., but I have to acknowledge that based on the monster grosses, Super Fly hit a nerve with audiences. Music aside, it's a poorly rendered film and hasn't aged well.
