To say New Jack Fury is an acquired taste? An understatement.
Lanfia Wal’s 80s-era spoof Blaxploitation action-comedy is at the crossroads of Astron-6, Chappelle’s Show, the video game Streets of Rage, and Black Dynamite. It’s never as good as the lovechild of those properties sounds, but it’ll tickle fans of microbudget lunacy like, say, Hundreds of Beavers. Wal cobbles together a relatively silly and downright stupid callback to an era of pimps-and-thugs flicks using green screens and buckets of hair product, but it’s not for everyone. Wal’s replicating late-night cable vibes with fuzzy VHS tracking for a reason.
What Is ‘New Jack Fury’ About?

Image via SXSW

New Jack beat cop Dylan Gamble (Andre Hall) is embroiled in an investigation to take down the penthouse-level villain Silkwaan Styles (Page Kennedy). After things get heated at the station and Dylan smacks his chief’s face with a 24-inch dildo, he’s fired. Then, his girlfriend Tanisha (Ally Renee) gets abducted. After a series of ridiculous events, Dylan finds himself teaming with shady Rick James wannabe Hendrix Moon (Paul Wheeler) and Michael Jackson impersonator Leslie Kindall (Michael Trapson). Together, they brawl and moonwalk through New Jack in hopes of locating Silkwaan’s hideout and rescuing Tanisha—just go with it.
New Jack Fury pretends it’s a ripped television special popped into your VCR, fake commercials and all. Think Dude Bro Party Massacre III, except cheaper and with more swagger, as Jheri curls and vigilante justice become the film’s signature. Scenes feel like actors playing dress-up as Wal leans into slapdash production blemishes, whether it looks like performers are reading from cue cards or scripted rationale is torched with a flamethrower. “So Bad It’s Good” is the aim, and while I stand by my mantra that you can’t willfully replicate something like The Room on purpose, New Jack Fury exploits neon-noir trash cinema from the 1980s for decent laughs.
‘New Jack Fury’ Leans Into the Bit — Which Is Both a Positive and a Negative

Image via SXSW

With most niche comedies of this type—something that feels destined for Adult Swim at 2 AM—humor has its ups and downs. Stereotypes and impressions hope to score some cheap laughs, but Wal forces the recorded-by-your-sibling vibe a bit too hard. Some fake commercials for products like Suga-Drank, complete with a gyrating Kool-Aid man mascot, are genuinely comical—but others faceplant. It’s wasted time in a movie running on gimmick fumes, which is hard to excuse. New Jack Fury commits to its bit, but said bit has a shelf life. At its most ostentatious and cartoonish, there’s fun to be had. The problem is that Wal doesn’t showcase much versatility in comedy styles. What’s funny one time loses its impact on repeat.
Humor will land harder for action aficionados who miss the 80s. Between surprise miniguns, katanas, and grenades, there’s a Z-movie abandon of genre rules that work in favor of shock value. Wal sneaks around fight choreography using graphic designs instead of stunt-forward fight scenes, even utilizing side-scrolling digital video game levels to illustrate a zany pixelated brawl. There’s a sparseness to resources and yet inventive ideas that morph production challenges into neat visual components, as pop-art-colorful as they are unique. Sometimes New Jack Fury feels like it’s running out of juice, but then Wal pulls a Joker from his sleeve. It’s never on par with Kung Fury, but the comparison stands.

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Performances are an intentionally mixed bag, so they’re hard to assess. Andre Hall is a potent straight-man since he’s flanked by two lunatics cosplaying famous musicians. Paul Wheeler spits stinging insults while stomping around in his platform boots, and Michael Trapson has his “shamone” aced. They’re sidekick goofballs who parrot celebrity signatures while bopping baddies on the head. However, Page Kennedy is the real standout—a well-dressed and slap-happy kingpin who would have a shot at winning the Playa Haters’ Ball. They’re all leaning into cringy dialogue tropes and presences that are supposed to make us cringe, so mission accomplished? Yet, that can be a grating factor when jokes crater. Satires like New Jack Fury must be airtight, but this one has a few leaks.
My advice? See New Jack Fury with a crowd. Wal’s highly flammable throwback to sleazy street payback and disgraced cop cinema is best consumed by individuals most aware of the assignment. This is one of those movies that’s meant to be shared with unpretentious cinephiles who crave a passionate, do-it-yourself farce. If any of the comparison points I’ve listed sound interesting, give it a go—otherwise, I’m afraid you’ll find New Jack Fury shooting blanks.
New Jack Fury premiered at the 2025 SXSW Festival.

New Jack Fury

New Jack Fury defies the odds by intentionally trying for “so bad it’s good,” and while it’s not the best example of such filmmaking, has enough fun with 80s Blaxploitation tropes to string together a parade of absurd laughs.

Release Date

March 8, 2025

Runtime

84 minutes

Director

Lanfia Wal

Writers

Lanfia Wal

Page Kennedy

Silkwaan Styles

Vincent M. Ward

Inspector Hayes

Pros & Cons

Andre Hall is the perfect straight man to play against his absurd low-budget surroundings.
Impressions are on point and homages are respectfully funny.
The movie is trying to be a comedy first, then ?bad? by atmosphere standards, which is the correct formula.

Humor is subjective and boy is that true here?not every joke lands.
It?s still forced at points in terms of recreating the ?recorded on VHS? gimmick, which is inevitable.
Incredibly niche with its humor, so if you?re immediately left behind, goodbye!