African Kung-Fu Nazis (2019)

IMDb plot summary: A kung fu disciple seeks bloody revenge against Adolf Hitler and his army of goons in Ghana.

Directed by Samuel K. Nkansah and Sebastian Stein. Starring Elisha Okyere, Kwaku Adu, and Yoshito Akimoto.

African Kung-Fu Nazis asks, what if Adolf Hitler and Minister Togo fled Germany and Japan and took refuge in Ghana, where they achieved literal immortality and raised up an army of karate Nazis? And what if the only way to defeat them was in a martial arts championship? This is exactly as ridiculous as it sounds. The first movie it brought to mind was The Last Samurai, another love letter to martial arts films made by a Black filmmaker. Of course, The Last Samurai was funny and well-shot and well-choreographed, while sadly African Kung-Fu Nazis is none of those things, relying too heavily on gore and too little on good fight sequences. The acting is all very wooden -- especially the interactions between our main character and his girlfriend, but all of it sounds pretty awkward. I kind of love the concept of this wild alternate universe. It brought to mind something like The Boys From Brazil, which I found equally hilarious in its conception, but this one falls unfortunately short on execution.

How it entered my Flickchart:

African Kung-Fu Nazis < Duel

African Kung-Fu Nazis < Who's That Knocking At My Door

African Kung-Fu Nazis > A Sound of Thunder

African Kung-Fu Nazis < The Phantom of the Opera (2004)

African Kung-Fu Nazis > Red Christmas

African Kung-Fu Nazis < Call Northside 777

African Kung-Fu Nazis < Uncut Gems

African Kung-Fu Nazis < Intolerance: Love's Struggle Throughout the Ages

African Kung-Fu Nazis < Will Penny

African Kung-Fu Nazis < Soylent Green

African Kung-Fu Nazis < Darkest Hour

African Kung-Fu Nazis < You Were Never Really Here

Final spot: #3036 out of 3598, or 16%.