Sadly Over-hyped

Pretty Good

Absolutely Brilliant!

While it doesn't offer any answers, it both thrills and makes you think.

A few years before this movie was made, the blaxploitation craze among the major Hollywood studios pretty much died out, leaving independent filmmakers to try and carry the genre on despite it being then out of style. Unfortunately, these filmmakers usually had little money and limited skills at filmmaking, and "Abar, the First Black Superman" is one of those cases. How bad is this movie? Well, for starters, it makes the Rudy Ray Moore movie "Dolemite" look absolutely lavish and action-packed. It's incredibly cheap and crudely made. Possibly the filmmakers could have compensated for that in other areas, but they don't. While the script does occasionally give some interesting insight to African-American activism at the time, even this is all but ruined by the story again and again coming to a halt in order to deliver long and tired- sounding speeches and discussions about black rights and responsibilities. Needless to say, all this really slows the story down, so much so that the character of Abar doesn't become a superman until more than 75% of the movie has passed by! And it's not really worth the wait, with Abar doing some really strange stuff with his powers and the fact the movie doesn't end with a satisfying or complete finish. Despite the pretty bad nature of the movie, you will sense that the filmmakers were sincere and that their hearts were in the right place. It's a shame, however, that they didn't have the skills or finances to pull it off, since the core idea of the movie is sound and full of promise. Maybe a remake could get it right.

Abar, the First Black Superman (1977)** (out of 4)Dr. Kincade (J. Walter Smith) moves his wife and two children into an all white neighborhood where they soon become targets of physical and mental violence. Turns out the white folks aren't too happy about blacks moving in so the doctor must get a bodyguard named Abar (Tobar Mayo) to help. After a tragic death the doctor uses a chemical he's been working on to turn Abar into a superhero. ABAR, THE FIRST BLACK SUPERMAN is a pretty campy movie that thankfully has enough funny moments to make it worth sitting through. With that said, if you're wanting a "good" Blaxploitation film then this here certainly isn't it, although I must say there's some good stuff scattered around and with some more editing I think you could have had a very good movie. What's so strange is that the title refers to the character as a "Superman" type but he actually turns into a mix between Martin Luther King, Jr. and Jesus. Abar walks around with special powers that can produce storms, put snakes into women's beds and he even has the power to turn black men's alcohol into milk. This entire sequence is rather bizarre and I'm not exactly sure what the point was but you have to admit that it's rather entertaining. The hilarious moments come from the racist white people. If you've seen a Blaxploitation movie then you know all whites are racist and that stays true here. Just wait until you see the neighbors reaction to the blacks moving in and her "breakdown" is among the funniest scenes I've seen in a very long time. How long it takes for the protests to start was rather hilarious as was a bit where the news station warns people that blacks have moved into town. The performances for the most part are forgettable but both Smith and Mayo are mildly interesting in their parts. The biggest problem is that the film runs on way too long and it takes way too long for the story to get going. I'm really not sure why they waited nearly an hour for the powers to kick in but by then you've really lost interest in it. This is certainly far from a "good" movie but fans of the genre should get a few laughs out of it.

This movie is a real trip. If you are not in to cheesy, poorly made films with random cuts, go elsewhere. If you are, this one is for you. A black scientist, Dr. Kincade, moves into a very racist neighborhood and he and his family quickly become the target of vicious attacks. A local black-pride gang known as the Black Front of Unity (aka B.F.U.) headed by John Abar, quickly comes to the aide of the good Doctor. Eventually, Abar becomes the family's personal bodyguard. Improbably, the Doctor has been working on a special serum in his BASEMENT that will make you invincible. This is something you'll just have to except as there is not even the smallest attempt to explain how, or why this serum works or anything. Through a course of interesting plot twists, Abar takes the serum and becomes THE FIRST BLACK SUPERMAN. K, there is the flick in a nutshell. You really have to see it to appreciate just how awesomely B-flicalicious this really is. For instance, the doctor speaks many times of the serum and how it will make a man invincible. He even administers some to a rabbit, which is then shot many times, and fails to die. Abar takes the invincibility serum and shortly there after has the ability to turn a regular plate of food into worms and pro-establishment racist cops into pig-hating hippies. If you like B's, this is a "don't miss".

First off: potential viewers should note that the picture on the front of the In Your Face re-release (actual title: Abar, The First Black Superman) has NOTHING TO DO WITH THE MOVIE! The two people pictured on the front are NOT in the movie, and neither one of them is Abar.Now that that's out of the way, this movie is so bad that it is not only entertaining, it's highly enjoyable. The premise is easy to follow, and the story has so many goofball turns in it (Dr. Kinkade develops a serum that makes rabbits bulletproof!! Little boy's dream sequence is also unforgettable!) that you can't help but have a good time taking it all in. Production values are really horrible, sound looping is obvious, and scenes often cut for no reason. Still, worth a look, especially if you're a die-hard fan of nonsensical B-movies. The only real problem with this one is the extremely tacked-on lackluster ending.