That Man Bolt

I watched a fascinating but short interview with Bolt himself, Mr Fred Williamson, included in the recent Kino blu-ray remaster release, that answered my question as to whether this was a franchise, or was at least supposed to be one. It certainly had those vibes, and yet it didn't seem to play out like a franchise, and it was for a good reason, and a sort of ironic one. Williamson was contracted by Universal Pictures to a 3-film deal, with That Man Bolt being the first of the three. While follow-ups to Bolt were not initially planned, the film's success financially made that possible.

Why these "sequels" never transpired was because despite Universal's sincere attempt to make a black-led James Bond for the modern era that couldn't be pigeon-holed into being another film in the blaxploitation genre, it nevertheless happened. They blended James Bond with martial arts and more exotic on-location shooting for the time - Las Vegas, Hong Kong, etc. - and as Willamson noted there were no solid racial overtones of any kind within the script or plot of the film, which he found the most appealing about the project. And yet, still, the film was slapped with the blaxploitation label and couldn't escape it. Universal thought better of the film and decided to move on from the potential franchise.

It's a shame it played out like that, but based on Williamson's recollection of how it happened, I gained some respect for Universal resisting falling into a labeling trap when they did their due diligence to avoid it. That Man Bolt is a fun film, bolstered by those filming locations (somewhat unusual for the time) and just the overall badassery of the Jefferson Bolt character. Going in I wouldn't have expected a film about a courier to be even slightly thrilling, but for a film from 1973, much of this rather impressive. It hasn't totally aged well, but damn for one that is now over 50 years old, it's really hard to knock. Good, cheesy fun, and while it's far from a hidden gem, it still somehow delivers.