Hell Up in Harlem

I didn't know this was a sequel. I was going to compliment this film for jumping immediately into action via the assassination attempt on Williamson without any set-up. Otherwise, this was a decent blaxploitation action-wise but fairly by-the-numbers. I agree with ShogunRua that the dad did a 180. What was with the bikini lady who fought back? Fav scene: instead of taking Williamson to the hospital to begin with, they had to send in the fashion gang to hop over fences to pick him up.

i found this seuqel to be quite a bit of fun. I dont remember the origonal soooo much but i do recall it was a bit grittier and reminded me of a scarface type storyline that i enjoyed. The sequel is fun and all nice and gangstery but kind of starts to slow down once tommy decides to give up his crew and go legit. Still though i liked it more than most 70s blaxploitation and would definatly recommend it.

The consensus is that it is vastly inferior to Black Caesar, but to this viewer the difference is minor. Cohen clearly understood that BC needed more style, energy and violence, and on that level the sequel really delivers, despite the problems with the script that he admits was written on the fly. With a tighter plot, this could have been an exploitation gem. As it stands, it is an entertaining, above average 'blaxploitation' that's another showcase for Williamson's eternal cool.