Hell up in Harlem (2013) is a movie I recently rewatched for the first time in a long time on Tubi. The storyline follows Tommy Gibbs recovering from gang warfare allowing his father to take over the streets on his behalf. When his best friend is mad he wasn't chosen to lead the gang he joins Gibbs biggest rival, the district attorney, to try and bring down Gibbs and his father.
This movie is directed by Larry Cohen (Black Caesar) and stars Fred Williamson (Dusk till Dawn), Julius Harris (Live and Let Die), Gloria Hendry (Black Belt Jones), Margaret Avery (The Color Purple), D'Urville Martin (Dolemite) and Mindi Miller (Caged Fury).
There are some magnificent action scenes in this. There's a rooftop shootout and fight sequence that is legendary. They do a good job of selecting unique locations for their fight scenes (hospitals, beaches, mafia members houses, etc). They also did a great job incorporating various weapons into the fights. The karate fighting girls in this are an A+.
Overall, there's enough good action scenes in this to make it enjoyable despite an average primary plot. I would consider this a must see for fans of Blaxploitation films and score it a 6.5-7/10.
