Shaft contre les trafiquants d'hommes

Shaft assumes more of the Bond mantle in this film by going undercover to find out who is running the slave trade out of Africa into Europe. However, it really is too much of a stereotype to Shaft and takes away some of what makes him special.

Shaft, Richard Roundtree again, of course, belongs uptown across 110th street. That's his turf, and putting him in a robe with a stick is just too much.

This film just went too far, past where the imagination can stretch, in letting Shaft win. Yes, it was letting Shaft win, as he couldn't possibly have dodged all the attempts made on his life and still have energy to magically bed Vonetta McGee, and Yugoslavian Neda Arneric.

Having said that, there were some very good moments in the film, and it is still worth the time to see Roundtree in action.

Why do you ask? Its got more one-liners, better (as in more amusing) dialogue, better action. Shaft becomes the poor man's James Bond in this one, doing what amounts to international spying but without the hi-tech tricks of Bond. Great final "Shaft enraged by the slow working justice system" ending. Great title song by the 4 Tops ("Are You Bad Enough") doesn't measure up to the classic "Shaft" but still delivers.

This violent Shaft (Richard Roundtree) entry begins when he's obligated by threats to pull off a dangerous mission . He must go undercover to Ethiopia . In Addis Abeba , Shaft assumes the identity a native , as he's accompanied by a beautiful African young (Voneta McGee) . His work is to break up a slave trade ring whose origin encounters in Paris and ruled by a tyrannical mobster (Frank Finlay) and his hoodlums (Aldo Sambrell) who are exploiting the immigrants in chain-gang employments and minimum wage . The private-eye eliminates anyone who stands in his aim , battling a variety of nasties and keeping things moving along until the final confrontation into the Château of Montfort .

This thrilling picture packs noisy action , violent fights , brutal killings , nudism and results to be quite amusing . The movie is plenty of suspense , thriller , intrigue , adventures and kinky sex , as usual . Strong , raw screenplay by Stirling Shilliphant (habitual of Irwin Allen's catastrophe movies : Towering inferno , Poseidon , Swarm) and based on the characters created by Ernest Tdyman (French Connection) . Richard Roundtree is good as Shaft , his females are Voneta Mcgee with a wide career in blaxploitation genre and being a distinguished secondary ; besides , Neda Armeric , a Serbian actress ,she was recently elected for Serbian Parliament but she withdrew politics after scandal when her vote were registered in Parliament while she was on summer holidays . Colorful as well as evocative cinematography ; most of the scenes in Africa were shot in Ethiopia . The motion picture was professionally directed by John Guillermin , a known author of disaster movies (Towering inferno , Skyjacked , King Kong). The result is an entertaining entry for action enthusiasts and blaxploitation fans with lots of violence , adult issues and profanities . This third outing (the first titled ¨Shaft¨ and the second ¨Big score¨ by Gordon Parks) is followed by seven TV episodes (1973,1974) and 2000 version by John Singleton with Samuel L. Jackson .

Perhaps the most entertaining of the three "Shaft" films, but be warned: it's incredibly violent! (Shaft snaps necks, elbows, runs over people with his car, you name it). It's also more sexually provocative than any other mainstream release of the 70s I can think of. In other words, this is the first and only "Shaft" movie that lives up to its reputation in terms of violence and nudity. Whether or not this is a recommendation is up to you to decide. (**1/2)

Shaft's previous adventure, Shaft's Big Score, ended with a James Bond style high speed chase scene involving cars, a speedboat and a helicopter, with lots of shooting and explosions; this, the third and final outing for Richard Roundtree's private investigator, sees our super-cool hero recruited to go undercover in Africa to break up a slavery ring, and is even more like a Bond movie, featuring an international mission, an evil villain (played with relish by Frank Finlay), high-tech gadgetry, sexy women, and a finale that sees an assault on the baddies' French château fortress.

Although undeniably more comic book in nature than the previous two Shaft movies, Shaft in Africa remains very adult in nature, with a high level of nudity, sex and violence as Shaft beats, kills and shags his way across the dark continent towards Europe. Some of the more explicit content includes a rather frank conversation about female circumcision, the senseless death of an innocent pooch, and villain Amafi's nymphomaniac girlfriend Jazar (Neda Arneric) becoming sexually aroused while watching black workmen digging up a road (she also questions Shaft about the size of his phallus, who eventually satisfies her curiosity by shagging her).

Directed with zest by John Guillerman, a film-maker well versed in African adventures (he previously helmed two Tarzan movies and war movie Guns at Batasi, and would go on to make Sheena Queen of the Jungle), Shaft in Africa is a fun film that moves along at a more than reasonable pace with plenty of action. It is, however, a far cry from the seedy world of pimps, pushers and prostitutes that one usually associates with the blaxploitation genre. As such, it failed to satisfy existing fans of the character, was a failure at the box office, and signalled the end of the franchise.