Shaft

I liked this one alot-fast moving, funny, crude, violent at times, has the same old 'sphagetti Western' shooting style where the baddie can't hit the broadside of a barn with 400 rounds while Shaft takes'em out one shot at a time, never misses. Enjoyed Jackson in this mucho, this is some fine work by a kinetic actor in his prime. Vanessa Williams is easy on the eyes and a smooth actress in her own right, plus you have to give this Jeffrey Wright guy credit for doing a bang up job as a Puerto Rican(!!) villain(with a heart, sorta...). Bale as the Menendez Brother from hell is effective too. I liked Richard Roundtree, Pat Hingle and Gordon Parks' cameos(look fast for him, as Mr. P in the bar!)

This one isn't meant to be taken too seriously, the car chases and shootouts are right outta anything Dirty Harry has done-but you know, John Singleton sez he intended for this to be a popcorn movie, and I agree, he has hit the bullseye with this.

And that Isaac Hayes score, gotta love it!

*** outta ****, go see it and have fun.

Shaft was a lot of fun and to make this movie work the new shaft is now the nephew of the former from the 70's and it does work well, even having the actor that originally took the mantle up being in it aswell. This time around though Samuel L Jackson plays him. His tough and wise cracking just like jackson is in most movies. Christian pale is the mean harvard bully character and also plays him well ever after seeing american psycho he has been kinda creepy but thats a good thing. But getting back to shaft the story was interesting and all the cast were great,overall it was a pretty decent and solid action movie that was well made by the late great John singleton.

I have this on dvd stacked away not watched it in forever but came up online so was like yup.. its still very entertaining even though its kinda caricature done... it has quite a few entangled plots but not in a way its messy its still just centred around one and honestly I was always fascinated by The character People's.. he's probably the best character in the movie for me despite all the big names. I had to have a look at the actor and shocked to see he's not even Puerto Rican.. He nailed this role. Suave, funny, and intimidating when be does lose it. Don't look deep into it these are all extreme stereo types also refreshing to see the use of how easy Jackson and his partner call eachother racial slurs in jest. I remember the days people were comfortable enough with eachother this woukd happen.. this film definitely wouldn't be made now a days it woukd probably cause a riot. Its just good mindless entertainment with a justifiable ending. But Jeffrey Wright for me is the star.

I love this 1980s-style action flick, and watch it every time it is pops up on TV. Sam Jackson plays Shaft's nephew, a big-city cop trying to track down a reluctant witness to a racially motivated murder. The killer, played by a sinister, pre-BATMAN Christian Bale, is modeled on the New York preppie rapist (remember him?). He hires a low-level drug dealer (Jeffrey Wright) to track down the witness, a waitress (Toni Collette), and kill her. Shaft must find her before they do. Jackson is silky smooth, the action is right out of a DIE HARD or LETHAL WEAPON flick, and the landscape is populated by some great supporting players including Dan Hedaya as a corrupt cop and Vanessa Williams as a cop who has Shaft's back. The original Shaft, Richard Roundtree, even pops up a couple of times. This is one wild and funny ride that plays the way we prefer our action films to play. At times, it is a little thin on plot, but it keeps moving. No blood to speak of, just action, action and more action. And keep a close eye on Wright, a noted stage and screen actor. His soft-spoken drug lord tenderly holds a newborn baby at one moment and in the next pokes a knife into the neck of a terrified woman. He steals every scene he is in.

"Shaft 2000" is a reasonable successor to the original Shaft of 29 years ago. The film shows restraint by keeping Shaft big, but not bigger than life, as it tries to be a human story first and an action flick second. Unfortunately, in spite of good performances (especially by Wright) and good production talent, the story fails on the human level and hedges on the obvious alternative of exaggerated good and bad guys and a profusion of gratuitous violence, sex, and action. Worth a watch but keep expectations low.