Shaft contre les trafiquants d'hommes

After the abysmal Shaft's Big Score, this second follow-up to the original 1971 legend is much finer stuff. John Guillermen takes over from blaxplotation maestro Gordon Parks as director and excellently brings freshness to the whole thing, with Richard Roundtree's supercool private eye being sent to Ethopia in order to infiltrate and bring down a ruthless slave-trading scam.

This entry is wonderfully self-concious in the fact that it all smacks of the Bond saga - even Shaft says it when he finds himself handed a couple of gadgets for his mission. Therefore, there's a strong and largely satisfying formula behind the whole affair. The action is still a little clumsy and quite excessively violent, but in general this is bigger, brighter and funner than what came before it.

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.

Shaft is hired to go into Africa undercover and be taken in as an African slave by the Europeans. Once he is a slave he can find the man behind the slavery ring and shut the ring down. Far more interesting story than the last two, takes Shaft out of his element and puts him in a few new countries. More action packed and with a better director makes this the best Shaft flick of the original three. ** out of ****

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)