Pluskylang Great Film overall

Intcatinfo A Masterpiece!

BelSports This is a coming of age storyline that you've seen in one form or another for decades. It takes a truly unique voice to make yet another one worth watching.

Marva It is an exhilarating, distressing, funny and profound film, with one of the more memorable film scores in years,

Michael_Elliott Shaft (2000) ** 1/2 (out of 4) The son (Christian Bale) of a rich real estate businessman kills a black man and skips town but Detective John Shaft (Samuel L. Jackson) enters the game and will stop at nothing to see justice brought to him. This leads to a back and forth battle, which involves gang members and crooked cops.SHAFT works as both a sequel and a remake to the 1971 film. The Shaft that Jackson is playing here is actually the nephew to the one Richard Roundtree played in the original series. Roundtree is also on hand for a few scenes in this film, which is certainly great to see. With that said, John Singleton had a pretty tough battle because he was basically making a blaxploitation movie in an era where you really couldn't get away with the same stuff that you could in the 70s.Back in the 70s it was a time for politically incorrect stuff and that's certainly not the case here. Even the story line of the murderer doesn't feature the "racist whites" that you'd expect to see. For the most part I thought this film was entertaining for what it was but there's no question that there were some flaws. The biggest is how "big" the story got. I really didn't find the crooked cop angle to be all that interesting and even the stuff with the gang members wasn't all that compelling.The film works the best when Jackson and Bale get to go at one another. Both actors are extremely good in their parts and it's a shame that the screenplay didn't keep the focus on them since they are the best things in the picture. Jeffrey Wright is wonderful in his role as a gang banger and Toni Collette is also extremely good. We also get nice supporting performances by Dan Hedaya and Pat Hingle. Busta Rhymes is here playing himself so I'll let you be the judge on that.There are some nice action scenes scattered throughout the picture and there's a lot of great laughs early on but for some reason the screenplay went away from the sly humor as the film went along. SHAFT isn't the perfect remake but it's a mildly entertaining film.

Spikeopath Remakes do work occasionally, case in point Shaft, John Singleton's update of the 1971 Blacksploitation movie that starred Richard Roundtree as the title character. Roundtree gets a part in this one as well, playing the uncle of Samuel L. Jackson's title character, John Shaft.It's the perfect role for Jackson, lashings of cool and menace, on his bulky shoulders dose the film easily rest. Plot finds Shaft turning in his badge after the law proves useless to let racist murderer Walter Wade Junior (Christian Bale a sneering villain but awesome looking in a tux) out on the streets. Shaft vows to bring Wade to justice, by any means necessary. Though he also has other things on his plate, namely Latino drug lord Peoples Hernandez (Jeffrey Wright a riot) and some less than honourable police officers.The screenplay is a little trite, but as an action movie, one with the coolness and sparky humour, it really hits the required spots of those just after such easy minded fare. The support cast is a roll call of sound performers with the likes of Vanessa Williams, Dan Hedaya and Toni Collette fronting up, while the awesome ebullience of Busta Rhymes is very infectious.Isaac Hayes gloriously famous theme tune is still in place, pumped up by composer David Arnold, which ensures the feel of the original isn't lost, and Donald E. Thorin's photography is pin sharp and in turns gorgeous (night shots) and streetwise gritty. Shaft, the 2000 version, still bad-ass and sadly under appreciated. 7/10

The_Film_Cricket You know, it doesn't matter if this movie is a sequel, a prequel, a follow-up, a satire or a shot-by-shot remake. Shaft (this one) succeeds on it's own level because it rests in the hands of a skilled director. John Singleton cares about his characters, his story and has a sense of style.The story: A young black man (Mekhi Phifer) is murdered outside a local bar by a rich white racist (Christian Bale). A waitress (Toni Collette) witnesses the crime but is afraid to testify. John Shaft (Samuel L. Jackson) knows that she can be valuable to the case but she runs away and the kid goes free on bail.Frustrated, Shaft quits his job and becomes a freelance vigilante. He tracks down the waitress but finds more resistance. Meanwhile the rich kid tries to pay a local drug lord (Jeffery Wright) to find her and kill her. That's just the beginning. The story keeps adding on until we feel that the gunfights and the chase scene are well-deserved and don't feel tacked on. These are the very things that I looked for and missed in 'Mission: Impossible 2'.The movie drops itself somewhere between 'Boyz N the Hood' and 'Out of Sight'. It is exciting, the action scenes are done well and most of the actors seem to be having a good time. Sam Jackson fills the role previously played by Richard Roundtree (who plays his uncle) and it's no surprise to say that Jackson is as fun to watch as he is to listen to. He is always fun in the right role and this script gives him lots of dialogue to play with.What I noticed first about this film was Singleton's refusal to have the whole movie focus on the central character. There is a gallery of interesting characters here especially Jeffery Wright as a Latino drug lord named Peoples. His accent and his mannerisms must have come from studying Al Pacino in 'Scarface'. It is crucial in a movie like this that the actor playing the villain is having a good time. His gestures, his voice, his delivery are all wonderful.There are a few lulls in the script, I was a bit disappointed by the ending but that doesn't matter. Singleton takes a formula cop story and surrounds it with a lot of fresh dialogue, good characters and of course that great music.

daviddaphneredding Samuel L. Jackson is here in one of his best roles ever as the black no-nonsense NYC detective John Shaft who's mean, yet good-hearted and caring in his own strange and rough way; he's especially kind toward the scared bar waitress, played well by Toni Collette. He didn't mind being mean toward the Hispanic Peeples Hernandez, the part Jeffrey Wright played so convincingly. It was, to say the very least, extremely refreshing to see Vanessa Williams who portrayed Carmen Vasquez. Christian Bale, a very versatile actor, was the smart-aleck Walter Wade, Jr, for whom no sensible person could have any sympathy. Also, the unforgettable Richard Roundtree made a surprise, yet not-surprising, appearance as the "original" John Shaft, here John Shaft's uncle. Naturally, Isaac Hayes' musical contribution was a mind-sticker. And too, it is obvious that the director John Singleton made a great accomplishment. But while it was allegedly a serious drama, because of the filthy persiflage on the part of Jackson toward Wright and a few others, I was led to laugh, and did. They did for sure get carried away there. And yet, it was a story about a serious detective who hated injustice with a passion. Samuel L. Jackson, again, made you believe here that he was "the man who would risk his neck for fellow-man" for sure.