Shaft (2000) Paramount/Action RT: 99 minutes Rated R (strong violence and language, brief nudity, drug content) Director: John Singleton Screenplay: Richard Price, John Singleton and Shane Salerno Music: David Arnold Cinematography: Donald E. Thorin Release date: June 16, 2000 (US) Cast: Samuel L. Jackson, Vanessa Williams, Jeffrey Wright, Christian Bale, Busta Rhymes, Dan Hedaya, Toni Collette, Richard Roundtree, Ruben Santiago-Hudson, Josef Sommer, Lynne Thigpen, Philip Bosco, Pat Hingle, Lee Tergesen, Daniel von Bargen, Mekhi Phifer, Francisco “Coqui” Taveras, Sonja Sohn, Peter McRobbie, Zach Grenier, Richard Cocchiaro, Ron Castellano, Freddie Ricks, Sixto Ramos, Andre Royo, Catherine Kellner, Angela Pietropinto. Box Office: $70.3M (US)/$107.2M (World)
Rating: ****
Who’s the cat that won’t cop out when there’s danger all about? I’m talking about Shaft. Can you dig it, baby? Right on!
Okay, those aren’t the exact lyrics to Isaac Hayes’ Oscar-winning theme song to the classic 1971 blaxploitation actioner, but they express the same idea; the idea that John Shaft II, like the uncle for whom he’s named, is one bad mother. Shaft is NOT a remake; it’s a sequel to the Shaft movies of the 70s- Shaft (1971), Shaft’s Big Score (1972) and Shaft in Africa (1973). Richard Roundtree reprises his role as the black private dick who would risk his neck for his brother man only this time he’s a supporting character. Taking the lead in this Shaft is Samuel L. Jackson (Pulp Fiction) who plays his nephew John Shaft II, an NYPD detective who plays by his own rules. Is there any other kind?
Let me just say that I LOVE Shaft! It’s a gritty, super-violent, kick-ass action flick about an angry cop who takes the law into his own hands after the system fails yet again to deliver justice. In this instance, it’s an arrogant, racist, rich white boy, Walter Wade Jr. (Bale, American Psycho), who flouts the legal system. He murders a black guy (Phifer, Clockers) outside a nightclub after exchanging words with him inside. Of course, it’s a racially-motivated killing. Shaft arrests Wade after an eyewitness, waitress Diane Palmieri (Collette, The Sixth Sense), points him out. Shaft gets transferred for punching the handcuffed Wade a couple of times. Wade is released on bail and flees to Switzerland. Diane disappears. It looks like all hope is lost for justice.
Two years later, Wade returns to New York on a private jet and is promptly rearrested by Shaft. He throws him in a cell with Dominican drug lord Peoples Hernandez (Wright, Basquiat) who tries to strike up a rapport with his well-off new cellmate. In court, Wade is once again granted bail. Thoroughly disgusted and righteously pissed off, Shaft quits the force right then and there by throwing his badge at the corrupt judge (Hingle, Sudden Impact) like it was a Chinese star. He decides to bring Wade to justice his own way unencumbered by the rules of the legal system. No badge, no rules. He intends to locate the missing witness and convince her to testify against Wade. Realizing what Shaft plans to do, Wade hires Peoples to find and kill Diane before Shaft gets to her.
One of the things I love about Shaft is how it brings the gritty cop flick of the 70s right into the new millennium. It has a distinctively old school look with all the blaxploitation trappings- dirty streets, dangerous neighborhoods, big cars, drugs, dealers on street corners, gold chains, corrupt cops, racism and yet-to-be computerized police stations. There’s this one scene at a car wash that feels like it belongs in a 70s blaxploitation movie. The character of Shaft himself is a throwback to an earlier time when cops like Dirty Harry took care of business. They didn’t concern themselves with trivial matters like civil rights. If somebody breaks the law, they’re going down one way or the other. Usually, it was “the other”. Seeing how the system consistently fails his people in favor of white privilege, Shaft gives it a figurative middle finger by quitting the force and going rogue. He’s clearly anti-establishment. At the same time, Shaft has a modern sensibility with great lines like “It’s Giuliani time!”, a line uttered by our hero as he prepares to go to war with People’s people.
As Shaft, Jackson is FREAKING AWESOME! No actor possesses his level of swagger. Yes, Mr. Roundtree will forever be the definitive Shaft. He redefined cool with his stylish threads, groovy demeanor and insatiable sex drive. He was also a total bad ass. Jackson’s Shaft takes after his Uncle John in many ways only a bit more complicated as he struggles to reconcile black with blue (“too black for the uniform, too blue for the brothers”). He’s helped by a solid supporting cast that includes Vanessa Williams (Eraser) as a narcotics cop who helps Shaft, rapper Busta Rhymes as Shaft’s driver/Guy Friday, Dan Hedaya (The Hurricane) as a dirty cop and Lee Tergesen (Oz) as a racist cop Shaft semi-jokingly calls “Cracker”. Busta, in particular, brings comic relief to the proceedings.
Bale is excellent as the obviously sociopathic son of a wealthy real estate developer (Bosco, Blue Steel) who fully believes the law doesn’t apply to him. Wright, affecting a believable Dominican accent, is equally good as the small-time drug lord with big aspirations. These two characters form one of the most interesting relationships in Shaft. Wade comes to Peoples with a proposal. Peoples sees it as an opportunity to expand his business into more affluent areas of the city. He proposes an exchange of services. He’ll murder the witness in exchange for Wade fronting for him in places he has access to that Peoples doesn’t. Listen to the way they talk to each other. Look how they size each other up. Their words and attitudes are subtly menacing. It’s never certain who has the upper hand.
Director John Singleton (Boyz n the Hood) does an amazing job with Shaft. It doesn’t strike a single wrong note. Everything about it works. It even has an actual opening credits sequence featuring Hayes’ iconic theme song (rearranged a bit). The soundtrack is completely contemporary with the best cut being R. Kelly’s “Bad Man”. The action scenes, car chases and shoot-outs are well-mounted. The plot isn’t at all complicated. It doesn’t try too hard to make a social statement. Shaft is exciting, thrilling and even humorous. It has a lot of cool violence. In one scene, Shaft pistol-whips a dealer by way of convincing him to leave a neighborhood kid alone. There are many shootings. It has the most satisfying ending since 10 to Midnight. Shaft is just GREAT! I dig it. Right on, man!
