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didn't want it to end

this movie was so hardcore and such a blast that the only disappointing thing about it was that, at some point it had to conclude itself. i really didn't want this movie to end. it was a perfect fit having the rawest, most hardcore actor in showbusiness (sam jackson) playing one of the most hardcore characters to ever appear onscreen. other than richard roundtree himself, sam jackson is probably the only other actor who could've pulled it off. i would give it 11/10 if i could

An entertaining action/ thriller.

Samuel L. Jackson turns in a fun entertaining performance as the super cool ex-cop turns private eye like his great uncle played by the original shaft:Richard Roundtree(Earthquake, Q). The Plot:An young african man was murder by racist yuppie(Christian Bale), but his too powerful to touch, since his father is one of the richest man in new york. The witness(Toni Collette) is too scared to testify, she running from the law. Since he run away from the law also after his court day. Now two years later... He came back home to new york, shaft put the psycho in jail but he was relase from jail again but Shaft also has a problem with drug load(Jeffery Wright in a standout performance) wants shaft dead but the murderer yuppie helps the drug lord to put shaft down.

DVD has great widescreen (2.35:1) transer and Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround also. But this special edition could have used more extras like Deleted Scenes(The scene where Jackson and Bale fighting eachother in a small airport), Audio Commentary from the director and cast. That could`ve being great on this DVD. An entertaining fun action to watch and see, a cool action film. Grade:B. Panavision.

Jackson Takes It Downtown

SPOILER ALERT A racially motivated, cold-blooded killing starts the wheels turning in the hard-hitting, action-packed `Shaft,' directed by John Singleton. When a young black man is killed outside of a restaurant by the son of wealthy businessman, NYPD cop John Shaft (Samuel L. Jackson) takes him down; but the kid, Wade, (Christian Bale), gets bail, then proceeds to skip to Switzerland for the next two years. Meanwhile, the only witness to the murder, a waitress named Diane (Toni Collette), disappears. When Shaft gets a tip that Wade is coming back to town, he makes it his business to see that justice is done, and meets him at the airport. When Wade gets bail again, Shaft resigns from the force, to take the matter into his own hands, and to do it on his own terms. First, he has to find Diane; without her, they have no case. During his pursuit, he runs afoul of drug lord Peoples Hernandez (Jeffrey Wright), whom Wade has hired to kill Diane. Making things even more difficult for Shaft are two wrong cops (Dan Hedaya, Ruben Santiago-Hudson), who are in league with Peoples. But Wade and Peoples soon find out they have their hands full dealing with Shaft, who is backed in his play by Uncle John (Richard Roundtree), and Carmen (Vanessa Williams), another of NYPD's finest. Jackson is outstanding as Shaft, a role that it seems he was born to play. He plays Shaft as one cool, in-your-face, intimidating you-know-what; savvy and fearless. This is one guy you do not want to get on the wrong side of. He's got the attitude, the manner, the whole package, and it all adds up to total credibility. Bale, as well, is excellent as Wade, to whom he lends a subtle, almost psychotic bravura, which aptly demonstrates his versatility as an actor. Another notable performance is turned in by Wright, who brings just enough menace to Peoples, without overplaying a role that would've been easy to take over the top. A lot of credit has to go to John Singleton, who doesn't miss a beat here. He knows this territory, and it shows; he captures the language, rhythms, and mood of the environment with which he's dealing perfectly, and keeps it all moving right along. Collette does well with her Diane, a pivotal, but rather minor character. She doesn't have a lot of screen time, but makes the most of it when she's on; her fear, and the anxiety wrought of her situation, is palpable. The supporting cast includes Busta Rhymes (Rosen), Josef Summer (Fleming), and Philip Bosch (Mr. Wade). There's something satisfying about watching Shaft do his thing; a self-assuredness and lack of political correctness he employees in the pursuit of real justice that is refreshing to behold. Most importantly, `Shaft' delivers on it's promise of action, and plenty of it, and with the added benefit of having story enough to support it. Singleton and Jackson definitely deliver the goods in this one, and of course there's the familiar Isaac Hayes theme on hand to underscore the proceedings, and it's every bit as effective now as it was in the original version. If you want to get the adrenalin pumping, check this one out. I guarantee you'll be glad you did.

Very good!

Samuel L. Jackson is simply brilliant in this movie, the role of Shaft suites him like a glow....Well first of this movie caught my attention right from the bat, music was great and beginning awesome.Shaft is hunting a race-murderer in this movie, Walter Wade(Christian Bale). (Unfortunate) for Walter Wade a waitress sees the kill and that makes him frightened. After the trial Wade's father posts bail and Walter flees the country to middle Europe for a couple of years. Shaft isn't really happy with that and plans to arrest him as soon he gets back to the States. Walter gets bored of Europe and returns home, just to see the friendly face of Shaft five seconds after getting of the plane. Walter then teams up with an ally in jail, when noticing that this person could help him. This ally is the funniest character in the movie ,laughed the second he opened his mouth :) (Peoples Hernandez)..basicly that's all the plot needed, a very enjoyable and relaxing movie. Sure some of the scenes are questionable but yet again this movie wasn't made to be at the same caliber as The Goodfather or Scarface. It isn't about that, so don't analyze everything and make a big deal out of it. Don't really get people that analyze every inch of the movie and criticize it, how about a coke and a smile? Relax! The action is good, humor great (in my opinion)..Had a few big laughs from the beginning to the end. Further more the acting was just brilliant from the main characters, quite impressive actually, they pull it off great! Not very surprisingly though, the cast is very good. If you enjoy mixing action with humor this is the movie to watch, it got me really relaxed and I enjoyed every second. 8/10

Great non-wholesome fun!

Shaft is just pure fun. Nothing serious. Nothing profound. Just a fun,violent movie where the hero prevails and the bad guys get theirs. What carries this whole movie is Samuel Jackson. He is having so much fun being Shaft that you can't resist going along with him.Some good action and some great lines from Shaft.Jeffery Wright is great.Christain Bale is perfectly despicable. He makes your skin crawl he's so obnoxious.A couple faults-The look of the film sometimes changes and looks low budget. But it doesn't detract too much from the overall experience. Second Busta Rhymes is kind of annoying. I wanted him to be good. I expected him to be good. But he wasn't. He kept reverting to an almost Peter Lorre sidekick impression, instead of just being himself.Still great summer fun. Go for the opening credits alone and to see Samuel Jackson saying "It's my duty to please the booty"

Sam Jackson was great, but the film didn't embody what Shaft was all about

Having been a fan of the original Shaft,
I had to agree with most critics in
respect to this movie. While it was
entertaining and Samuel L. Jackson
was at the top of his game, where the
heck was the Shaft we had grown to love
in the 1970s? Where was the guy that
entertained the ladies and got some
whenever he wanted? Instead, we get
a violent maniac with a major chip on
his shoulder who still scored less than
Uncle Shaft (the original). Fun times to
say the least, but it was still a bit below
expectations in the love department.

Who's the Man Who Won't Cop Out? Its Still John Shaft. Can you dig it!

If you get a chance go see the man, John Shaft, some night. He's still a bad Motherf***er, but not like in the old days. There's a mix of better and not as good in the new film. Its higher quality than the 1971 Richard Roundtree-Forest Parks blaxsploitation version. But not as fun, or inspiring as the first. Samuel L. Jackson occasionally has some good contemporary lines, but he's mainly ultraviolent instead of being adventurous and sexy like Richard Roundtree. Jackson-Shaft is 51 and turning few female heads in Harlem these days. Thats in heavy contrast to the 29 year old Roundtree who played Shaft in 1971. Roundtree cameos as Shaft's Uncle in the current film.The storytelling rocks back and forth between the straighforward tale of 1971 and some fairly artistic story-telling more reminiscent of today's art films. Actor Christian Bale plays a racist white man only slightly like the serial killer he played in American Psycho earlier this spring. Bale kills a black man then jumps bail and heads for Europe. The fugitive returns two years later. With no help from his despised father Bale enlists a neighborhood drug dealer to help him find and silence the only witness to the crime, a waitress played by Toni Collette. Jeffrey Wright plays the drug dealer with a panache that upstages nearly everyone else in the film. Toni Collette is wonderful as the waitress, but she doesn't have much screentime.I missed Samuel Jackson's John Shaft pimpwalk which was probably done over the credits with the Isaac Hayes song pumping behind it. I came in directly afterward and could kick myself for missing those credits. Nobody does a pimp walk like Shaft whether its Richard Roundtree or Samuel L. Jackson.Neither of the Shafts uses the Isaac Hayes-created theme to best effect. The song is so good, both films have to live up to it, and neither one does. Shaft is still a better song than a movie.I can't resist. Here is the great Isaac Hayes singing-talking about John Shaft from the largely instrumental record: Hayes: "Whose the blackest private dick, a sex machine to all the chicks!" Female Raelets-like Chorus: "Shaft!" Hayes: "Damn Right!" More Shaft musical interlude, then, Hayes, singing: "Who is the man who'd risk his neck for Brother Man.!" Female Raelets-like Chorus: "Shaft!" Hayes, talking now: "Can You Dig It!" another short Shaft musical interlude, then, Hayes: "Whose the cat that won't cop out when there's danger all about.." Female Raelets-like Chorus: "Shaft!" Hayes, agreeing: "Right Awn!" short minor Shaft musical interlude Hayes, talking: "You see this cat Shaft, he's a bad Mother-F*.," INTERRUPTED by the Raelets-like chorus, shout-singing: "Shut your Mouf!" Hayes, singing: "He's a complicated man, and noone understands him like his woman!" Female Raelets-like Chorus in orgasmic unison: "JOHN SHAFT!"John Shaft was kicking ass, taking names, and clockin' the hos while that Uncle Tom Danny Glover and Kiss-Assy Honky Mel Gibson were still in stained drawers. To watch either Shaft- Roundtree or Jackson- pimproll down the street to confront danger to this music gives you the same rush you feel from the Four Seasons' Walk Like A Man and other ultramale anthems. The song is the baddest boogie song of all time. It belongs on a list of Best Songs of the 20th Century even if it was a precursor of what later became Disco.The song/movie was unique in 1971 because it conceived a black detective as a super-hero in the same fantasy realm with James Bond and the other white detective heroes played by Bogart, Mitchum and others. It was very heady stuff for black folks accustomed to seeing members of their race- excepting Sidney Poitier, of course- playing servants and field hands, in movies up to that time. The Black Power movement of the late sixties cut Sidney Poitier's career short and laid the groundwork for a Shaft who solved his problems with guns and fists.Shaft paved the way for other blaxploitation characters like Pam Grier as Foxxy Brown and Superfly Ron O'Neal. In just two years the blaxploitation films fizzled, victims of their own excess. There were simply too many repetitions of the same cool ghetto dude theme. It took years for Spike Lee to arrive with a subtler black film. His Shes Gotta Have It arrived in 1986. Spike begat John Singleton who directed Boys in the Hood and the new Shaft. We are still playing out the latest black film renaissance today with Glover, Morgan Freeman, Will Smith, Denzel Washington, Grier and Vanessa Williams playing starring roles in an increasing number of black films. And in white films, also.

Shaft 4 still hits a Big Score

Shaft is back in one of the few quality action movies of summer 2000. This was better than Mission Impossible 2, had more heart than Gone in Sixty Seconds, and did not rely on Special effects like Hollow Man.It was good to see Shaft 4 finally some to fruitation and hopefully the planned Shaft 5 and 6 with be equally as good.Richard Roundtree of course is still Shaft and he still has his harim, as does the original director of Shaft.It was also nice to see that this movie was actually a sequel and not just a bloated remake because that would demean the value of the earlier Shaft films (Shaft, Shaft in Africa, and Shaft's Big Score).The action in the movie is good, the plot is interesting, the revenge on multiple sides is good. However, the idea of the police is interesting. In a way it makes sense as Shaft has always been his own man and has not been in with the police. However, it just seems to leap boundries to much.Even so, Shaft Scores and is recommended.Viewed in theatre (35mm) Rating 7

Shaft should be embarrassed, I know I was.

I confess. I fell asleep once or twice. Sorry.
Here, you have a consummate actor in Samuel L. Jackson, full of power, charisma and sheer good looks-not to mention menace-the ideal choice for a contemporary Shaft character and he's given nothing of substance to do.I have heard that this film had continual problems with infighting-the Producers vs. Jackson and the Director, John Singleton over the story and emphasis, and it shows.The film doesn't really work as a police procedural or even as anything but a violent, disjointed tale of cartoonish ghetto characters who either talk like Rosie Perez's cousin with a set of ill-fitting braces or look like middle linebackers recruited from a College football practice.(Well, I have to admit, I DID like Busta Rhyme's character)
Christian Bale is so...um..."whitebread" that you really have to wonder what they were thinking. Woefully implausible as a nemesis and hardly a match for Shaft. Why didn't they show more scenes to establish Shaft's character? His...dare I say it, motivation?(other than say, frustration at the White-controlled judicial system) Is he just meant to be an elemental force? Even the hilarious Peoples Hernandez had more fleshing out.
Where were Shaft's women? Vanessa Williams is nice, but there are some really attractive babes that he could have been hooked up with. Why no scenes to establish his relationship with his Uncle? Does Shaft pay rent? Visit his mom on Sundays? Feel compassion and/or despair at a Black mother's justice? Or was he just there to orchestra car chases, gunfire between dimwits and explosions. Crowd pleasers, for sure, but... It was hard to tell. Too bad. I sincerely hope the next one-if there is one, isn't tinkered with, or fought over, or "trimmed". Samuel Jackson is a winner. His talent was stifled here.

The genre is dead

I went into the movie theater expecting some excitement. Instead I found a movie in which huge men shunned in fear of a 6'2", 160lb. twig. Don't get me wrong. Samuel L. Jackson is an accomplished actor and has the right moves for the role, but not the size.Beside the Jackson issue, the movie lacked...well...a lot. It was basically a movie pulled out of the 70's, filled with current actors, and then slapped back on the big screen. The music just didn't fit the times. There really wasn't anything appealing to the eye and the one liners weren't that good.Sometimes its just better to not bring movies back from the 70's (ie. Mod Squad) and to let them rest in peace.

It's worth watching once to satisfy your curiosity. That's it.

It's worth watching once to satisfy your curiosity. That's it.

There's no suspense, nothing new, nothing interesting in this movie. Samuel Jackson could not save it.

Talk About Getting the "Shaft!"

If Paramount Pictures plans to produce a sequel to the new "Shaft," then they need to develop a stronger storyline and provide a bolder villain who can go the distance with "the cat who won't cop out when there is danger all about." Were it not for its blazing gunplay and blistering profanity, this second-rate but serviceable update of Gordon Park's "Shaft" would resemble an average episode of "NYPD Blue." The action scenes in director John Singleton's "Shaft" lack the bravura of the Richard Roundtree originals. Aside from an occasionally memorable one-liner, the dialogue pales by comparison with the lingo contrived by the late Oscar winning scenarist Ernest Tidyman. (Not only did Tidyman forge the "Shaft" character in a series of novels and two scripts, but he also penned the screenplay for director William Friedkin's "The French Connection!") The bankrupt quality in the creative storytelling process with "Shaft" (2000) boils down to its half-baked premise. No, Samuel L. Jackson doesn't replace Richard Roundtree as the seminal black private eye. Instead, he plays Shaft's nephew! Sounds like an urban contemporary alternative to "The Mask of Zorro!" Basically, "Shaft" focuses on hate crime. The racist son of a white real estate tycoon beats an unarmed African-American, Trey Howard (Mekhi Phifer of "Higher Learning"), to death outside an elite New York City restaurant. A white bartender on a cigarette break, Diane Palmieri (a frumpy Toni Collette of "The Sixth Sense"), witnesses the murder from across the street. Walter Wade Jr. (creepy Christian Bale of "American Psycho") threatens her about testifying against him in court. When Detective John Shaft" (Samuel L. Jackson of "Pulp Fiction") shows up in his stylist Armani leather trench coat, he punches the despicable Wade in the face twice, then devotes himself to tracking down the scared barkeep. He wants to sink Wade Jr., with Diane's testimony. Initially, Singleton characterizes Samuel L. Jackson's Shaft in one illuminating long shot that shows him striding up a street against on-coming traffic. Although Jackson's Shaft is the nephew to Roundtree's Shaft, he handles himself more like Inspector Harry Callahan's half-brother! Unfortunately, for Shaft, once Wade makes bail, the obnoxious anus skips town for sanctuary in far-off Switzerland. According to Wade in a telephone call to his nemesis, he made bail because of the two blows that Shaft dealt him that broke his nose. Meanwhile, in a move reminiscent of the Burt Reynolds' classic "Sharkey's Machine," Shaft finds himself reassigned from homicide to narcotics. Singleton reinvents Shaft as a volatile loose cannon on deck. After one of many drug busts, our reckless hero confronts a pint-sized "Scarface" wannabe, Peoples Hernandez (the impeccable Jeffry Wright of "Basquiat"), and locks the ice-pick toting drug dealer up on a technicality when the witless thug touches his bullet-proof vest.Two years elapses, and Wade tries to sneak back into Gotham, only to be nabbed as he gets off his plane by Shaft. Shaft is not the only person who cannot figure out why Wade returned. The "Shaft" scenarists never furnish a reasonable explanation why such a worthless prick like Wade Jr., would come back to stand trial. His father and he tolerate each other, and he despises his old man's mistress. Such an obvious oversight reflects poorly on Singleton and his scripters. When the Honorable Dennis Bradford (Pat Hingle of "Hang'em High") releases Wade for a second time, Shaft savors a "Dirty Harry" moment. Defiantly, he hurls his N.Y.P.D. shield like a kung fu weapon so that it embeds itself in the wall inches from the judge's head. Easily, this is the beset single moment in "Shaft." Quitting the force (like hundreds of other renegade Hollywood cops) Shaft resolves to find Diane.Christian Bale and Jeffry Wright make convincingly reptilian villains, but they emerge as narrative welterweights that don't stand a snowball's chance in hell against a heavyweight like Samuel L. Jackson's "Shaft." What "Shaft" desperately needs but cannot conjure up is a bold adversary like the villains in Gordon Park's "Shaft" & "Shaft's Big Score" and John Guillermin's "Shaft in Africa." When our villains argue, Singleton exposes how essentially weak they are compared to Shaft. Neither Wade nor the vertically challenged Peoples pose much of a threat to Shaft. "Eraser" heroine Vanessa Williams registers credibly as a tough-minded police woman who backs up Shaft in a tight spot. Dependable Dan Hedaya plays another crooked cop in the vein of the devious policeman that he portrayed in Norman Jewison's "The Hurricane." Ostensibly, "Shaft" unfolds as a gritty, authentic, but incredibly prosaic police procedural thriller with no romantic diversions. Everything in "Shaft" has been done before and done better. The filmmakers break no new ground dramatically or in terms of action stunts. Writer & director John Singleton of "Boyz N the Hood" and his scenarists Richard Price of "Clockers" and Shane Salerno of "Armageddon" let two banal subplots masquerade as the main plot. Action mystery thrillers are defined by the greed of the villain. The "Shaft" villains are mindless miscreants. Singleton combines them but together, they fail to substitute for a sturdy villain.Credit the "Shaft" producers for having the good sense not to tamper with Isaac Hayes' immortal theme song. British composer David Arnold of "Tomorrow Never Dies" reprises elements of Hayes' Academy Award winning music throughout the action for maximum effect and succeeds without having to alter the tracks. The "Shaft" producers should be applauded also for giving the original "Shaft"—Richard Roundtree—a few scenes to recreate his groundbreaking blaxploitation character. Nevertheless, compared with the earlier "Shaft" epics, the new "Shaft" struggles lamely to make up for its dire lack of romance and larger-than-life villains. Jackson delivers an abrasive, often ballistic performance as the title hero and is very convincing. Ultimately, the premise that the new "Shaft" has to have the same name of his uncle and be a cop (even an ex-cop) shows how short-sighted the producers were when they decided to revive the "Shaft" franchise.

More like a sequel to the TV series

What a total waste of time. The new Shaft takes forever to get started (the story begins at least three times) and never really finds its way eventually degenerating into recycled action set-pieces where not one villain can shoot straight enough to hit the hero(you can actually see them waiting for him to shoot them) and cars flip over! The clumsy writing also features the kind of lame dialogue where everybody repeatedly tells the hero how fabulous he is just in case the audience might not think so on their own, and plotting so dimwitted the climax renders pointless everything that preceded it. Where Gordon Park's Shaft offered a gritty evocation of 70's New York and a commentary on contemporary racial and sexual politics while re-envisioning the classic detective hero, the new Shaft comes off as little more than another big budget homage to bad 70's TV. Probably the only time I haven't minded people rudely talking during a movie, it was nice to have something to pay attention to.

Seat JUMPER!

I have went to see this movie three times. I can't wait for the price to be reduce, so I can purchase several copies for my family and friends. So much action, laugther and even some tears. It is an action pack movie and full of excitment! The whole family will enjoy. Keep Up the Good work John. We are proud of you!

I've been Shafted

One of the worst movies I've ever seen. I sat through it only out of respect for Samuel L. Jackson-and there were enough laughs to keep me stationary, but I don't think they were intentional. Some great lines from Pulp Fiction that made me feel nostalgic for a real action movie.
Then there was Vanessa Williams who has apparently done a Kathleen Turner to the point where you hardly even recognize her. And the bad guy from American Psycho with another bad guy that went to Amherst but can barely speak English....you know what I'm sayin? Pitiful 4/10

OK, here's a middle-aged white woman's opinion . . .

of the new Shaft. This movie is definitely fresh and fun, with fabulous acting. Jeffrey Wright was a revelation. I've been a big fan of Sam Jackson since Jungle Fever and I'll see anything he's in. He's definitely the man for this character. However, his John Shaft is somewhat too reactive and jumpy, and because of this, some of his successes and escapes seem unrealistic. On the other hand, he's very human. And this could make for some interesting sequels, especially if his Shaft is allowed to develop more of the smoothness of Richard Roundtree's. Jackson is still an amazing presence on the screen whatever he does. The music sounds as wonderful as ever. The plot is gripping if you're a justice freak like me, because you really want to see the genuinely evil villain played by Christian Bale get what's coming to him. I don't want to spoil it by saying whether he does or doesn't, but I will say that what happened wasn't what I expected, and I'm not sure I preferred it this way. This, plus a few plot holes and unrealistic escapes prevented me from totally loving the movie, but I did enjoy it a lot, and I'll see it again on video to catch what I missed. There is a lot of intelligence in it, and I attribute much of that to Richard Price's script (he also wrote the excellent Clockers). Still, I find myself hoping there will be a sequel I can give a whole-hearted 10 to.

shaft revisited

Nineteen years after the original "Shaft" which is often described as the first black copmovie ever, comes a remake. Luckily enough for us we don't have to see the same story twice as the only thing that this movie has in common with the original one is the hard cop Shaft. This time Shaft is played by Samuel L. Jackson, who makes once again a great job. Shaft's policy is to do the just things in balance with justice but that's often only to be done with the language of the fist. Shaft has to cope with two enemies who accidentally are meeting each other and become a common enemy. The big villain here is William Wade (Christian Bale and it looks just like he's reacting his American Psycho-character) who committed a racist murder but due to money and the right connections he can get out of it. Shaft swears that he will catch the villain and that happens two years later when he joins hands with that other bad man Peoples (Jeffrey Wright). "Shaft" isn't exactly the best movie ever made but from a director (John Singleton) who made stuff like "Boyz n the hood" or "2 Fast 2 Furious" we don't expect such things, it's even more a surprising thing that he brings a more than okay film which is only spoiled by its routine. Also nice to see that we see here Richard Roundtree (the original Shaft) teaming up as Shaft's uncle.

SAMUEL L JACKSON IS THE MAN................SHAFT!!!!!!!

This movie is one of my favorites with Samuel L Jackson. The whole plot is about John Shaft (Jackson) who plays a frustrated NYPD cop where the system is corrupt and justice is never served for those who need it. A young black man is killed by a rich white college student (Christian Bale) and his rich fathers money can buy his freedom. Shaft is frustrated by this and bends the rules and the law to get his form of street justice.
Then along comes Peeples Hernandez, a big drug baron, who crosses Shaft and gets involved in the action. Jackson plays the role of Shaft beautifully. He is cocky, tough, charming, and flambouyent (sp). He wears all black and is bald, looking more like a mobster than a cop in NY. Shaft is a man of the city as he knows the streets as they were his back yard. He is not afraid of anyone or anything in his quest to make sure that justice is served here. Lots of racial name calling in this movie, but in Hollywood....what else is new?This movie is pure action, but has it's humerous moments too! Richard Rountree (the original Shaft from 1971) is in the movie too as he plays Shaft's (Jackson's) Uncle Shaft. The music is great as is the action! This one is a must see.

Fascist "remake" of a once beautiful film.

Contains spoilersthe original SHAFT was a beautiful homage to the "Hustla"; the slick superman having his own way with things, women and the law. The original Shaft, played by Richard Roundtree was so cool he even taught the italian mafiosi how to drink espresso ("You know what this is? This is an Expresso (sic) tell'em to put some garlic into it,you might like it")Sam Jackson's SHAFT bears no resemblance to this smooth original. He's an old fascist cop making his way through the ghetto like Charles Bronson's controversial vigilante from the "Death Wish" films. BUT - SHAFT is no vigilante. He's the law. His violence is institutionalized. And the film celebrates it. Although the main plot is a classic blaxploitation one : Black cop chasing a white sonofabi*ch (in this case a nazi murderer) ; it always gets mixed up with the subplot; SHAFTs personal war on a quite peaceful coke dealer named Peoples. The final showdown is NOT with the Nazi bad guy; but with Peoples : the only character that bears any resemblance to a classic blaxploitation hero. And Peoples gets killed, cold bloodedly by the avengeful Shaft. His last remark made; before Shaft guns him down is.
"I am not your enemy. I'm Peoples"
He's the people; and Shaft's at war with it. Do see this film; and hate it.

How can you not like him?

Shaft: A young man is viciously murdered and his assailant, a wealthy trust fund baby, flees the country to escape prosecution. After spending several years in "exile" he returns, to the US and into the arms of John Shaft, a rogue cop with an attitude, and an overdeveloped sense of justice. And he's one mean mutha… I remember watching Shaft as a kid and thinking how cool he was - nothing ruffled him, he didn't waste his time with small talk, he kicked butt, got the women and always came out on top. And he had an awesome theme song. It would have been easy to try to recreate the man, whip up an intricate plot, and devote more time to character development, but then it wouldn't be Shaft. Singleton avoids any shades of gray, and keeps it simple: there is no mistaking the villains, there are lots of guns, violence and a no-nonsense-kick-ass hero. There is however one element central to the blaxploitation genre that has been left out - the hero doesn't get the girl(s) (Richard Roundtree does his best to remedy this). Luckily, the casting is bang on, so I can forgive this oversight.Samuel L. Jackson is without a doubt the only actor who could have carried off this role: he is talented, self-assured, witty and oozes cool. He slips into the role with such ease, that you forget he's only playing a character. I was also interested to discover that he ad-libbed some of his dialogue to make it sound more genuine. If you don't like violent movies, or require a lot of substance, stay away.
If however you want an entertaining, mindless matinee, you will have fun.