SHAFT -----
Shaft. Can you dig it?
In 1971, Richard Roundtree starred as "the cat who won't cut out, when there's danger all about" in Gordon Parks's seminal blaxploitation film, "Shaft." That film spawned two sequels and a TV series. Now, nearly 30 years later, Samuel L. Jackson reprises the role of the title character, this time as the NYPD cop and nephew of the legendary black private dick. John Singleton ("Boyz 'N the Hood") directs the new "Shaft" and puts an updated and contemporary spin on the original concept.
ROBIN:
John Shaft is a well-respected New York City detective assigned to a case involving the brutal beating of a young black man in a racially motivated incident. The prime suspect is Walter Wade Jr. (Christian Bale), the scion of a powerful, billionaire real estate tycoon with huge clout in the city. When Shaft arrests the arrogant young man, he learns that there may have been an eyewitness to the assault. The victim dies and Shaft becomes the champion of the murdered boy's mother and vows to take Wayne Jr. down.
Money talks, however, and Wayne is released on a pittance of bail, only to flee the country to escape prosecution. The witness, Diane Palmieri (Toni Collette), has also gone to ground, so Shaft's vendetta against Wayne comes to an abrupt halt with no culprit and no witness. Flash forward two years. Shaft gets a tip that the younger Wade is sneaking back into the country and catches the killer cold. But, once again, political influence and money are more powerful than justice is and Wayne is released on bail. Shaft, disgusted with the corrupt proceedings, hurls his badge at the judge and vows to quit the force and resolve the gross miscarriage of justice himself.
Shaft realizes that the only way he is going to take Wayne Jr. down is to find Diane. Wayne knows this, too, and hires a small time drug dealer, Peoples Hernandez (Jeffrey Wright), to ferret out the only person who can put Wayne behind bars. Peoples contracts a pair of corrupt detectives to help out in the search by tailing Shaft and reporting his moves. It becomes a race against the clock as the disgruntled detective lays his life on the line to protect Diane.
John Singleton co-wrote the screenplay with Richard Price and Shane Salerno and they come up with a hip, fast-moving action adventure that pays homage to the original and the best of the blaxploitation genre. From the opening credits, with the familiar sound of Isaac Hayes singing the original title song, to the cheesy wipes between scenes and the sometimes equally cheesy score, we are seeing a film that dedicates itself to the genre. But, the new "Shaft" still maintains its modern, edgy nature that has evolved in film since the 70's. "Shaft" is a heartfelt homage to the genre.
Samuel L. Jackson is John Shaft personified. The actor has always been a favorite of my mine and I had high expectations for him as the new age Shaft. He does not disappoint. The actor captures the sassy, irreverent nature of Roundtree's original while giving the role his own imprint. Jackson has the ability to switch from amiable to brutal in the wink of an eye, which suits the character perfectly. If there isn't a sequel or two coming out of this, I'll be hornswaggled.
Supporting cast is first rate with Jeffrey Wright making the biggest splash as the flamboyant Hispanic drug dealer, Peoples. Wright is an extraordinary character actor and almost leaps off the screen as the small statured, but volatile and violent, drug lord. The actor is a true chameleon in his acting and gives an attention grabbing perf. When a shootout ends in a tragic loss for the Peoples, the agony and vengeance he feels is palpable. The actor maintains his edge from beginning to end.
And the rest of the cast isn't shabby, either. Vanessa L. Williams goes completely out of her usual glamour roles and plays a tough, capable cop, and Shaft's friend and partner, Carmen Vasquez. It's hard to hide the actress's beautiful looks, but her costuming as a no nonsense police officer does a good job of hiding her inherent sexiness and allows Carmen's persona to come to the surface. Christian Bale does a mini version of his recent, outrageous Patrick Bateman in "American Psycho," but with a cocky toughness, not lunacy. He's overshadowed by Wright's brilliant performance, though, and becomes more an object than a character by the end of the film. Toni Collete, who can be terrific, is merely OK as the fugitive witness, Diane. It's not her fault, though, as there is little for her to do except be the target of everyone's search. Richard Roundtree gets to play up the gracefully aging private eye and ladies' man as John's Uncle John.
Tech credits are tops with cinematographer Donald Thorin capturing the feel of the original but with an up to date image that is slick and new Millennium. The frequent night shots are crisp and the action scenes and shootouts are tight. Costume designer Ruth E. Carter gets high marks with her design of Shaft's mostly black wardrobe, making him look like an avenging wraith when in action. Editing is brisk and suits the fast pace that Singleton maintains in the just over 90 minute flick. Brevity has its charms.
The only problems with the all-new "Shaft" are some enormous plot holes and a trite, almost perfunctory ending that doesn't quite satisfy, detracting from the rest of the film. I had me some good fun, still, and give it a B.
LAURA:
Director John Singleton ("Boyz in the Hood") breaks out of a slump with a suprisingly adept, worthwhile remake in his modernized "Shaft." Samuel L. Jackson is John Shaft, newphew of the original John Shaft (Richard Roundtree, who appears in this film as well) from the 1971 film which epitomized the Blaxploitation film.
This new Shaft begins as a member of the NYPD (Uncle John was and still is a P.I.) whose vigilante urges cause a despicable hate crime murderer (Christian Bale as rich kid William Wade) to make bail and leave the country. Shaft hurls his badge at the judge and becomes a true vigilante (when he's not bedding the numerous women lining up for the privilege) until we see the 'Two Years Later' subtitle which precedes Wade's return to the U.S. (In a major plot hole, which is either a result of editting for run time or a huge problem with Shane Salerno's ("Armageddon") screenplay) the audience is never given a single reason why Wade would return to face murder charges, except for the arrogance of wealth.)
Wade encounters another Shaft adversary, drug lord Peoples Hernandez (Jeffrey Wright, "Basquiat"), once Shaft's ensured Wade's weekend in the clink, and Peoples is drawn to Wade's lifestyle (Peoples covets class). Wade, knowing that Shaft has an ace-in-the-hole witness (Toni Collette, "The Sixth Sense," as Diane Palmieri), approaches Peoples to take her out, once he's infuriatingly out on bail for a second time (the judge's concession to not being totally bought this time around is to demand empoundment of Wade's passport). Peoples asks for admittance to Wade's world, which Wade dismisses out of hand, but Peoples gets his revenge for when Wade gets mugged of the hit payment (oh yeah, there are two corrupt cops playing everyone against the other, too, although Shaft is clever enough to pull off the mugging and lay it at their doorstep as a betrayal of Peoples) and is forced to deal drugs for him.
There are some big plots holes, mostly concerning Wade's storyline, but Singleton keeps the story moving along so energetically and stages the action so kineticly (kudos to cinematographer Donald E. Thorin, "Thief," as well) that the film's coolness and entertainment value outweigh it's problems. Heck - this is far better than the original.
Samuel L. Jackson oozes cool as John 'It's my duty to please that booty' Shaft. He blows the Grade-B Richard Roundtree off the screen with his formidable acting chops and screen charisma. Yet even Jackson takes a second seat to Jeffrey Wright, who gives a Best Supporting Actor Oscar nomination-worthy performance as Peoples (as in "I takes care of my peoples"), the class-craving, carved facial hair, icepick poking drug lord who's entertaining to be around until Shaft shoots his brother during a standoff - then he gets real ugly (not to mention psychotic).
Bale does a twist on his "American Psycho" persona as Wade, throwing a bit of New York Irish into the mix - he's good, but suffers from the way his storyline is handled. Vanessa Williams is surprisingly effective as an NYPD officer who stays loyal to Shaft - her looks don't get in the way of her believability in the role. Toni Collette is mostly wasted as the witness to Wade's crime whom everyone's after. Rapper Busta Rhymes is fun as Rassan, a guy who's called to pay back favors by Shaft.
The distinctive "Shaft" theme is updated and effectively used to cue Jackson's every move by Isaac Hayes.
This is the first surprise treat of the summer multiplex season. Who's the man - Shaft!
B
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