cinematically speaking , gordon parks ' original 1971 _ shaft
_ is not a great film .
a bit slow at times and more than a little rough around the edges as it builds to its climactic explosion of violent action ,
this spirited but formulaic yarn that initially brought ernest tidyman 's
" black private dick
that 's a sex machine to all the chicks " to the big screen hardly qualifies as groundbreaking filmmaking .
yet nearly 30 years after its original release -- and long after the genre it spawned , " blaxploitation , " died with that decade -- the 1971 _ shaft
_ remains an extremely entertaining watch , never having completely escaped pop culture consciousness .
the reason for this is the same one that explains the film 's connection with moviegoers far beyond the target african - american audience : the title character of john shaft .
while the fact that the strong , smart , virile , and superbly suave shaft is black is the primary factor for his historical and cultural significance , his broad - based appeal stems from an idea that transcends race : he is comfortable , confident , and proud about who he is , and anyone who had a problem with that could simply kiss his ass .
this fact also explains why john singleton 's y2 g revival of john shaft is as enjoyable as it is .
much like the film that started the franchise , this _ shaft _ 's plot does n't score points in the originality department , but the energy level and smooth attitude distinguishes it from standard crime thrillers .
contrary to what has been reported over the past few months , this _ shaft _ is not a remake of the original film , but more of a sequel / spinoff .
the star audiences know and love from the original film and its first two sequels
( 1972 's _ shaft's_big_score !
_ and 1973 's _ shaft_in_africa _ ) , richard roundtree , once again plays john shaft , who still runs a private investigation firm in new york city .
however , the focus of the film lies on his same - named nephew ( samuel l. jackson ) , who , as the film begins , is a cop whose take - no - crap demeanor constantly leaves him at odds with his superiors .
when a privileged young man named walter wade jr .
( christian bale ) accused of a brutal , racially - motivated murder is allowed to be released on bail , a disgusted shaft leaves the force and decides to take matters into his own hands as a p. i.
but that 's easier
said than done , for also standing in the way of shaft and his way of justice is peoples hernandez ( jeffrey wright ) , a dominican gangster who is hired by walter to rub out waitress diane palmieri ( toni collette ) , the only eyewitness to his crime .
peoples -- or , rather , wright is also the big obstacle in jackson 's way toward commanding this film .
peoples is more of an outrageous comic character for most of the running time , and wright is insanely funny during these stages .
however , he is n't so funny as to make the character come off as goofy and buffoonish , and
peoples ' eventual turn to more serious villainy is seamless and believable
( which probably would not have been the case had he been played by original casting choice john leguizamo , who bowed out before filming ) .
it 's no easy task to steal a film from the jackson ( who is his usual captivating , charismatic self here ) , but that 's exactly what wright does -- and makes it seem effortless .
then again , with such a talented ensemble surrounding him , it is not too surprising
that jackson 's impressive star turn does n't quite tower over the rest ; he is strongly complemented not only by wright but all his other co - stars .
bale has already proven his ability to play an uppity killer in _ american_psycho _ , so it only follows that his performance as a similar , less exaggerated character would be spot - on .
collette lends the film some convincing and welcome dramatic weight as the frightened , conflicted diane .
busta rhymes brings some good laughs as shaft 's sidekick rasaan .
registering not as strongly -- but through no fault of their own -- are vanessa williams ( as tough narcotics cop carmen vasquez ) and a dismayingly underused roundtree ; they simply are given little to do in the script credited to richard price , singleton , and shane salerno .
( jackson also has little to " do " in a sense ; some throwaway footage during the opening credits aside , his shaft does n't even have one sex scene . )
that singleton once again proves his ability with actors is an especially good thing since he 's not really an action director .
this is not to say that he does a bad job with the numerous gunfights and the requisite foot and car chases .
they move well ( as does the film as a whole ) and are reasonably exciting ; it 's just that there 's nothing terribly inventive about them .
these set pieces are functional in the way the script is : they work well enough , but they 're unsurprising and conventional .
but if there 's anything that a _ shaft _ movie does well , it 's make the familiar look cool -- and this _ shaft _ keeps that tradition alive .
from the slick title sequence -- scored , of course , to isaac hayes ' ever - infectious oscar - winning theme song , which singleton wisely sprinkles throughout the film -- on , the film looks great and easily sweeps the viewer into its world with its energetic bravado .
even a common visual trick such as employing fancy wipes for scene transitions not only feels unforced , it feels necessary .
style does n't exactly make for a great film , but when it comes to _ shaft _
, that 's of little consequence .
what matters above all else is having a good time , and the latest _ shaft _ should be just the first of many fun rides to be had with this bad mutha -- shut your mouth .
Output: P