Shaft

I have a feeling that I'll be nearly alone in my feelings for this movie. For a lot of people, Shaft is an icon. It's a name we give to people who behave certain ways. In this way, Shaft is as much an adjective as a person or a movie. You can use the word for descriptions. It's rare when a movie has that kind of influence.

But nobody has ever told me that the original Shaft was a great film. They all love it because it's so over the top. Having never seen it, I can't attest to their sentiments but I trust their opinions. They say it's not a good film by any stretch of the imagination, but they love it because of the main character and the coolness of the 70's he represents. Okay, I understand that.. But, honestly, was a new film about this character needed?

This Shaft, circa 2000, is a totally new story. Director Jon Singleton is the primary force behind the movie, having written its script, and produced and directed it. I can see that he saw dollar signs when developing the script for this movie. He recognized the status of Shaft in teenage audiences and wanted to capitalize. This wasn't a franchise that asked to be continued, Singleton asked to continue it.

Which brings us to analysis of the new film. For the most part, the entire second act is much too long and drawn out. It's hard to identify one thing that really demands the amout of screen time that it captured. Christian Bale makes a captivating bad guy (as seen in the sadistic American Psycho) and I would have liked to see almost the entire antagonist angle of the film be centered on him. Instead, the film shifts to a character whose speech is unbearably hard to understand. The accent is no problem, it's just that he needs to open his mouth a little more when he speaks.

The action scenes were nice. The violence was surprisingly abundant during the shootout sequences, and that kind of realism was welcome. And of course, the good guy never misses a single shot. It's over-the-top action, with no real-life possibility of ever occurring.

Samuel Jackson, a definite highlight, just oozes intensity into the role. They could not have picked a better John Shaft. He, with a smirk, spits out the best lines of dialogue like bullets. He's also an enduring physical presence, standing there with his Georgio Armani suits and his dark sunglasses. This is Jackson's film. He's the center for virtually the entire running time. Whenever he's not on screen, the film drags even more than it normally does.

Isaac Hayes rehashes his old Shaft theme with new vigor - and it's darn catchy. It's a splendid redoing of his most classic number. It wonderfully sets the tone of the film while playing over the opening credits. What would Shaft be without this famous song?

I feel that some editing here and there and some touch-ups on the characters could really have helped things. I look back on the movie and I wonder what really important went on during the course of those two hours? In between the spotty pacing there had to have been something. I'm just not one to recognize it.

On a scale of 1 to 10 characters who deliver one time out of two : 4