Shaft

Plot

New York City police detective John Shaft (nephew of the original 1970s detective) goes on a personal mission to make sure the son of a real estate tycoon is brought to justice after a racially-motivated murder.

Release Year: 2000

Rating: 5.9/10 (38,910 voted)

Critic's Score: 50/100

Director:
John Singleton

Stars: Samuel L. Jackson, Vanessa Williams, Christian Bale

Storyline
Cool and deadly NYPD detective John Shaft arrests Walter Wade, Jr. in a racially-motivated slaying. The eye witness disappears, Wade jumps bail for Switzerland, and Shaft is livid. Two years later, Wade returns to face trial, confident his father's money and influence (and racial politics) guarantee an innocent verdict. Shaft looks hard for the witness, so Wade wants someone to kill her. He turns to a ghetto drug king, Peoples Hernandez, who's willing to kill for money, use Wade as a route to rich drug customers, and shaft Shaft. Can Shaft find the witness, convince her to testify, and shepherd her through the hail of bullets that Peoples is sure to let fly?

Writers: Ernest Tidyman, John Singleton

Cast:

Samuel L. Jackson
–

John Shaft

Vanessa Williams
–

Carmen Vasquez

Jeffrey Wright
–

Peoples Hernandez

Christian Bale
–

Walter Wade, Jr.

Busta Rhymes
–

Rasaan

Dan Hedaya
–

Jack Roselli

Toni Collette
–

Diane Palmieri

Richard Roundtree
–

Uncle John Shaft

Ruben Santiago-Hudson
–

Jimmy Groves

Josef Sommer
–

Curt Fleming

Lynne Thigpen
–

Carla Howard

Philip Bosco
–

Walter Wade, Sr.

Pat Hingle
–

Hon. Dennis Bradford

Lee Tergesen
–

Luger

Daniel von Bargen
–

Lt. Kearney

(as Daniel Von Bargen)

Taglines:
Still the man, any questions?

Details

Official Website:
Filmax (Spanish) |
Paramount |

Release Date: 16 June 2000

Filming Locations: Broadway & 20th Street, Chelsea, Manhattan, New York City, New York, USA

Box Office Details

Budget: $44,000,000

(estimated)

Opening Weekend: $21,714,757
(USA)
(18 June 2000)
(2337 Screens)

Gross: $107,196,498
(Worldwide)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

99 min

Did You Know?

Trivia:

Isaac Hayes, the composer of the Shaft theme song, Gordon Parks, the director of the original
Shaft, and John Singleton, director of this version, all have cameos.

Goofs:

Incorrectly regarded as goofs:
The Trinidad and Tobago Flag hanging in Rasaan's apartment is upside-down (presumably because he didn't know any better).

Quotes:

Peoples Hernandez:
[In jail]
What you in here for, man? Income tax evasion?

User Review

Still the man…

Rating: 8/10

I went to see this movie expecting to see a big-budget remake of the
original Shaft, and I got it.

This version is a lot more violent than the original, it didn't seem to be
in Shaft's style. The pacing and editing in the first half of the movie
were
fast and smooth. John Singleton did a great job in establishing Shaft's
character and the plot. During the second half of the movie (when the
action really begins), however, the movie starts to lose it's original
slickness.

Samuel L. Jackson is truly a great Shaft, he's probably the only actor out
there (besides the great Richard Roundtree) who could pull this off, and he
does an excellent job. This time around, though, we don't really see
Shaft's "Ladies' Man" side, except for a couple of innuendoes with minor
characters. Like I said, Jackson's Shaft is a little too violent (even for
a desensitized, Tarantino fan like me). Christian Bale, after playing a
cold,rich, psychopathic killer in "American Psycho", plays a…cold, rich,
psychopathic killer. He's perfect in his ability to make us feel
absolutely
no compassion for him. It's impossible not to mention Bustah Rhymes in a
small but great role as Shaft's driver/assistant. He provides some of the
comic relief, taking some strain off of Jackson.

I thoroughly enjoyed Isaac Hayes' Oscar-Winning theme, which plays
throughout the movie.

This Shaft is a great movie for anyone who's a fan of the original, Sam
Jackson, or great action movies in general.