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It makes sense.
It makes sense that director John Singleton direct the new version of "Shaft". It makes sense Samuel L. Jackson be involved in this remake, this update. It makes sense. All of it. What does not make sense is the resulting movie. Which may, in some way, go to explain the final number end game (a.k.a. the box office) for this movie. (And, which, incidentally, has nothing whatsoever to do with racism and keeping 'Da Man' down.) John Singleton's "Shaft" is a blaxpolitation film. Period. Just like the original. And like the original it is about Shaft. In this case, John Shaft, a tough cop who literally throws his badge at a judge to become a freelance vigilante. (John Shaft, by the way, is related to the original Shaft, as played by Richard Roundtree, who appears in a supporting role. So that ties the generational elements neatly together, and gracefully sidesteps any charges of retreading or recycling on the part of the moviemakers involved.) The overall plot of the story is familiar to anyone who has ever sat through the 1970s black exploitation movies or a "Dirty Harry" effort: Shaft is a good cop who can't do his job inside the law so he steps out. Of course, having a top cop in the force order him out of a given precinct is a nice touch and nod to the past efforts of this genre. Speaking of genre, all the elements that go to make the black exploitation film are present, and sufficiently done: Big cars, drugs, guns, guns, guns, cigars, guns, sleazy nightclubs, guns, gold chains, guns, babes, guns, black leather coats, guns, high priced hooch, guns, crooked cops (mostly, if not always, white), and guns. But. . . There is something here that wasn't present in the original "Shaft" or other films and movies like it. There is a sophistication, a sensibility that elevates this movie above the genre itself, grounded noticeably in the screenplay credited to Singleton, Richard Price, and Shane Salerno. The dialogue furthers this. Much of which, I suspect, was written by Singleton, whom, it was reported repeatedly during production, didn't like the work done by Price and, so, rewrote it, with help from the ever-talented Jackson, who makes Shaft to the letter.
The copyright of the article Shaft
in Film & TV Reviews is owned by James C. Hess. Permission to republish Shaft
in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.
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