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 y2g revival of john shaft is as enjoyable as it is .
much like the film that started the franchise , this _shaft_’s plot doesn’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 isn’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 doesn’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 doesn’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 doesn’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 .