Shaft (2000)

Just when you thought that Samuel L Jackson couldn’t get any more badass, he himself proves to you that he CAN. And that he will. And, unfortunately, that’s the problem with Samuel L is that almost all his roles are somewhat generic and predictable, yet entertaining at the same time. This is the case with the sequel to 1971’s iconic blaxploitation film Shaft. The sequel, made in 2000, doesn’t carry the same kind of sophistication and finesse as its predecessor, but is entertaining if you want it to be.

John Shaft (junior?), played by Samuel L Jackson, is a maverick NYPD cop that specializes in busting people who happen to escape in the most exciting, adrenaline packed, commotion rousing manner ever. When faced with the task of apprehending a millionaire convicted of beating a black person to death, Shaft takes on more than he would have liked to handle, as he gets entrenched in an epic struggle to apprehend the culprit Walter Wade, played by Christian Bale with a devil-may-care disposition, in a gang busting, gun toting, face smashing extravaganza of blood, adrenaline, and pure machismo. The movie features a cameo appearance from the original John Shaft (senior?), Richard Roundtree, who, although much older, hasn’t lost his penchant for attracting the ladies, as the filmmaker would want us to assume. The movie also features rap star Busta Rhymes as a loud, obnoxious, and positively horrible sidekick to Samuel L, and a host of other minor characters that give the movie some entertaining quirks. The film takes the audience through a rough-and-tumble progression of underworld violence instigated by Christian Bale and his for hire Dominican drug running buddy Peoples Hernandez, played by Jeffery Wright. The story’s action packed narrative unfold as Walter Wade’s (unsuccessful) attempts to snuff out the only witness to his crime intertwine with Shaft’s determination to protect the witness and convict Wade.

As Widget Walls of needcoffee.com puts it; “This is a film where if you decide to take it too seriously, you will be seriously disappointed.” The key to enjoying the remake is to forget little details like the several cheesy lines of dialogue between Samuel L and some of the ladies that are craving his “L.D” (one can only guess what that is), the ease of which an expert gangbuster like Shaft can be located and followed by his enemies, and the fact that Peoples Hernandez can repeatedly drive a sharp weapon into himself out of frustration and still find the energy (and blood) to chase down the good guys through the streets of New York, among other things. Besides the obvious shortcomings and the fact that the sequel can’t be held in the same respect as its predecessor (even with Isaac Hayes’ smooth sounds from the original movie), the film isn’t as horrible as many would think. It will surely be entertaining for fans of Samuel L Jackson, lovers of the crime and action genres, and those who love guns, bullets, knives, speeding cars, the streets of New York; all materializing at the same time; but it would be a disappointment for those who expect the same Shaft from 1971.

Rich; white; black guy killer, Walter Wade

The movie attempts to displace broader issues of institutionalized racism, class conflict, police corruption, and gang violence in its narrative. The fact that the villain, Walter Wade, is a millionaire white guy, and the fact that he beat up an ordinary black guy to death with a nightclub fixture carries a certain undertone that seems to be a deliberate attempt by the moviemaker to convey a message. The complicity of the Dominican drug runner, Peoples Hernandez, in Wade’s machinations also show how income status, race, and extralegal activity can all be arbitrated by money in a world of chaos and confusion. I also wonder whether the fact that all the characters in the movie, good or bad, being able to expertly sneak up on each other in various parts of the movie was a kind of message that was being conveyed by the filmmaker; but then again, it could just be the filmmaker taking cues off the “Action Movies 101” manual to try and make the film more exciting than it should be.

All in all, the movie wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be. Even though Samuel L. has turned into a generic badass over the years, watching him is somewhat like humoring yourself by watching Will Ferrell movies for kicks (Yes. I don’t mind doing that from time to time). It was reasonably enjoyable, as long as I chose to forget the little details, and it wasn’t as bad to have left people gouging their eyes out for watching it. A word for Samuel L though; even if you spit out the same old brutal rhetoric till the day you die, don’t forget that no matter how old or hacked your taunts may be, there will never be anyone as bloody good at it as you are. Respect.

 

Bad Motherf***er!

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