When you see sequels and remakes playing at your local theater you know the summer movie season must be in full swing. Shaft is a sleek, smart remake of the early seventies blaxploitation classic. With Samuel L. Jackson playing the nephew of the original Shaft (Richard Roundtree has a small part reprising his most famous role) and John Singleton directing.
The story line is simple, the son of a very powerful man commits a racially motivated murder in front of a lone witness. After that it boils down to whether or not Shaft can keep her alive long enough to testify.
The real joy of this movie, aside from the action of which there is plenty, is watching the actors bring to life these vivid and descriptive characters. Richard Price, of Clockers fame, co-wrote the screenplay (with Singleton) and it shows in the dialogue. He writes cop speak, Italian American dialects and a mix of Latino and African American hip hop slang with equal aplomb.
In a cast that includes Vanessa L. Williams, Christian Bale, Toni Collette, and Busta Rhymes, Jeffrey Wright is a standout as the drug dealer Peoples. As for Samuel L. Jackson, he gives the larger than life John Shaft just the right combination of intelligent hero and ghetto badass. Look for Gordon Parks Sr. in a cameo (he's the older gentleman whom Shaft refers to as Mr. P).
Although the plot is a bit routine, the interpretation, i.e. a big budget action movie with a largely minority cast, is not. This one is worth seeing.
