Shaft
***
Rated on a 4-star
scale
Screening venue: Odeon (Manchester City Centre)
Released in the UK by UIP on September 15, 2000; certificate 18; 99 minutes;
country of origin USA; aspect ratio 2.35:1
Directed by John Singleton; produced by
Scott Rudin, John Singleton. Written by Richard Price,
Shane Salerno, John Singleton; from a story by Shane
Salerno, John Singleton; based on the novel by Ernest Tidyman
and the motion picture "Shaft" (1971). Photographed by Donald E. Thorin;
edited by John Bloom, Antonia Van Drimmelen.
CAST.....
Samuel L. Jackson..... John Shaft
Christian Bale..... Walter Wade Jr
Toni Collette..... Diane Palmieri
Vanessa Williams..... Carmen Vasquez
Jeffrey Wright..... Peoples Hernandez
Busta Rhymes..... Rasaan
Jack Hedaya..... Jack Roselli
Richard Roundtree..... Uncle John Shaft
Gordon Parks's 1971 movie "Shaft" gave us the first
memorable black private eye, and although it contains its fair share of cheesy
scenes, that one fact will ensure its place in cinema history. It also had
an Oscar-winning theme song by Isaac Hayes that still excites nightclub patrons
today, and a hero played by Richard Roundtree as someone with effortless
cool. His John Shaft strutted all like he didn't give a damn, looking sharp
in a dark polo neck and long leather coat, with a terse voice that spoke
no nonsense. "Where the hell you goin', Shaft?" a white cop asks him at the
start of the 1971 picture. "I'm gonna get laid," he replies. "Where the hell
YOU goin'? Hahaha!"
Of course, all genuine cool is effortless. It's
not something you can put on -- if you try, you look ridiculous. That's why
I wasn't looking forward to director John Singleton's remake of
"Shaft" -- its trailers made it look like a forced exercise
in hero worship. Ominous stories leaked out during production: Singleton
was reportedly acting like a jerk on set, entertaining lady friends in his
trailer, and leaving producer Scott Rudin to direct several scenes. There
are also allegations that star Samuel L. Jackson ordered rewrites on areas
of Richard Price's script because "I refuse to speak that white man's
dialogue!"
Basically, I thought "Shaft 2000", as we shall
call it to distinguish it from the original, was a stupid idea. Indeed it's
a stupid movie. Samuel L. Jackson as the new John Shaft does try too hard
to be cool, and does end up looking ridiculous -- for bravado he literally
throws his badge at a judge in disgust, he wears tight dark clothes that
don't look like things he'd have bought, and his one-liners include such
gems as "It's my duty to please your booty!" But you know what? It's corny
fun.
"Shaft 2000" is not actually a remake of the original,
as publicity would lead us to believe; it's not even a descendant, really,
but more of a bizarrely entertaining thing unto itself which for no apparent
reason borrows the "Shaft" title and theme song, features cameos by Parks
and Roundtree, and throws in the occasional scrap of blaxploitation iconography.
This time Shaft is a cop who quits his job to illegally chase a racist killer
(Christian Bale) who has enough money to delay or even evade the justice
system. The hero also needs to track down a witness who can put Bale behind
bars (Toni Collette).
The evil of the Bale character is outrageous --
he's a dead-eyed preppie snot who bludgeons a black stranger to death just
for the hell of it, then smugly cackles whenever the subject is brought up.
Shaft's heroics are equally unbelievable -- this guy's a warrior who'll "do
anything for the brother-man". The film is fascistic and amoral in the way
we're invited to cheer Shaft on -- he makes more of a mess than any of New
York City's criminals, causing the deaths of about fifty cops, crooks and
bystanders, all for the purpose of catching one man. And in the last scene
an act by the victim's mother reveals that none of it was necessary at
all.
But "Shaft 2000" is enjoyable on the level of
cartoon silliness. Shaft runs delightful circles around his enemies with
crafty manipulation, the action scenes are elaborate moments of nonstop violent
excess, and could Singleton have done anything more amusingly obvious than
making all but one of the villains white and Hispanic?
COPYRIGHT© 2000 Ian
Waldron-Mantgani
2000 Reviews
(alphabetical)
2000 Reviews (by star
rating)
Archive of all cinema reviews
(alphabetical)
Review Archive
Index
UK
Critic main page
|
![[Image]](http://www.ukcritic.com/posbanr2.gif)