Shaft (2000) * * *

 

Directed by:  John Singleton

Starring:  Samuel L. Jackson, Vanessa Williams, Christian Bale, Jeffrey Wright, Richard Roundtree, Toni Collette, Lynne Thigpen, Busta Rhymes

Shaft reboots the 1971 film about the bad-ass cop turned private eye with Samuel L. Jackson assuming the role of John Shaft.   Richard Roundtree, who played Shaft in the original film, is on hand as Shaft's "uncle", later revealed to be his father in the 2019 reboot.   Don't ask why he was made the uncle in this version and his dad in the 2019 version because I wouldn't be able to give you a sensible answer. 

Shaft, in this 2000 version, is a cop on the trail of arrogant rich punk Walter Wade (Bale), who hides in his father's pocket and beat a man to death outside of a bar one night following a racially-charged confrontation.   A waitress (Collette) witnessed the murder, but is terrified to testify.   Wade threatens to kill her too before fleeing the country.   He returns two years later only to be allowed out on bail again.  It is then Shaft chucks his badge at a judge and declares himself retired, vowing to bring Wade to justice.

Jackson brings his trademark intensity to the role while amusing us with lines like, "It's my duty to please your booty,"   But Shaft is mostly about the job, with Bale and Wright playing slimy villains on Shaft's radar.   Bale's Wade is not a million miles removed from Patrick Bateman, whom he played in American Psycho the year Shaft was released, although Wade isn't a 24-hour psychopath like Bateman.  Or at least I think he isn't, although Wade has Bateman beat in the smugness department. 

Shaft more or less delivers what it promises:  Slick action with a tough, but vulnerable hero and villains we want to see receive a long-awaited comeuppance.   How Wade receives that comeuppance is something of a surprise in a movie which is content to be a straightforward reboot with a reliable cast.