ReelBob: ‘Shaft’ ★½
By Bob Bloom
The newest version of “Shaft” will make you dizzy as it swings back and forth between action thriller and profane family comedy.
The movie, which features three generations of John Shafts, tries very hard to maintain any interest in its characters — and only partially succeeds.
The movie’s main protagonist is JJ, aka John Shaft Jr., a cyber security analyst with the FBI, who also has a degree from MIT.
As a toddler, his mother, Maya (Regina Hall), and JJ left Shaft (Samuel L. Jackson) after a deadly ambush in which the two were caught in the crossfire.
In the two-plus decades since that incident, JJ has not seen nor heard from his father, except for annual packages containing birthday gifts — most of which his mother deemed inappropriate for a young boy.
When JJ tries to uncover the truth about the supposed overdose death of his best friend, he reluctantly turns to his father for assistance.
JJ may have brains, but he lacks the street smarts and instinct of his father.
A lot of time is wasted showing JJ and Shaft continually bickering; it basically serves as filler for a weak storyline that could have been covered in an hour, instead of the 120 minutes it takes the film to unfold.
The movie expends a lot of energy offering evidence of Shaft’s misogyny and dinosaur-like attitude about computers and millennials. The only line of dialogue Jackson doesn’t spout is, “Hey, you damn kids, get off my lawn.”
The plot revolves around drug smuggling, former soldiers and a mosque. How they all are linked is hurriedly explained, but really makes little sense.
“Shaft’s” main problem is that it is neither fish nor fowl; the action and comedy fail to mesh, with the laughs basically bringing the movie to a halt.
That Jackson’s Shaft is so politically incorrect makes you cringe more than laugh.
The appearance in the final reel of Richard Roundtree as the eldest Shaft adds a whiff of nostalgia for the fun days of Blaxploitation cinema, but that coin is spent too quickly.
It’s difficult to gauge the intentions of director Tim Story, who seems to want to pay tribute to Shaft while also roasting him as if he the private eye was the special guest at a Comedy Central roast.
Oh, there’s lots of shooting and a decent body count, but it is done is such a haphazard and causal manner that it has no impact.
The same can be said for the movie. “Shaft” is disposable cinema, a forgettable outing that is neither nostalgic nor progressive. It simply runs its routine course than fades from view — and memory.
I am a founding member of the Indiana Film Journalists Association. My reviews appear at ReelBob (reelbob.com) and Rottentomatoes (www.rottentomatoes.com). I also review Blu-rays and DVDs. I can be reached by email at bobbloomjc@gmail.com or on Twitter @ReelBobBloom. Links to my reviews can be found on Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn.
SHAFT
1½ stars out of 4
(R), language, violence, nudity, sexual content, drug material