Shaft should have stayed in the 70’s

Shaft by Kathia Woods

“Shaft” is an icon and so was the original movie that came out in 1971. Richard Roundtree changed the narrative of the black leading man by playing a crime crusader for the people. We fast forward to 2019 and this latest incarnation of Shaft. Samuel L. Jackson is back as John Shaft Jr. and this time he’s not only fighting crime but having to face his parenting failures.

Jessie T. Usher formerly of “Survivor’s Remorse” joins the franchise as J.J Shaft. He’s everything his father isn’t. He’s polite, politically correct, respectful to women and works for the man. Regina Hall is Maya Babanikos Shaft’s ex-wife and JJ’s mom. Tying in the old to the new is Richard Roundtree as the original bad mutha but this time in a supporting role. I now have stated all the good things about this movie the cast.

The plot is a mix-up of terrorist, drug addict mixed in with veterans suffering PTSD. This starts off a series of events connecting father and son to notorious drug pin Gordito. There was an opportunity for some great storytelling, however, it was never executed. JJ is everything Shaft Jr isn’t. He grew up in the suburbs, attended college and is a data analyst for the FBI. He solves crimes via intelligence, unlike his father who likes to knock heads. JJ was sheltered and protected by his mother. John Jr. wasn’t coddled. So naturally, upon the first contact, it sets up for a humorous interaction. So please explain why the writers opted to go for predictable dialogue. We know that Shaft is a lady’s man, but did we really need to see him with glitter around his mouth. Also, the usage of the P word as in cat to assess JJ’s manhood also didn’t help matters.

Regina Hall coming off a great year was misused in this film. She has great comedic timing but was relegated to a chick role. In other words, she wasn’t given much to do. Alexander Shipp is Sasha Aries JJ’s childhood friend and crush. She too was relegated to playing pretty.

Wait it gets worse. There’s great banter between Father and Son as they try to get to know each other while solving the said crime. The sad part is that it’s clouded amongst homophobia and misogyny. If this were 1974 this might work but it's 2019. You can make a movie about a sexy private eye without resorting to frat humor. I have given up on getting quality from Samuel L. Jackson. It’s obvious he’s check chasing however Reginal Hall and Jessie T. Usher deserved better. Kenya Barris yes “Blackish” creator helped pen this juvenile script. Shaft provides a few chuckles but is it worth the price of admission. The answer is a hard NO. Don’t even rent this just wait for it to appear on HBO or BET.

This is just a colossal waste of time.

Scale: This movie receives a two for horrendous.