Themes: Rogue Cops, Witnessing a Crime, Obsessive Quests
Main Cast: Samuel L. Jackson, Vanessa Williams, Jeffrey Wright, Christian Bale, Busta Rhymes, Dan Hedaya
Release Year: 2000
Country: US
Run Time: 98 minutes
MPAA Rating: R
Plot
This action drama puts a new spin on Shaft, one of the key "blaxploitation" films of the 1970s. John Shaft (Samuel L. Jackson), the namesake nephew of the legendary private eye (Richard Roundtree), is a street-smart police detective who with his partner Carmen Velez (Vanessa L. Williams) has been assigned to a racially motivated murder case, in which a black college student was killed in front of a restaurant by Walter Williams Jr. (Christian Bale), the sociopathic son of a New York construction tycoon, who then fled the country rather than face prosecution. Diane Palmieri (Toni Collette), a waitress on a smoke break, saw the murder, but she doesn't want to talk to the police. Two years later, Walter is forced to return to New York, but without Diane's testimony, the city doesn't have much of a case. Soon, Shaft, Walter Junior, and Walter Senior's goons are all looking for Diane, with Junior enlisting the help of Peoples Hernandez (Jeffrey Wright), a small-time drug dealer who will do anything to move into the big leagues. Shaft and Carmen find Diane, but discover that she had a good reason for being on the lam for the past two years. Amidst all this activity, John gets frequent advice from his uncle, with whom he ponders the idea of quitting the force and opening a detective agency. Shaft was directed by John Singleton, from a screenplay by Singleton, Richard Price, and Shane Salerno. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
Review
John Singleton's 2000 remake resurrects the popular black detective from the early '70s and adds a layer of complexity rarely seen in the original series. The story, which pits NYPD detective John Shaft (Samuel L. Jackson), the nephew of the original private dick, against a rich, white killer played by Christian Bale, is basically a pretext for a series of showdowns between Shaft, the rich kid, and anyone else who gets in the detective's way. This may sound simple, and in some sense the script does run along familiar lines, but writer Richard Price has created a richly varied world of characters in which to place the formidable detective, giving them dialogue that is often stinging, and at times memorable. Jackson, an intense, commanding presence, is superb, as is the rest of the cast, from the spooky Bale to N.Y.C. stage veterans Philip Bosco and Josef Sommer, and of course, the man who started it all, Richard Roundtree. ~ Michael Costello, All Movie Guide
Dennis Bradford - Supervising Art Director, Mark Roybal - Associate Producer, Ilene Starger - Casting, Eric Steel - Co-producer, Ruth E. Carter - Costume Designer, Bruce Franklin - First Assistant Director, John Singleton - Director, John Bloom - Editor, Antonia Van Drimmelen - Editor, Steve Nicolaides - Executive Producer, Paul Hall - Executive Producer, Adam Schroeder - Executive Producer, Isaac Hayes - Composer (Music Score), David Arnold - Composer (Music Score), Bill Stephney - Musical Direction/Supervision, Patrizia Von Brandenstein - Production Designer, Donald Thorin - Cinematographer, Scott Rudin - Producer, John Singleton - Producer, Danny Michael - Sound/Sound Designer, Roy Anderson - Stunts, John Singleton - Screen Story, Shane Salerno - Screen Story, Richard Price - Screenwriter, John Singleton - Screenwriter, Shane Salerno - Screenwriter, Steve Kirshoff - Special Effects Coordinator, Skip Lievsay - Supervising Sound Editor, Paul Urmson - Supervising Sound Editor, Danielle Hollowell - Costume/Wardrobe, George De Titta, Jr. - Set Decorator, Ernest Tidyman - Book Author
NYPD Detective John Shaft (Samuel L. Jackson) is called in to investigate the racially motivated murder of Trey Howard (Mekhi Phifer), committed by Walter Wade Jr. (Christian Bale), the son of a wealthy real estate tycoon. Shaft briefly meets a potential eyewitness to the murder, Diane Palmieri (Toni Collette), but she disappears soon after and cannot be found for the trial. Wade Jr. is let off on bail and flees to Switzerland.
Two years later, Wade Jr. returns and Shaft rearrests him for leaving the country. During his temporary incarceration at police headquarters, Wade Jr. meets Peoples Hernandez (Jeffrey Wright), a Dominican drug lord. Wade Jr., his passport relinquished, is let off on bail again, and in frustration Shaft resigns from the police force, promising to bring Wade Jr. to justice on his own terms. Worried that Shaft might find the missing eyewitness, Wade Jr. hires Peoples Hernandez to find and kill her first.
Shaft continues his search for Diane, enlisting the help of his friends Detective Carmen Vasquez (Vanessa L. Williams) and taxi driver Rasaan (Busta Rhymes). While visiting Diane's uncooperative mother, Shaft and Carmen realise they're being followed by officers Jack Roselli (Dan Hedaya) and Jimmy Groves (Ruben Santiago-Hudson), who have been paid by Peoples to follow Shaft and get to Diane.
Shaft manages to find Diane Palmieri, but before they can talk, they are attacked by Peoples's men. In the shootout, Shaft kills Peoples's younger brother. Shaft, Diane, Rasaan and Diane's brother manage to escape to Rasaan's apartment, but they are followed by Roselli and Groves. While at the apartment, Diane confesses that she saw the entire murder, and took money for her silence.
When Peoples arrives at the location, another shootout takes place. Roselli and Groves, outed as corrupt, are killed by Carmen. In a face-off between Shaft and Peoples, Peoples insinuates that he's been working for Wade, and Shaft kills him.
Wade Jr.'s trial finally arrives. Before it can begin, he is shot in the chest by Trey's mother, Carla Howard (Lynne Thigpen), and dies on the spot.
The film ends with a scene in the police station, where Shaft reiterates to Carmen that he prefers to be a private detective. A woman arrives, asking for Shaft to help her, claiming to have an abusive boyfriend. Shaft is initially reluctant, but when he sees her injury, he decides to help her anyway.
The director of the original Shaft, Gordon Parks, appears in a cameo at the Lenox Lounge party as "Mr. P," as a homage by director John Singleton to the original film.
