User Reviews

Much better than the last one! Fun, good action, and great music! Samuel L. is awesome (as always!), Regina Hall is hilarious, and Richard Roundtree is just as cool as he always is! Usher's character was a little too much of a pussy to begin, but rounded out just fine. Nice to see the 3 Shafts on one screen! And I think a sequel to this Shaft would be fun too! He's a bad mother...

While watching this film, one might constantly wonder "How did a film like this get made in 2019?" Shaft is a wildly politically-incorrect film. It feels like a mediocre 1980s action comedy, but it is almost always fun to watch. Jessie T. Usher struggles to compete with Samuel L. Jackson and Richard Roundtree, which makes the film uneven. Jackson breaks no new ground with his performance, but he is a consistent delight to watch.

Nice to see a film without an agenda to push. Shaft was entertaining from start to finish. Good action, good comedic timing, and Samuel L Jackson is awesome (as usual). If you are one of those modern day sensitive snowflakes, this film might not be for you though.

Not politically correct, a bit raunchy at times but the story was very interesting and the action great. Exactly what I expected... 2 hours of entertainment.

"Shaft" is an entertaining and funny movie based on the character from the 70´s. The storyline of Shaft´s estranged son that looks for his help to find the truth about the death of his best friend and ends with his grandfather, the original Shaft, helping them to resolve the situation, is forgettable but worthwhile watching. Samuel L. Jackson, Jessie T. Usher and Richard Roundtree together in a possible sequel is promising. My vote is six.

Title (Brazil): "Shaft"

Latest entry in the titular detective series is pretty standard stuff, but worth a look for followers of the character and the actors involved. The focus this time is on John 'JJ' Shaft, III, a timid analyst with the FBI who's forced to team up--and clash with the "old school" methods of his father John Shaft, II while investigating the death of a close friend. It's a waste of time to get into the intricacies of the plot because most of it makes little sense, and is not of any real significance since the goal is to watch and enjoy the banter between the actors, plus throw out lots of in-jokes and a colorful soundtrack to liven things up. Usher lacks charisma (possibly by design) but Jackson's in full badass mode making for more enjoyable moments than you'd expect, and Roundtree's also on hand as an added bonus for devotees of the original series. While it's somewhat fun to see three generations of the same character on screen, there's nothing really special here for them to work with. **

Apart from the theme tune and some pop-culture references I have very little exposure to "Shaft" so I was not expecting much.

I was kind of hoping it would be one of those silly Samuel L films where he says mother trucker a thousand times before shooting someone. This is exactly what this is.

There is nothing clever or earth-shattering about this. There a few shoot outs and some witty banter but no one was vying for an Oscar here. If you are expecting something special or life changing you may need to look further a field.

There is a bit of comedy between Shaft senior and junior, mainly poking fun at millennials and the older generation. This was all harmless enough and, although not laugh out loud funny, was funny enough.

Maybe not one for die hard Shaft fans, adrenaline junkies, or high browers but it kills two hours easily enough.

This is one ludicrous film. Forget it being a remake. This is a total recasting of the title character in a most over-the-top totally unapologetic way. It seems like it works overtime being as politically incorrect as possible in situations and language. So what is it? It's Samuel L. Jackson creating a street terminator who abandoned his family to be that one man crime solution while insulating those he loves. Jackson roles big, so big it carries the lame plot, constant cliches and, somehow, makes an entertaining movie - out of what in other hands would surely be a ridiculous mess. So, I guess it gets a 6.5 in spite of itself.

It was nice to see a movie that didn't have a social or political agenda behind it and didn't pander to people who are easily offended. This movie showed that not everyone likes being a sensitive soft person. I really hope that movies can continue to break boundaries like this because it's a refreshment of our ability to enjoy humour without taking it personally. Plot was awesome and solid and the humour made it unbelievably enjoyable.

I'll start by saying that I don't know an awful lot about the 'source material' when it comes to the 2019 version of 'Shaft.' I never saw the original films (or were they TV shows - that's how much I know!). And I never saw Samuel L Jackson's earlier outing as the titular anti-hero detective. However, seeing as I am a fan of Mr Jackson and this incarnation has just dropped on a well-known online streaming service, I thought I'd give it a go.

In case you don't know, (John) Shaft (played perfectly by Samuel L Jackson) is a private detective who plays by his own rules. In other words... he kind of beats people up to get information from them. Nothing too radical about this premise, but I did see a few reviews (or should I call them 'moans?') about how 'politically incorrect' this film was. I saw words like 'dinosaur' and 'outdated' when it came to describing this film. And, now I've watched it, I guess I have to agree with them. Although, in my opinion, that's no bad thing.

We get a brief scene at the start showing how Shaft actually has an estranged son (John Shaft Junior - played by Jessie T Usher) and the film quickly skips forward over twenty years where Jr is now a data analyst with the FBI. However, when a friend dies in suspicious services, it leaves this 'non field agent' down a few dark allies in Harlem, where he needs the help of his long lost father in order to (safely!) navigate.

Now, Samuel L Jackson is well-known for taking any mediocre film and making it great fun to watch. This is probably one of those. The plot is nothing new and you'll see most beats coming a mile off (you'll know the 'true' villains the moment you see them, no matter how nice they try and act). Also, there's the obligatory love interests which are there because...er, I suppose they have to be. But what saves this film is Jackson's dialogue and banter with his son. Yes, Shaft (Senior) is a 'dinosaur.' He's now in his sixties and from a completely different 'age.' He uses different words and acts differently around people, i.e. definitely NOT politically correct. So, I guess if you're easily offended by various - now frowned upon - terms to describe various groups of society, I guess you'll be on Twitter before the credits start decrying this 'terrible' film.

But it's not terrible. It's just good fun. Like I say, if you go looking for things to be offended by then you'll be delighted with the amount of things you can complain about here. Or, you can look at it as the tale of two different generations and their various outlooks on the world. Yes, it's no classic, but it's certainly fun if you like either Samuel L Jackson, or just gritty detective stories. For me, it was worth it just for the line where Jackson totally spoofs a popular misconception about himself and another actor!

Samuel L. Jackson makes this movie a lot better than it would normally be. The script is simply boring and it is only kept alive by his performance. If you look at the camera work, sometimes it's great, sometimes the cuts feel weird inbetween dialogues. Also Jessie Usher and Regina Hall are not really great in my opinion. But this might not be bad acting the more you watch, you will realize that it's poorly written characters. Well at least there are some cool shooting scenes and tough lines that make you enjoy the movie a bit.

When I attended this film I did not expect much. Another action thriller with corny jokes comparing young generations to old. But what i got was the complete opposite. The film is not for people who give up in the first 30 min. JJ ( the title character) did not carry the films first opening scenes. But the moment Sam jackson becomes fully immersed is when this film takes off. I could not stop laughing as every joke is just awesome. It is profoundly unapologetic with some jokes, unafraid of offending, something I craved for a film trying to show the differences in ideas between new and old generations. I was very surprised by this film, and although the end scenes are a little ho hum, I thoroughly enjoyed this movie. The son, who was slightly annoying in the beginning, does go through a transformation. Do not pass off this movie as a lame action film, because you will be laughing endlessly. The soundtrack was killer as well

Although I gave Shaft a 6/10, it captures the essence of what Shaft is about: flirting with women and killing the bad guys. The dialog is near unbearable in some parts of the film, but eventually gets better as the movie progresses, especially when the original Shaft, Richard Roundtree comes into play for a few witty one-liners. The action comes and goes, but overall, this was an enjoyable film, seeing how I saw it with my dad (who grew up in the Roundtree era) over Father's Day weekend.

Bad script, bad acting (except you know who) , bad screenplay, not good not bad comedy..... This movie shows how less of the effort they are putting..... Add some substance😥😥..... Its like they saw a stand up comedy about millennials and old school ppl and decided to a movie....watch it if u don't have absolutely nothing to watch

Enjoyable to watch. After so many Netflix films that suck grossly this one is really funny and easy watching. Samuel Jackson is really making it fun .

Not a high flyer, but just above average. Without giving spoilers: there's enough politically incorrectness (just like that word I guess) in it that makes that whole theme good again. Nice to see a movie that tries to mock the politicial correctness morals we have to endure these days and to succeed with that without becoming to preachy about it.

Television shows hold a history for many, teaching life lessons and telling stories that would stick with the public for ever. Sometimes catchy theme songs are the main things that stay behind, but for others, legendary episodes remain in the minds. So with the drought of originality still plaguing Hollywood, the goal is to bring some of these television shows to the silver screen venue to try to make them fresh again. Robbie K is back to look at the latest movie in hopes of helping guide your movie pleasures. Let's get started as we look at:

Movie: Shaft (2019) Director: Tim Story Writers: Kenya Barris, Alex Barnow Stars: Samuel L. Jackson, Jessie T. Usher, Richard Roundtree

LIKES:

Acting Action Nostalgia Mystery Humor

DISLIKES: Lack of Suspense Aggressive Sexual Humor Lazy Writing At Times Weak Character Development The Grandpa Inclusion

SUMMARY:

Shaft's character is legendary and requires a key actor to bring it to life. Samuel L Jackson is the guy to do it, bringing his hard edge and direct, forceful acting to really bring the cop with no fear to life. He balances so much into the role, like seeing Nick Fury in a rated R role, that is certainly entertaining to watch. Jessie T. Usher as the new generation of Shaft helps sort of balance the aggressiveness of Jackson, acting as a grounding force to tie all the group together. He's charming, funny, but then evolves a bit into something more that works well in the atmosphere of the movie. As for Roundtree, his reprisal is a nice throwback, but it has been tweaked to have a bit of modern aggressive edge on it as well to remain in the new rules of the movie. The rest of the cast play their parts well, but not integrated enough too much to take time at this time. Instead let's jump into the action, the modern day has choreography and technology capable of making those epic shoot outs a little more exciting. Shaft achieves this fairly well, sometimes using it for humor and other times having that flair that the show made famous. If you've read through all this review so far, you can see that nostalgia seems to be a key factor to enjoying this film, to which I was able to find a few references to the series, with other audience members finding even more. That component will be a key entertainment value to many and a selling point for the movie. Now in regards to the other two components, they have to do with the story and atmosphere of the movie. Shaft's main story component is about the mystery of the case at hand and how it will connect our characters together. Shaft's multilayered mystery feels like a blend of the loose cannon cop's greatest adventure all connected to one, you'll find yourself trying to sort out the threads of scandal seeing the true source that connects them all. During the course there is some attempts at developing the characters, but those moments are reserved for the comedy aspect. The laughs of this movie are brought by the edgy delivery of Jackson's lines, the continued adulteration of JJ's life, and the fiery passion of a mother trying to handle the stress of life. It's very well integrated through the movie and is utilized decently to actually progress things rather than a simple laugh. It felt natural and true to the character, which I find important. Yet the movie's pluses may have led to some of my dislikes as well, primarily in the part of being too aggressive. Shaft and company are not shy to using aggressive styles of humor and while it works at times to perfect levels, there are times where it gets too much for this reviewer. Various descriptions of sex and genitalia only goes so far for me, and the rather boorish description of various genitalia is a little more offensive than fun at times. In addition, my description of lazy writing is at full front here, with Shaft getting too dependent on the use of these expletives to remain entertaining for me. Working on the character development could have taken point instead, working harder to start expanding on back stories, histories, feelings and other qualities to help connect these characters. It start happening at some points of the movie, but more potential existed in those characters than what we got, again lost to comedy and modern time violence. As for the grandfather inclusion, I'll acknowledge the inclusion of the original for sake of honoring the man who brought the series, but I wanted more. Given the showcase in the trailers, I had expected a little more inclusion, and while the ending brought the excitement I was looking for, the original Shaft probably could have had a little more inclusion overall.

The truth is Shaft is going to be geared towards those seeking to go back in time and relive the criminal hunting cop's adventures. A modern edge certainly helps make it relevant in the 21st century, adding new style, comedy, and mystery to raise the stakes and try to entertain, while securing fine acting in its cast of characters. Yet, the movie suffers from imbalance, more so in terms of aggressive humor and lackadaisical writing where cursing and sex phrases are the key. I'm not saying that ruins the movie, I was just looking for more of a balance for what I got. Nevertheless, the movie has enough fine points to warrant a trip to the movie, though only at about a 50% as much can be enjoyed from home. Nevertheless, here are my scores:

Action/Comedy/Crime: 7.0 Movie Overall: 6.0

What's with the low rating? It's crazy. I kind of loved this movie and was engaged from start till end. I'd definitely recommend for a fun filled action movie.

Shaft is a sequel to the 2000 film of the same name and stars Samuel L Jackson and newcomer Jessie T Usher and tells the story of JR Shaft(Jessie T Usher)who tracks down his father John Shaft(Samuel L Jackson) to solve a case where Jr's friend was found dead of an apparent overdose. Now JR and Shaft must find the person who was responsible.

The movie has a real 1970s soundtrack and the acting is good. Samuel L Jackson steals the entire film along with Jessie T Usher. If you have Netflix then do check it out.

Rated R for strong language and violence.

Were you the one clamoring for a sequel to the year 2000 Samuel L. Jackson SHAFT (the sequel to the original 1971 Richard Roundtree SHAFT)? Did you remember there WAS a 2000 version of SHAFT? Do you remember the 1971 SHAFT?

Doesn't matter.

The makers of this film certainly don't remember those films for - besides casting Jackson and Roundtree - there is no similarity to either of these films.

The first SHAFT was a Blacksploitation film starring Roundtree with mucho gunfire and bloodshed and SHAFT 2000 (as I'll call it) is a full on action flick with Jackson as Roundtree's nephew fighting crime. SHAFT 2019 is none of these - the Samuel L. Jackson Shaft is now the SON of Richard Roundtree and partners with his son JJ ,John Shaft, Jr. (played by Jessie T. Usher) to investigate the death of his friend.

Okay...fine. I can forgive the change in tone and the "tweak" (I'm being generous) to the timeline. What I can't forgive is the weak script (why write any good, or interesting, dialogue when we can have all of the characters say Samuel L. Jackson's signature motherf*^#er over and over) by 3 different writers (never a good sign) that were all, clearly, just in it for the paycheck.

Jessie T. Usher (he played Will Smith's son in the also ill-advised sequel to INDEPENDENCE DAY) is a bland lead with no gravitas and no swagger that starts out young and naive and is supposed to develop (under the tutelage of his father) street smarts but, really, just becomes annoying.

Regina Hall (GIRLS TRIP), Titus Welliver (BOSCH), Method Man (!) and Luna Lauren Velez (DEXTER) are all sleepwalking through underwritten roles just counting the minutes until they can take their paychecks to the bank.

At the heart of all of this "missed opportunities" is Director Tim Story (RIDE ALONG) he directs this film like he has someplace else to be, never missing an opportunity to be obvious (for example, JJ's friend - Karim - who's death sparks what passes for a plot in this film - might as well be walking around with a "Dead Man Walking" sign on him). Story's direction is lazy (and that's doing injustice to the word lazy) and obvious with no spark of ingenuity or imagination to be found.

And then there's Samuel L. Jackson as SHAFT. He defines the term "sleepwalking through the picture" looking bored and uninterested throughout and HE'S THE BEST THING IN THE FILM! Thank goodness his charisma and charm ooze out of him without really trying - for he didn't really try here.

Save 2 hours of your life - skip SHAFT - you'll be glad you did.

Letter Grade: C

4 Stars (out of 10) and you can take this to the Bank(ofMarquis)

I enjoyed it. As the movie went on, it all came together. Funny lines as well as being serious when the movie needed to be. Not understanding how people didn't like it. It was a SHAFT movie. I got it, and I was very young when Richard Roundtree originally played SHAFT. Did see a few bloopers in two fighting scenes though, but oh well.

In fact, I wouldn't advise you to raise your expectations if I have to talk about this movie. Please don't think the movie is bad because it's an average movie. If you have free time and are looking for an action-packed and fun movie, this movie is for you

Reminds me of the things we used to laugh at in grade school. Only Samuel Jackson makes it worth watching, although they've adolescentized his character. Too bad the movie wasn't written by adults, because it's a good concept that could have made a decent movie.

This movie was a breath of fresh air. It's made for minorities, who ate different from white SJWs. It's non-PC and oozing masculinity like an old Clint Eastwood movie. It will make wimps run to their safe spaces, need a pacifier, or a warm glass of milk. The bad reviews are by people who probably ran from a fight in high school, had their lunch money stolen, or we're locked in their lockers by meanies.