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"'Shaft'
is Still the Man"
by Scott Mantz
"Shaft"
Samuel L. Jackson,
Vanessa Williams
Directed by John Singleton
If the 1960's
changed the way people thought about music, then the 1970's changed
the way people thought about movies. Out was the structured old
guard that ruled the Hollywood studio system for decades, and in
were the ambitious no-holds-barred revolutionaries who turned the
moviemaking process on its proverbial ear. Yet while Coppola, Lucas,
Spielberg, Beatty, and Altman were busy causing a ruckus with their
pet projects, there was another movement going on across town--the
"blaxploitation" movement.
Here was a genre
that spoke to a demographic that had largely been ignored by Hollywood.
After the pent-up frustration stemming from the civil rights movement
of the 60's, the black audience finally found an outlet, with newcomers
like Richard Roundtree and Pam Grier acting as their voice. Finally,
the camaraderie, the loyalty, the pride, and, most of all, the urban
reality of a neglected population of America finally made a connection
to motion pictures. While blaxploitation movies like "Superfly"
and "Foxy Brown" lacked the smooth production values of their contemporaries,
they more than made up for it with a confident demeanor that almost
went too far. Leading the pack was Roundtree, who, as Private Detective
John Shaft, was "hotter than Bond, cooler than Bullitt." Now, almost
30 years after the original, "Shaft" is back, and he is given a
whole new makeover. Is he still the man? You bet! Does he still
deliver ten times out of ten? Well, maybe nine times out of ten.
After racist
punk Walter Wade Jr. (Christian Bale) starts a fight that results
in the death of a black man, Police Lieutenant John Shaft (Samuel
L. Jackson) arrives on the scene and, with the help of a waitress
(Toni Collette) who witnessed the crime, puts him under arrest.
She goes into hiding, and Wade is freed on bail. He flees the country,
only to return two years later, when Shaft throws him back in the
slammer. After he gets out on bail again, Shaft vows to find the
waitress, who's testimony will put Wade away for good. The problem
is that Wade sets out to find her first, seeking the help of a New
York gangbanger (Jeffrey Wright) to shut her up for good. When corruption
within the police department rears its ugly head, Shaft realizes
he's on his own in his quest for justice.
Richard Roundtree,
who makes an appearance as "Uncle J," may not have been the greatest
actor in the world, but he didn't have to be. Between his groovy
jacket and stylish 70's sideburns, he simply looked great as the
original Shaft. He had a bad attitude, and taking the law in his
own hands with his unorthodox methods didn't matter in the end--he
always got his man (and the women too--his sex life wasn't too shabby).
By walking the line between rebellion and justice, Roundtree paved
the way for Clint Eastwood and Charles Bronson, who's "Dirty Harry"
and "Death Wish" movies respectively owed plenty to "Shaft."
The 1971 "Shaft"
led the pack with its groundbreaking vision, but does the 2000 "Shaft"
do it justice? Sometimes it does, and sometimes it doesn't. Samuel
L. Jackson takes the bull by the horns and runs with it, and with
strong roles in "Pulp Fiction," "Jackie Brown," and "Die Hard With
a Vengeance," Jackson was practically a Shaft in the making. The
problem is that the film gets so wrapped up in its confusing and
thinly veiled plot developments, that Jackson doesn't get a chance
to fully exude his identity like Roundtree did. The film starts
off stylishly enough and establishes Jackson as a force not to be
reckoned with, but too many underdeveloped and cartoonish characters,
not to mention a climactic shoot out scene that belongs in a John
Woo film, keep him from being the towering figure that he strives
to be. His sex life sure isn't what it used to be either (where
Roundtree would brag about his female conquests, Jackson doesn't
get laid once).
Hot off his
role as a crazed killer in "American Psycho," Christian Bale plays
the racist murderer who sets the film into motion. Unfortunately,
instead of providing some insight as to why he's such a bigot, his
character is never given any depth, and we never learn anything
about him. The same goes for Vanessa Williams, who's wasted in her
role as Jackson's sole confidant on the force. Jeffrey Wright surely
must have been inspired by Al Pacino's "Scarface," as the menacing
drug lord who is sought out by Bale, but lack of insight into his
background relegates his role to more of a stereotype. The biggest
waste of all is Toni Collette, who looks more like one of the dead
people that her "Sixth Sense" son was so fond of seeing.
"Shaft" tries
to blend the attitude of the original with a more modern structure,
but results are uneven. While Jackson's performance alone is worth
the price of admission, the finale degenerates into the same old
shoot-em-up gunfight that we've seen before countless times. Then
again, it is the summer, and the film is sure to appeal to demographics
across the board. "Shaft" may not have the impact that the 1971
film had, if you know what I'm sayin', but he's still one brother
who deserves plenty of recognition from the popcorn eating public.
Can you dig it?
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