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This Past week Shaft came out in theaters and today on cinema spot I am here to review it! Note that I do my reviews different than most. The review is split up into the good, the bad, and the ugly. At the bottom, there will be a total score out of 10. Let us get straight into it!
Good: For those who do not know, this is the 5th Shaft movie, but you do not need to see any of the previous movies to see this one. Think of this movie as a spiritual successor to the 4th one, which was directed by the late, great John Singleton. The new entry is directed by Tim Story. You might be familiar with some of his work as he has directed movies such as Fantastic Four and Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer as well as other movies like Ride Along. The movie stars the amazing Samuel L Jackson as Shaft, a PI in Harlem who is well-known and respected. When Shaft was younger, he had a kid with Maya (who is played by the wonderful Regina Hall).
Maya decided to leave after not wanting to deal with Shaft’s unhealthy lifestyle. She raises her son (played by Jessie T. Usher) who becomes an FBI analyst and a case he is working on just so happens to make him run into his dad.
The best part of this entire movie is the relation between Junior and Shaft himself. The humor is off the charts and each joke hits. The actions scenes are well put together and executed well. The story is that of a typical summer action movie, but that does not mean it is terrible. The best thing about this movie is the action and humor. The humor is very old school meets the new age. A lot of the banter that happens in the movie is Shaft comparing the old generation to his son’s generation and vice versa, and it works. Also, if you are a fan of hip-hop, the soundtrack is fantastic. It bounces from Mischief in 93 to the Migos and keeps the movie invigorating.
Bad: If you are the kind of person that goes to the movies to experience an invigorating pilot and very “Academy” type story and visual, this is not the movie for you. The plot is very predictable, and some of the roles in the movie feel forced. Not saying that they are lousy though, all the actors in the movie do their absolute best to try to make the best of what seems to be a not well thought out script.
Ugly: Nothing downright ugly, just some issues here and there.
Verdict: Look, Shaft is not an Academy Award winner, nor is it a cinematic masterpiece. If you see this movie, turn your brain off and have fun! The movie does nothing new or reinventive, but what it does is take classic pieces of a summer action movie and does it well. Samuel L Jackson performance alone should warrant a great time out of this movie. Although some of the parts of the movie are sloppy and feel a little rushed, it is overall a fun time! I give Shaft a 6/10! Let us know what you think of it? For all thing of cinema, you are in the right place!
