Julian RuncanShaft: Not THAT Bad a Mother
May 26th 2010 20:53
I'll admit my knowledge of the original Shaft films are pretty much limited to the theme song and trailers, but I feel that's all anyone needs to know going into this movie. Yes, the plot is kind of silly and quite uninteresting, but that doesn't matter as much as you'd think.
The direction of the film isn't bad, the acting is adequate, and the cast is better than one would anticipate. The movie's main drawback is that everything directly related to the main case (the waitress in hiding who witnessed a murder), are all of the boring parts. I want to see Shaft beat up hooligans, work the streets, and play everyone against each other. The story itself does nothing but take away from all the badass moments that hold it together.
Samuel L. Jackson's version of Shaft is a fantastic character, and I could watch him handing out traffic tickets for two hours and still find it entertaining. His delivery is spot on, his "Shaft" moments fantastic, and I can't imagine any other actor bringing Shaft into the next millennium. He wasn't a negative stereotype, he wasn't a boring version of the original, he just took the strong characteristics of blaxploitation stars and made them his own.
If you're looking for a modern blaxploitation film, this is far from it. If you're looking for a gritty police drama watch Training Day or something. If you want to see Samuel L. Jackson play people against each other and generally be a bad mother, then you know where to look.
7.0/10
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