‘Shaft’ in the Modern World, Film Review

He’s A BAAAD… Shaft 2019 is…Shaft. The character is unchanged by the advances of the times. He still vows to get the job done in the way he knows best and treat women… with sexual equality?? The evolution of Shaft in this film shows itself with the introduction of Shaft’s son, John Shaft Jr. played by Jessie T. Usher. The film is considered a sequel to the 2000 John Singleton directed film that introduced powerhouse Sam Jackson as Shaft. A perfect role for Sam Jackson then and he brings that same character out with a bit of age in this depiction of the no hold bars character. In this iteration, love interest Maya played by Regina Hall has taken their son and moved to the suburbs to protect him from the violence and chaos of the life Shaft has chosen. The main villain is a drug lord (of course) named Gordito played by Isaac De Bankolé (who portrayed a River Tribe Elder in Black Panther). The same case Shaft was working that caused their family to break up over 20 years. Although the film is part of the Shaft legacy it does take a different turn than its predecessors. Shaft has always had its moments of comedy whether intentional or not, but this film written by the writing team that includes comedic talents of Kenya Barris (Blackish, Girl’s Trip, Barbershop) and Alex Barnow (The Goldbergs, Mr Sunshine, Family Guy) leans heavily into the action comedy brand than the action P.I. focus of the other films have had. I felt this was certainly an angle that might be fun to explor…