Shaft 2019

• Directed by Tim Story
• June 14, 2019 (United States)

After his friend is found dead, John “JJ” Shaft III suspects foul play and with the aid of his legendary father John Shaft and even more legendary grandfather John Shaft, Sr. he must get to the bottom of the case.

Samuel L Jackson returns one more time as Shaft. This is quite possibly the ideal role for Samuel Jackson and his foulmouthed screen persona. In Shaft 2019 he is clearly having fun up on screen and enjoying the role. Shaft is a man out of time, his old attitudes clashing with modern sensibilities and Jackson nails that right on the head.

The new character of John “JJ” Shaft III (Jessie T. Usher) is a cyber security analyst for the FBI and just a few shades away from being Steve Urkel. When his friend Karim (Avan Jogia) is found dead it doesn’t make sense to him so he, after failing to get anywhere on his own, seeks out the aid of his estranged father.

John Shaft, Sr. (Richard Roundtree) returns to the role that made him an icon. You cannot do Shaft without him and he was still one bad moth… here. There was no faking the character. He was the character.

Shaft is a bit of a throwback film put into a modern age. They do not try to update the attitude of any of the older Shaft characters. They are products of their time and remain so. Who they are however clashes with what today is and that’s where much of the humor comes from in this action comedy. JJ is significantly out of his element in the rough and tumble criminal world that his father exists in.

Some may be upset at making a Shaft action comedy. I get that. I do feel it was a good move to make it stand out from the others but those behind this should have aimed more for the vibe of the original than that of an 80s action comedy.

I was hesitant about the addition of the latest member of the Shaft lineage. New kids tend to be dead weight to the narrative regardless of how familiar you are with the concept. While he was a fish out of water, he did move the story forward by possessing skills that the older Shafts did not and having an engaging story.

When it comes to the characters the movie focuses on how out of place Shaft is in our world in comparison to how out of place JJ is in the niche world of his father. We even get a few in jokes concerning Shaft sprinkled throughout here.

The plot is standard blaxploitation fare. There is a drug smuggling scheme that JJ’s friend found out about and wanted no part of. Behind it all though is an old nemesis of John Shaft named Pierro “Gordito” Carrera (Isaach de Bankolé) who 25 years earlier had attempted to kill Shaft while he was on a stakeout. His wife Maya (Regina Hall), who still holds a torch for him, left him because his life endangered not only her but their child.

The ending at Gordito’s is a comedic shoot-‘em-up that brings together all the major players in the story. We even get Shaft Sr. proving he is still one bad mother*****. Hey, I am just talking about Shaft. That line is referenced earlier in the movie in a shoot out in a restaurant by Maya and her date.

Shaft was a great movie that I let linger just a little bit too long in my collection before I popped it in. Fans of old school Shaft may take issue with this movie, but fans of action comedies will be entertained. Decide which you are and make your choice.