Shaft (2000)

New York City police detective John Shaft (nephew of the original 1970s detective) goes on a personal mission to make sure the son of a real estate tycoon is brought to justice after a racially-motivated murder.

Director:

John Singleton

Writers:

Ernest Tidyman (novel), John Singleton (story)

Stars:

Samuel L. Jackson, Vanessa Williams, Christian Bale

1 win & 13 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Samuel L. Jackson	...	John Shaft
Vanessa Williams	...	Carmen Vasquez
Jeffrey Wright	...	Peoples Hernandez
Christian Bale	...	Walter Wade, Jr.
Busta Rhymes	...	Rasaan
Dan Hedaya	...	Jack Roselli
Toni Collette	...	Diane Palmieri
Richard Roundtree	...	Uncle John Shaft
Ruben Santiago-Hudson	...	Jimmy Groves
Josef Sommer	...	Curt Fleming
Lynne Thigpen	...	Carla Howard
Philip Bosco	...	Walter Wade, Sr.
Pat Hingle	...	Hon. Dennis Bradford
Lee Tergesen	...	Luger
Daniel von Bargen	...	Lt. Kearney (as Daniel Von Bargen)

Storyline

New York Police Detective John Shaft is the lead detective on a sensitive case, a young black man is severely beaten. The man's companions tell Shaft that their friend humiliated the one who was spouting racial slurs at him. Shaft confronts him and he says he's Walter Wade Jr. , the son of a wealthy man. Shaft finds that he has the ID of a woman who's a waitress at the bar where Wade and the guy who was attacked were. When Wade continues to hurl racist comments, Shaft smacks him. Shaft later learns because of his actions Wade was granted bail and fled. Two years later, Wade returns and Shaft arrests him. At his hearing when the judge grants him bail, that's when Shaft throws his badge at the judge. He then sets out to get Wade by finding the waitress. Wade in the meantime asks a drug dealer named Peoples Hernandez to find the waitress and make sure she doesn't talk.

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Plot Keywords:

fourth part | uncle nephew relationship | blaxploitation | based on novel | title spoken by character | 

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Taglines:

Still the man, any questions?

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Genres:

Action | Crime | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for strong violence and language

Did You Know?

Trivia

John Singleton saw the original Richard Roundtree version of Shaft (1971) when he was just 3.

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Goofs

Shaft parks his car by the sidewalk on a rainy night, the car is totally dry despite having been driven in the rain.

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Quotes

John Shaft: Who lost your rap sheet for you?
Leon: You...
John Shaft: Who got you that Jets tryout?
Leon: You...
John Shaft: Who got you that gig at the club?
Leon: You.
John Shaft: Who delivers ten times outta ten?
Leon: Alright, dawg... You.

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Connections

Referenced in Missing Reel: Blaxploitation (2014)

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Soundtracks

Automatic
by Organized Noize, M. Horton, Big Rube (as R. Bailey) and BackBone (as J. Williams)
Performed by Sleepy Brown featuring BackBone & Big Rube
Produced by Organized Noize
Sleepy Brown performs courtesy of Organized Noize, Inc.

User Reviews

a low down dirty shame

"a low down dirty shame" - that's the name of the movie this movie was based on, originally directed & starring Keenan Wayans (1994). But that film is as much comedy as action film. This is... well, obviously, Samuel Jackson wanted to show that he could play "black"; but I don't know who ever doubted that.

The original Shaft suffered from a lack of proper pacing, due largely to the editor's uncertainty as to where that film was going.

This film suffers from the fact that - being a borrowed story all around - the story itself isn't sure where it's going.

Well, it's nice to see Richard roundtree on the big screen again - a wholly underrated and type-cast actor, he deserves more and better roles.

Details

Country:

Germany USA

Language:

English German Spanish

Release Date:

16 June 2000 (USA)

Also Known As:

Shaft Returns

Filming Locations:

New York County Courthouse - 60 Centre Street, New York City, New York, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$46,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$21,714,757, 18 June 2000

Gross USA:

$70,334,258

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$107,626,125

Company Credits

Production Co:

Paramount Pictures, Scott Rudin Productions, New Deal Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

99 min

Sound Mix:

DTS Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.39 : 1