Shaft (2019)

Starring: Samuel L. Jackson, Jessie T. Usher, Richard Roundtree, Regina Hall, Alexandra Shipp, Matt Lauria, Titus Welliver, Method Man, Luna Lauren Velez
Directed by: Tim Story
Rating: R
Genre: Action, Comedy
2019

Times Seen:
Tim: 1

Summary: JJ Shaft (Jessie T. Usher) reluctantly enlists the help of his estranged father (Samuel L. Jackson) to investigate the apparent suicide of his best friend.

Review:

Tim: The 2000 reboot of Shaft certainly had a number of strengths, even if the movie as a whole fell short of the mark. I really liked the idea of doing another film, 19 years later, and this time, focusing on Shaft's son (whereas he was the younger Shaft in the previous one). Unfortunately, this movie feels very similar to the last one- some strengths, absolutely. However, it also feels like a missed opportunity. This movie didn't really capitalize on its opportunity, it didn't introduce Shaft back into the public consciousness. It made way less than the last one, which is a bad sign, considering inflation.

The biggest appeal of this movie is that we now have 3 generations of Shafts. This builds on the work the 2000 film did, but it also strangely retcons a big part of that movie. In that film, Richard Roundtree (the original Shaft) was the uncle of Samuel L. Jackson's Shaft. In this movie, in one line of dialogue, we discover that the original Shaft is actually the father of Jackson's Shaft. And with Jessie T. Usher as JJ Shaft, that gives us three generations. That's pretty cool, but it was a big head scratcher watching this movie. It was handled a bit sloppily. Still, the idea of Roundtree, Jackson, and Usher playing three generations of the same family is incredibly cool and it's one of the best aspects of this film.

This movie went hard at the generational differences between Shafts 2 & 3. It felt a little obvious because we're all familiar with how the younger generation differs from the Baby Boomers, especially in regards to technology. This approach might not have broken new comedy ground, but I have to admit that it was funny. Jackson's Shaft feels like a relic from the past, since he was an amped up version of Roundtree's original. Times have changed and this movie reflects that. It did a decent job of not making this one long rant about Millennials- sure, that generation takes more than few lumps (some for good reason), but it also shows that generationally, we're making progress as a society and a people. I didn't expect that aspect of the film, but it was a particularly strong one.

The story is fine. The son asks his estranged father for help to uncover a mystery and the two Shafts work together, eventually bringing in the grandfather. The idea of all this is better than the execution. Tim Story doesn't do anything wrong, here. This isn't a bad movie- it just feels like it walks down a well-worn path. It's not especially more clever than similar movies, the plot isn't as compelling as it needed to be. Many of the jokes just fall flat (I thought the whole relationship between Jackson and Regina Hall's characters was sloppy and handled ineffectively). The movie is fine, that's the end result- it's decent, mildly entertaining, occasionally funny. But, the biggest issue that it never gives us a reason why we're getting the fifth Shaft movie. It certainly nods heavily to the past, but it also makes the character feel like a relic. Do we need John Shaft movies as we move into the 2020s? I would say from the standpoint of featuring more movies with minority protagonists, absolutely. The shame is that this movie doesn't make a compelling argument for that. Would I watch more movies in this franchise? I certainly will. But, a $21 million domestic box office return suggests audiences don't care.

I did think Jessie T. Usher did a good job as JJ. He wasn't trying to be Samuel L. Jackson- the whole point of the film is how different their characters are, related to each other. He did his own thing and it worked. I enjoyed his performance. Jackson is as terrific as you'd expect, soaking up every ounce of this meaty role and clearly having a great time with it. It's always great to see Roundtree. I loved the few scenes with all three men. Hall was good, but as I mentioned, her character was mishandled and relegated too much to the sidelines. I was really impressed with Alexandra Shipp- she gave a strong supporting turn. I'm always happy to see Titus Welliver and Luna Lauren Velez was a welcome surprise (I haven't seen her much since her "Dexter" days). As a whole, the cast was a big plus for this film.

I really wish this was a better movie and I wish audiences showed up for it. This is an interesting franchise- we had the three Richard Roundtree movies in the 1970s, then it lay dormant for 27 years before Samuel L. Jackson took over for 1 film in 2000. Then, a gap of 19 years before another film in 2019. It's a little annoying that we now have 3 movies titled Shaft, but whatever. Sadly, I suspect this franchise will once again go quiet for a decade plus before someone decides to do one more film with Jackson in the grandfather role. That, or maybe this is the end of the line.

Rating 1-10
Tim's Rating: 6.5



If You Enjoyed This Movie, We Recommend: Shaft (1971), Shaft's Big Score, Shaft in Africa, Shaft (2000)