Shaft (2000 film)

Shaft
Theatrical release poster
Directed by	John Singleton
Produced by	Mark Roybal Scott Rudin Eric Steel Adam Schroeder
Screenplay by	John Singleton Shane Salerno Richard Price
Story by	John Singleton Shane Salerno
Based on	Shaft by Ernest Tidyman
Starring	Samuel L. Jackson Vanessa L. Williams Jeffrey Wright Christian Bale Richard Roundtree
Music by	David Arnold
Cinematography	Donald E. Thorin
Editing by	John Bloom Antonia von Drimmelen Al Rodgers
Studio	Scott Rudin Productions
Distributed by	Paramount Pictures
Release date(s)	June 16, 2000 (2000-06-16)
Running time	99 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English Spanish
Budget	$46 million
Box office	$107,196,498

Shaft is a 2000 American action-crime film directed by John Singleton, and starring Samuel L. Jackson, Jeffrey Wright, Christian Bale, Pat Hingle, Toni Collette, Busta Rhymes, Vanessa L. Williams, and Mekhi Phifer. This film is not a remake of the 1971 film of the same name, but rather a sequel, since it features Richard Roundtree briefly reprising his role as the original John Shaft. Jackson's John Shaft character is the nephew of the original John Shaft. The film received fairly positive reviews and opened at the number one position at the box office when it debuted June 16, 2000.

Plot

NYPD Detective John Shaft (Samuel L. Jackson) is called in to investigate the racially motivated murder of Trey Howard (Mekhi Phifer), committed by Walter Wade Jr. (Christian Bale), the son of a wealthy real estate tycoon. Shaft briefly meets a potential eyewitness to the murder, Diane Palmieri (Toni Collette), but she disappears soon after and cannot be found for the trial. Wade Jr. is let off on bail and flees to Switzerland.

Two years later, Wade Jr. returns and Shaft rearrests him for leaving the country. During his temporary incarceration at police headquarters, Wade Jr. meets Peoples Hernandez (Jeffrey Wright), a Dominican drug lord. Wade Jr., his passport relinquished, is let off on bail again, and in frustration Shaft resigns from the police force, promising to bring Wade Jr. to justice on his own terms. Worried that Shaft might find the missing eyewitness, Wade Jr. hires Peoples to find and kill her first.

Shaft continues his search for Diane, enlisting the help of his friends Detective Carmen Vasquez (Vanessa L. Williams) and taxi driver Rasaan (Busta Rhymes). While visiting Diane's uncooperative mother, Shaft and Carmen realise they are being followed by officers Jack Roselli (Dan Hedaya) and Jimmy Groves (Ruben Santiago-Hudson), who have been paid by Peoples to follow Shaft and get to Diane. Shaft finally finds Diane, but before they can talk, they are attacked by Peoples's men. In the shootout, Shaft kills Peoples' younger brother. Shaft, Diane, Rasaan, and Diane's brother manage to escape to Rasaan's apartment, but they are followed by Roselli and Groves. While at the apartment, Diane confesses that she saw the entire murder, and kept silent in return for a payoff from Wade's father.

When Peoples arrives at the location, another shootout takes place. Roselli and Groves, outed as corrupt, are killed by Carmen. In a face-off between Shaft and Peoples, Peoples insinuates that he's been working for Wade, and Shaft kills him. Wade Jr.'s trial finally arrives. Before it can begin, however, he is gunned down by Trey's mother, Carla Howard (Lynne Thigpen). In the police station, Shaft reiterates to Carmen that he prefers to be a private detective. A woman arrives, asking for Shaft to help her, claiming to have an abusive boyfriend. Shaft is initially reluctant, but when he sees her injury, he decides to help her anyway. Shaft, along with his uncle (Richard Roundtree), go together to face to the victim.

Cast

• Samuel L. Jackson as John Shaft
• Vanessa L. Williams as Carmen Vasquez
• Jeffrey Wright as Peoples Hernandez
• Christian Bale as Walter Wade, Jr.
• Richard Roundtree as Uncle John, the original John Shaft and uncle of this film's Shaft.
• Pat Hingle as Judge Dennis Bradford
• Busta Rhymes as Rasaan
• Toni Collette as Diane Palmieri
• Dan Hedaya as Jack Roselli
• Ruben Santiago-Hudson as Jimmy Groves
• Josef Sommer as Curt Flemming
• Lynne Thigpen as Carla Howard
• Philip Bosco as Walter Wade, Sr.
• Pat Hingle as Hon. Dennis Bradford
• Lee Tergesen as Luger
• Daniel von Bargen as Lt. Kearney
• Peter McRobbie as Lt. Cromartie
• Zach Grenier as Harrison Loeb
• Richard Cocchiaro as Frank Palmieri
• Ron Castellano as Mike Palmieri
• Mekhi Phifer as Trey Howard

The director of the original Shaft, Gordon Parks, appears in a cameo at the Lenox Lounge party as "Mr. P," as a homage by director John Singleton to the original film.

Release

Critical reception

Shaft received mixed to positive reviews, earning a 68% 'fresh' rating on Rotten Tomatoes; the consensus states "With a charismatic lead, this new Shaft knows how to push the right buttons." On Metacritic, which uses an average of critics' reviews, the film holds a 50/100, indicating "mixed or average reviews".

Box office

The film opened at the box office at #1 with $21,714,757; by the end of its run, Shaft had grossed $70,334,258 in the domestic box office and $107,196,498 worldwide. Based on a $46 million budget, the film can be considered a success.

Sequels

Paramount Pictures is negotiating a deal with John Singleton to make another Shaft film to star Richard Roundtree (as Samuel L. Jackson has stated he no longer has interest making another Shaft film). After the release of the 2000 film, Singleton planned a sequel where Shaft would battle drug lords in Jamaica, but Jackson's disappointment with the film prevented a sequel from being made. Roundtree has signed on to do three Shaft sequels (the first two which will be filmed back-to-back), and has the option to write and direct the third.^{[citation needed]}

Soundtrack

Main article: Shaft (2000 soundtrack)

A soundtrack containing hip hop and R&B music was released on June 6, 2000 by LaFace Records. It peaked at #22 on the Billboard 200 and #3 on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums.

External links

• Shaft at the Internet Movie Database
• Shaft at AllRovi
• Shaft at Box Office Mojo
• Shaft at Rotten Tomatoes
• Shaft at Metacritic