Re-watching Shaft

Samuel L. Jackson stars as John Shaft, the nephew of the original John Shaft (Richard Roundtree). John is a cop and one day he is called to a murder scene. It turns out a rich young man (Christian Bale) killed a young African American male outside a restaurant/bar.

Bale’s character jumps bail and John throws his badge at a judge. John becomes a private eye like his uncle. Bale’s character comes home to find the only witness to his crime, a waitress at the bar. (This dates the movie a bit, I think in today’s New York there would be security cameras around and therefore footage of the crime). He meets up with a drug dealer played by Jeffery Wright and enlists Wright to find the waitress.

Jeffry Wright and Christian Bale are good in their roles. They have some nice scenes together. Jackson is good as Shaft and it is nice to have Richard Roundtree make a cameo.  This is enjoyable but not special. It is nice to hear the classic Shaft theme.

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