Shaft (D- or .5/4 stars)
'Shaft' (directed by Tim Story) is the sequel to Shaft (2000) & is the 5th film in a series that began with Shaft (1971). In this sequel, a flashback reveals that John Shaft (Samuel L. Jackson) once had a wife, Maya (Regina Hall), & a baby boy. In order to keep them safe from a dangerous drug lord (Isaach De Bankole), he needed to remove himself from their lives altogether; leaving the force & becoming a streetwise P.I. 20-ish yrs. later, we see that his son, JJ (Jessie Usher), is now a data analyst for the FBI with good friends in Sasha (Alexandra Shipp) & Karin (Avan Jogia). He is close to his mom, but hasn't had contact with dad in decades. When Karin - a military vet & recovering addict - ends up dead from a heroin overdose, JJ suspects foul play.
Thusly, JJ starts snooping around for answers. After a bad run-in with some murderous drug dealers, he seeks out his estranged father, and that's when a host of father-son issues come to the fore. Much to his dismay, John just can't believe that JJ - a sensitive, gun-hating, snazzy-dressed millennial - could possibly be his offspring. To that, JJ sees his pops as a politically incorrect, macho man, a-hole who disobeys the law to get what he wants. To say that they don't see eye to eye is putting it lightly. When JJ finds proof that Karin's death was murder, the baddies kidnap Sasha. And so, John & his son must put their differences aside as they head into the final showdown ... but also decide to enlist help from grandpa (Richard Roundtree, the original Shaft).
Because I mildly enjoyed the 2000 film in this franchise, I had high hopes for this one. Wrongggg. I basically despised this movie. From the jump, I think I heard the word f*ck or f*cking roughly 10 times in the first 2 minutes -- instant turn-off. The words weren't being used organically in conversation, they were interspersed sporadically to make our characters look faux-cool. And from there, this shallow, misogynistic, idiotic plot just got worse. The banter btwn. cool-cat dad & nerdy, uptight son is funny in fleeting spurts, but lazy, stereotyped screenwriting stereotyping quickly reminded me how much I was loathing this movie.
Most galling is the film's assertion that men have to be "real men". i.e., shoot guns, fight, treat women as objects & never apologize. Now, I suppose it's inherently interesting to have John Shaft's son turn out to be a computer-literate softie, rather than be like his street-smart tough guy daddy. Ultimately, these filmmakers care more about tired, predictable plot mechanics {including sloppy action sequences} than characterization or anything remotely touching quality execution. The Shaft family becomes cartoonish versions of what began as a gritty anti-hero. The filmmakers stray from the tone of the 1971 & 2000 films in being hard-edged blaxploitation flicks & descend into DUMB comedy territory. Ugh.
The characters never seem affected at all by violence & death their inflicting. There is very little humanity. And that this film is treated as a comedy makes that all the worse. Stupid plot. Flat cinematography. Boring action. Glamorized violence {with no consequences}. Graphic sexual innuendo. The eye roll-worthy message that you're not a man unless you're a heterosexual "man's man". The gross objectification of women. And the aforementioned off-the-charts profanity. The only saving grace of this movie, for me, was Jessie Usher's amiable performance as JJ. But then, my name is JJ. I was always gonna dig him, haha. Putrid movie. Oh, and that this film ends with the facile notion that a sequel might come? Please, no.
Thusly, JJ starts snooping around for answers. After a bad run-in with some murderous drug dealers, he seeks out his estranged father, and that's when a host of father-son issues come to the fore. Much to his dismay, John just can't believe that JJ - a sensitive, gun-hating, snazzy-dressed millennial - could possibly be his offspring. To that, JJ sees his pops as a politically incorrect, macho man, a-hole who disobeys the law to get what he wants. To say that they don't see eye to eye is putting it lightly. When JJ finds proof that Karin's death was murder, the baddies kidnap Sasha. And so, John & his son must put their differences aside as they head into the final showdown ... but also decide to enlist help from grandpa (Richard Roundtree, the original Shaft).
Because I mildly enjoyed the 2000 film in this franchise, I had high hopes for this one. Wrongggg. I basically despised this movie. From the jump, I think I heard the word f*ck or f*cking roughly 10 times in the first 2 minutes -- instant turn-off. The words weren't being used organically in conversation, they were interspersed sporadically to make our characters look faux-cool. And from there, this shallow, misogynistic, idiotic plot just got worse. The banter btwn. cool-cat dad & nerdy, uptight son is funny in fleeting spurts, but lazy, stereotyped screenwriting stereotyping quickly reminded me how much I was loathing this movie.
Most galling is the film's assertion that men have to be "real men". i.e., shoot guns, fight, treat women as objects & never apologize. Now, I suppose it's inherently interesting to have John Shaft's son turn out to be a computer-literate softie, rather than be like his street-smart tough guy daddy. Ultimately, these filmmakers care more about tired, predictable plot mechanics {including sloppy action sequences} than characterization or anything remotely touching quality execution. The Shaft family becomes cartoonish versions of what began as a gritty anti-hero. The filmmakers stray from the tone of the 1971 & 2000 films in being hard-edged blaxploitation flicks & descend into DUMB comedy territory. Ugh.
The characters never seem affected at all by violence & death their inflicting. There is very little humanity. And that this film is treated as a comedy makes that all the worse. Stupid plot. Flat cinematography. Boring action. Glamorized violence {with no consequences}. Graphic sexual innuendo. The eye roll-worthy message that you're not a man unless you're a heterosexual "man's man". The gross objectification of women. And the aforementioned off-the-charts profanity. The only saving grace of this movie, for me, was Jessie Usher's amiable performance as JJ. But then, my name is JJ. I was always gonna dig him, haha. Putrid movie. Oh, and that this film ends with the facile notion that a sequel might come? Please, no.