Review of Shaft

Shaft is an action/crime film starring good ol' Samuel L. Jackson as the titular character, a disgruntled cop that seeks justice after being assigned to a case of a hate crime perpetuated by Walter Wade Jr., the son of a wealthy man played by Christian Bale, who acts calmly knowing that he won't be punished because of his father's money that certainly lets him get away with murder, to the outrage of everyone, especially Shaft. After the judge sets the bail, Shaft becomes enraged and swears he will catch Wade even if he has to do it outside the law. At some point a drug lord named Peoples Hernandez (Jeffrey Wright) gets involved in the plot, providing a new enemy for Shaft and an ally for Wade. Samuel L. Jackson delivers a top-notch performance, as usual. Christian Bale really knows how to pull off a villain, as he seems threatening in most of the screen time he is given, altough one might argue that is just a small echo from his previous big villain role in American Psycho (2000). Jeffrey Wright is also a stand-out as he provides a magnificent performance as the menacing drug lord Peoples Hernandez. Overall the action was pretty solid and engaging; there were some twists and turns that if you weigh them on a scale putting the positive on the one side and the negative on the other, I'd say that there is a balance that is slightly turning heavier on the negative side. There were some scenes that just didn't make sense, for example: an infuriated Shaft throws his badge and nearly hits the judge and gets no punishment? People in movies have been held in contempt gor a lot less. Wade goes into a rough neighborhood unaccompanied with a bag full of cash? Ridiculous. Besides, I felt that the ending was a way for the writers to wrap the story up really quick, leaving a sensation of rush and abruptness. In this case for me, quick equals lazy. Really, that ending was disappointing and faulty. But you be the judge, I still found an entertaining movie that heavily relies on the acting to be barely sustainable, because without Samuel L. Jackson, Jeffrey Wright and Christian Bale, I would have probably given this movie a 5 star rating. Oh, am I forgetting something? Yes! Isaac Hayes' theme song is back, although we know that the lyrics talk about Shaft and his women, but there were no women to be found around Shaft on this movie (besides Carmen Vazquez, played by Vanessa Williams). And Busta Rhymes kills it as the comic relief and Shaft's trusting friend, Rasaan.