Shaft is a movie I went with minimal expectations so on those grounds, I guess it exceeded them, and honestly there were some genially entertaining moments and Samuel L. Jackson, and to a lesser extent Richard Roundtree, were the highlights of the film.
Shaft
(2019)
Genre(s): Action, Crime, Comedy
Warner Bros. | R – 111 min. – $35.99 | September 24, 2019
Date Published: 10/02/2019 | Author: The Movieman
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Warner Bros. Home Entertainment provided me with a free copy of the Blu-ray I reviewed in this Blog Post.
The opinions I share are my own.
THE MOVIE — 3.0/5 |
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Plot Synopsis: Legendary badass John Shaft (SAMUEL L. JACKSON) agrees to help his estranged son, JJ (JESSIE T. USHER), uncover the truth behind his friend’s suspicious death. The polar opposite of his foulmouthed father, JJ is a book-smart FBI cyber security expert who needs an education only Shaft can provide: how to navigate Harlem’s underbelly. But if flying fists and bullets weren’t enough of a challenge, JJ finds his political correctness clashes wildly with Shaft’s “shut your mouth” style. Review: Shaft is the fifth movie within the franchise and the third to be named Shaft, though I get why and I suppose it’s better than something like Son of Shaft. In any case, I went into this entry with low expectations and I guess it beat those as I did find the movie at least somewhat entertaining and did manage to chuckle at a few of the jokes. The plot itself isn’t anything exceptional but serviceable.
The highlight of the movie, even though he seems like he’s going through the motions (not unlike Bruce Willis with the later Die Hard movies), Samuel L. Jackson can turn on the charm and really carries the film, especially since Jessie T. Usher was absolutely dreadful in what amounts to the titular character role; course it’s no surprise he was rather bad in the exceptionally awful Independence Day: Resurgence. On the positive end, besides Samuel L. Jackson who does kind of own the role, I am a fan of Alexandra Shipp though her talents were vastly underutilized in X-Men: Apocalypse and Dark Phoenix, but here she did well even just as a love interest (I actually wouldn’t have minded her playing Shaft’s daughter frankly…). And Regina Hall has really grown as an actress from her Scary Movie days.. Shaft (2019) was directed by quasi-journeyman filmmaker Tim Story, director of Barbershop, two Fantastic Four movies, two Ride Along films (with supposedly another in development) and two Think Like a Man flicks. Here, nothing really stands out. The stunt-work and action is standard and the storyline has an almost 1990s vibe aside from the references to millennials.
As it stands, this new generation in the Shaft series is by no means great and Jessie T. Usher made for a weak actor for the role (as I said, Shipp would’ve been a more inspired choice), but having Samuel L. Jackson in the lead did make the movie more entertaining than it really deserved to be and makes this a rental. |
SPECIAL FEATURES – 3.5/5 |
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This release comes with a matted slip cover and redemption code for the Digital HD copy. Can Ya Dig It?: The Making of Shaft (10:36) is a behind-the-scenes featurette with interviews by members of the cast and crew including Samuel L. Jackson, Jessie T. Usher, Richard Roundtree, Regina Hall, Tim Story and others. A Complicated Man: The Shaft Legacy (44:14) is the crown jewel of this release, a three-part documentary on the history of the franchise and features Roundtree, Story, Michael Jai White (director of Black Dynamite) and others discussing the effect it had on cinema. Deleted Scenes (2:54) – There are five scenes here that got trimmed down or completely cut out. Nothing especially noteworthy and they’re rather short. Gag Reel (4:53) Previews — Doctor Sleep, Godzilla: King of the Monsters |
VIDEO – 4.5/5 |
| Shaft is one bad mother-shut-your-mouth on Blu-ray where it’s presented with a 2.38 widescreen aspect ratio and a 1080p high-definition transfer (MPEG-4 AVC codec). The movie looks pretty solid in HD, detail is relatively sharp and colors are fairly vibrant, such as the coats the three Shaft men wear at the end, have especially nice textures. Black levels meanwhile are decent, no signs of artifacting or aliasing. |
AUDIO – 5.0/5 |
| The movie comes equipped with a satisfying and strong Dolby Atmos track, outputting nice and clear dialogue levels via the center channel while the remaining speakers got a fine workout during the various gun fights, car chases and other action-bits. I especially liked that it never came across as overpowering nor did the track top out, instead it was an even spread across all channels. |
OVERALL – 3.5/5 |
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Shaft is a movie I went with minimal expectations so on those grounds, I guess it exceeded them, and honestly there were some genially entertaining moments and Samuel L. Jackson, and to a lesser extent Richard Roundtree, were the highlights of the film, while Jessie T. Usher was the weak link, unfortunately, not that it matters considering its lackluster box office returns. |
Check out some more 1080p screen caps by going to page 2. Please note, these do contain spoilers.