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Shaft
2000 99 min Germany, United States of America R 16+
★6.2
Action, Adventure, Crime, Thriller
Director: John Singleton
🎭 Based on
«Shaft»
byErnest Tidyman
Trailers
Description
New York police detective John Shaft arrests Walter Wade Jr. for a racially motivated slaying. But the only eyewitness disappears, and Wade jumps bail for Switzerland. Two years later Wade returns to face trial, confident his money and influence will get him acquitted -- especially since he's paid a drug kingpin to kill the witness.
Budget:
$46M
US Gross:
$70.33M
Worldwide:
$107.63M
Starring
Samuel L. Jackson
Actor
Vanessa Williams
Actor
Christian Bale
Actor
Awards
MTV Movie & TV Awards 2001
— Most Elegant
Key opinion
Shaft (2000) is widely regarded as an entertaining, stylish action crime film that thrives on the charisma of its core cast. While the narrative is frequently criticized for being thin or derivative, the strong performances and updated blaxploitation aesthetic generally succeed in providing an enjoyable, albeit uneven, viewing experience.
| Acting | Samuel L. Jackson brings a signature cool, authoritative presence that defines the title character, despite some disagreement over whether his energy level hits the mark. | |
| Acting | Christian Bale provides a standout, chilling performance as the film's antagonist, often cited as the most memorable element of the cast. | |
| Acting | Jeffrey Wright delivers a captivating and physically transformative performance as the drug lord Hernandez Pips. | |
| Screenplay | The screenplay is widely considered the film's weakest link, characterized by implausible plot developments and a lackluster middle section. | |
| Direction | Opinions on John Singleton's direction are divided; some praise his stylish, genre-aware approach, while others find the filmmaking disjointed or structurally flawed. |