Barnes & Noble

Shaft 2000 is not so much a remake as an elaboration on 1971's seminal blaxploitation classic, Shaft, reviving Ernest Tidyman's fictional private eye in the formidable person of Samuel L. Jackson. Actually the nephew of the character originally played by Richard Roundtree (who essays the role once more in an amusing cameo), Jackson's Shaft quits the police force and goes into private practice after legal legerdemain frees one of his "collars," a callow playboy (Christian Bale) who murdered a young black man. Aided by a former comrade (Vanessa Williams) and marked for execution by a psychotic drug dealer (Jeffrey Wright in all his scene-stealing glory), Shaft doggedly pursues the wealthy killer. Writer-director John Singleton (Rosewood) makes visual and verbal references to previous Shaft films, but in style and attitude his version owes little to the now-almost-quaint blaxploitation formula; it's every bit as tense, fast-moving, and violent as the best '90s cop thrillers. The DVD is packed with extras, including exclusive cast and crew interviews, music videos for Issac Hayes's classic Shaft theme song and R. Kelly's "Bad Man," a featurette on the making of the film, and a theatrical trailer. Ed Hulse

All Movie Guide

This action drama puts a new spin on Shaft, one of the key "blaxploitation" films of the 1970s. John Shaft (Samuel L. Jackson), the namesake nephew of the legendary private eye (Richard Roundtree), is a street-smart police detective who with his partner Carmen Velez (Vanessa L. Williams) has been assigned to a racially motivated murder case, in which a black college student was killed in front of a restaurant by Walter Williams Jr. (Christian Bale), the sociopathic son of a New York construction tycoon, who then fled the country rather than face prosecution. Diane Palmieri (Toni Collette), a waitress on a smoke break, saw the murder, but she doesn't want to talk to the police. Two years later, Walter is forced to return to New York, but without Diane's testimony, the city doesn't have much of a case. Soon, Shaft, Walter Junior, and Walter Senior's goons are all looking for Diane, with Junior enlisting the help of Peoples Hernandez (Jeffrey Wright), a small-time drug dealer who will do anything to move into the big leagues. Shaft and Carmen find Diane, but discover that she had a good reason for being on the lam for the past two years. Amidst all this activity, John gets frequent advice from his uncle, with whom he ponders the idea of quitting the force and opening a detective agency. Shaft was directed by John Singleton, from a screenplay by Singleton, Richard Price, and Shane Salerno. Mark Deming

Product Details

• UPC: 097363361947
• Source: PARAMOUNT
• Region Code: 1
• Presentation: Wide Screen
• Sound: Dolby Digital Surround, Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround
• Language: English, Français
• Subtitles: English
• Time: 1:39:00
• Sales Rank: 15,143

This DVD is also available as part of a box set:

• Samuel L Jackson Ultimate Collection

Features:

DVD MENU