“Shaft” (2019) Movie Review

    It’s fair to say that this year’s “Shaft” film left little impact in theaters and with audiences since it seemed like almost no one bothered to watch the latest film in the long running franchise.  I was curious about the film upon it’s release but even I didn’t bother seeing this film in theaters (I can only see so many films at the multiplex).  Now that it is out on home video, I finally got a chance to check out this film and I had several thoughts after finishing this film.

    The film follows John Shaft’s son JJ as he is informed that one of his childhood friend’s overdosed and died in Harlem.  Knowing that his friend was clean, he travels to Harlem to figure out what really happened to his friend.  Once arriving in Harlem, he quickly realizes he needs help in investigating the possible murder so he ends up turning to his father for help.  The pair clash over style and culture but work together to get to the bottom of what is going on.  Over the course of the investigation, the two learn to accept and appreciate each other and the pair realize that family comes first.

    Now, the original “Shaft” film was historical and one of the most successful blaxploitation films ever made.  It was also a good movie which even now stands the test of time.  This film will not be remembered anywhere near as fondly primarily because it turns the franchise into a bit of a farce.  I don’t mind a good action comedy one bit and this film has enjoyable elements, unfortunately those elements come at the expense of the legacy of the franchise.

    This is the fifth theatrically released “Shaft” film (there were also a number of made for television films) and the second soft reboot.  I do appreciate the fact that none of the “Shaft” reboots negate previous films and that makes “Shaft” one of the longest running action franchises still going.  Other remakes could learn a lesson from this franchise.

    Now for the film itself, it unfortunately fails in many aspects.  Samuel L. Jackson once again returns as John Shaft after nineteen years but plays the role a lot less seriously than he previously did (which is on par with the less serious overall tone of the film).  Jackson does seem to have fun to his credit.  Jessie T. Usher is enjoyable as Shaft’s son JJ and has good chemistry with Jackson.  The highlight of the film is Richard Roundtree’s small cameo as the original John Shaft and JJ’s grandfather (this retcon from Shaft’s uncle to father is acknowledged in this film).

    Much of the humor of this film falls flat as it tries for edgy non politically correct comedy that just doesn’t stick the landing and comes off as crude.  It probably doesn’t help that a lot of the film’s style and references are a bit outdated at this point.  This film actually ended up being released directly to Netflix outside the United States and it is easy to see why.

    “Shaft” is an overly formulaic film that is very rough around the edges and lacks charm.  It certainly isn’t the worst film I have ever seen, but Samuel L. Jackson typically brings more to the table and this film is easily the weakest in the “Shaft” franchise to date.

Grade: D+

“The Take” (1974) Movie Review

    After watching the trailer for “Star Wars Episode IX: The Rise of Skywalker”, I was beyond excited and one of the best moments of the trailer showcases the return of franchise favorite Lando Calrissian as played by the ever so suave Billy Dee Williams.  Luckily for me, the kind folks at Mill Creek Entertainment were kind enough to provide me a review copy of the Blu-ray set that includes “Black Gunn” and “The Take”.  I decided to watch “The Take” first because I needed my Billy Dee Williams fix.

    The film follows a police officer named Terry Sneed as he joins a local police force in New Mexico to clean up their criminal underworld.  The only problem with that is that Sneed is already getting paid off and is out for himself.  Sneed, despite accepting a payout, still decides to go after the racketeer his department is after.

    As stated before, the film stars a pre “Star Wars” Billy Dee Williams in the lead role of Terry Sneed.  I met Billy Dee Williams several years ago at the Motor City Comic Con and his appearance led to one of my favorite stories involving my dad.  Williams was very nice and I was happy to get his autograph.  The film also featured Eddie Albert as the head of the police force Sneed transfers to.  It was nice seeing Albert in a commanding role although it was hard for me not to see him as Oliver Douglas in “Green Acres” because I loved that show and watched it all the time when I was a kid.  Vic Morrow plays the ‘villain’ of the film which is interesting because I was just telling my girlfriend about him around a month ago.  We were talking about actors that died before a film was completed and I told her about Vic Morrow’s tragic death on the set of “Twilight Zone: The Movie”.  That was a little eerie.

    So, what was my take on “The Take”?  (See what I did there?). Joking aside, the very first thing that struck me about the film was the quality.  For being a relatively obscure film, it actually was comparable to the likes of films like “Chinatown” and “The French Connection” in it’s style.  Now, “The Take” isn’t quite as masterfully done as those two classics, but it wasn’t too far behind those movies.  “The Take” has some pacing issues but so did “The French Connection” and Billy Dee Williams gives a pretty solid performance as well so the acting isn’t the sole reason.  Still, something about the movie felt ‘off’ for it’s time and it took me a little while to put my finger on it.

    “The Take” is one of the few 70s era films to feature an African American lead where his race wasn’t an issue.  Seriously, that may sound like a no brainer now, but this was the era of “Shaft” and “Dolemite”.  I would almost argue that “The Take” should be remembered more now for being so far ahead of it’s time.  With blaxploitation films finding success at the box office, could it be that audiences just felt a disconnect with this film?  Am I reading too much into this?  I loved the fact that this film didn’t rely on racial issues but was it too much of a game changer?  The more I studied the film, the more things started to make sense.  Learning can be fun as it turns out. Lol

    The film is based on G.F. Newman’s novel “Sir, You Bastard”.  As the title may allude, Newman is an English author and in his book, Sneed is not an American police officer but a Scotland Yard inspector.  That explained a lot to me about why the film didn’t focus on racial issues.  The fact that the film was a British and American production made even more sense since Europe tends to be more accepting to people of color, especially in the 1970s.

    My biggest complaint about the movie is that the film came to a sudden stop.  The main story was resolved but I thought there would be more to the ending then there was.  I guess part of the reason for the abrupt ending might come from the fact that the Sneed story was told over a trilogy of books.  So this film is basically the first act of a three act story.

    Overall, I was pleasantly surprised by the quality of this film.  The editing and car chases remind me of something straight from “Bullitt” (though it is hard to top that film’s car chase).  I really admire the film for having an African American lead in the 70s and not relying on racial overtones.  The closest to a blaxploitation movie this film gets is it’s brass heavy jazz infused score.  The film reminds me of something I watched on network television (probably UPN) on the weekend back in the day.  So it was also a nice sense of nostalgia for me to see this.

Grade: B-

Buy “The Take” and “Black Gunn” on a Double Feature Blu-ray Today!