Shaft is a film about a man trying to find out why his best friend died. It is also a film about a father who spent years ignoring his son, and now wants to fix that mistake by teaching him how to fight. The movie tries to balance comedy, crime drama and family drama, and mostly fails to hold all three together at once.
Trailer, via Warner Bros..
Father and Son
JJ, played by Jessie T. Usher, is a smart, nervous FBI analyst who believes his friend Karim was murdered. He turns to his father, John Shaft, played by Samuel L. Jackson, for help. Shaft is a private investigator who spent his life chasing drug dealers, and he agrees to teach JJ how to look for answers on the streets of Harlem.
The problem is that JJ grew up without his father around. The film spends time showing the distance between them, and the reasons Maya, played by Regina Hall, raised JJ on her own after divorcing Shaft. That history should give the reunion weight. Instead, the film treats the bond between father and son as a convenience, not a wound.
Jackson plays Shaft with the same loose, confident energy that made him famous. He is funny and dangerous in equal measure. Usher is less sure. His JJ is meant to be a contrast to his father, nervous where Shaft is calm, but the script never lets him land his jokes or sell his fear.
The Case Against Gordito
The mystery centers on Karim Hassan, played by Avan Jogia, who dies from what looks like a drug overdose. JJ’s doctor, Sasha Arias, played by Alexandra Shipp, thinks he was killed. She becomes JJ’s partner in the investigation, and the film leans on their friendship to stand in for the father-son relationship it refuses to develop properly.
The case leads JJ and Shaft to a rehab clinic called “Brothers Watching Brothers,” run by former soldiers, including Karim’s friend and business partner. The investigation reveals that the clinic is smuggling drugs from overseas, selling them through a dealer named Gordito, played by Isaach de Bankolé, and laundering the money through a man named Bennie Rodriguez, played by Lauren Vélez. The group bought Karim’s silence with donations to his mosque, then killed him when he threatened to expose them.
This is a solid setup. The film lays out the conspiracy clearly, with enough twists to keep the audience guessing. But the execution drags. The pacing slows in the middle act, and the comedy sections, written by Kenya Barris and Alex Barnow, often feel forced rather than funny.
Roundtree’s Final Role
Richard Roundtree plays John Shaft Sr., the legendary private investigator and grandfather of JJ. This is his final role before his death in 2023. The film introduces him late, as a surprise, and he provides JJ and Shaft with weapons and advice. It is a small part, but it carries some weight because of who Roundtree was.
The film also brings in a younger version of JJ, played by Jordan Preston Carter, and a younger Sasha, played by Nyah Marie Johnson, to show how the family looked when JJ was a child. These scenes are meant to humanize the characters, but they add little to the story.
The Netflix Problem
Shaft was released in theaters on June 14, 2019, by New Line Cinema, then appeared digitally in global markets on June 28, 2019, through Netflix. That split release is telling. The film was clearly not performing as expected in theaters, and the digital date followed quickly to salvage some value from it.
The film’s mixed-to-negative reviews from critics, and its poor performance at the box office, were not a surprise. The movie never finds a tone that suits both its crime story and its comedy ambitions. The action scenes are competent but forgettable, and the humor lands rarely.
| Release Date | Format |
|---|---|
| June 14, 2019 | Theaters |
| June 28, 2019 | Digital, Netflix |
Where It Falls Short
Shaft is not a bad film, but it is a scattered one. It has a strong cast, a decent plot, and a few good scenes. What it lacks is focus. The comedy distracts from the crime, and the family drama feels tacked on rather than earned.
The film also struggles with its setting. Harlem is supposed to be the heart of the story, but the movie never stays there long enough to let its streets feel alive. Characters move from a mosque to a warehouse to a police station, and the city itself becomes a backdrop rather than a character.
Key Facts
– Director: Tim Story
– Writers: Kenya Barris, Alex Barnow
– Runtime: 111 minutes
– Cast: Samuel L. Jackson, Jessie T. Usher, Regina Hall, Alexandra Shipp, Richard Roundtree
– Genre: Action, Crime, Comedy, Mystery
– Released: June 14, 2019 (theaters), June 28, 2019 (Netflix)
Shaft is a film that knows what it wants to be, but cannot commit to it. It wants to be a gritty crime thriller, a family drama, and a comedy all at once. It succeeds at none of them completely.
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