Sam Jackson is perfectly cast as the cat who delivers 10 times out of 10, Shaft. The film is definitely a throwback to the glory days of cops and robbers films like the original Shaft, Dirty Harry, and those that would follow. The protagonist is deliciously un-politically correct, play-by-his-own-rules, bad mamma jamma. The bad guy is an unapologetic criminal who thinks a little too highly of himself. The plot is simple just like it needs to be and Singleton shows love for the 70's film and TV culture with the classic screen fades from scene to scene. The cast is brilliant. Jeffery Wright's mumbling Hispanic drug lord rivals Benicio Del Toro's Fenster from The Usual Suspects as the most difficult to understand character in the history of film. Christian Bale expands on his American Psycho role as the rich, racist, yuppie murderer and Toni Collette shows her continuing versatility in a somewhat under utilized part as a scared witness. What's the coolest, baddest summer movie in the year 2000? Shaft, damn right!
