June (Web-only) 2000

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Meet Samuel L. Jackson, movie star. This weekend's release of Shaft confirmed what many have suspected since 1994's Pulp Fiction: Jackson can draw crowds. With $21.7 million in ticket sales, Shaft proved that audience interest in the charismatic actor extends beyond his typical ensemble movies like A Time to Kill and Rules of Engagement.

Christian critics spared no compliment to describe Jackson's allure. "The coolest actor in movies today can arguably be said to be Samuel L. Jackson," writes Michael Elliott of Crosswalk.com, while others prefer the adjectives "mesmerizing," "dynamic," and "magnetic." The enthusiasm for Shaft's plot, however, was minimal. Elliott continues: "All the attitude in the world can't disguise the fact that logically, the script is full of holes and the dialogue full of uncomfortable cliches." The film is an update/remake/rehash of the 1971 hit Shaft, which starred Richard Roundtree as a private detective and "sex machine," as the Oscar-winning theme song dubs him. Here, Roundtree passes the franchise's mantle to Jackson, who plays John Shaft's nephew: a New York cop who quits the corrupt police force to bring a wealthy white killer to justice. Tom Neven, editor of Focus on the Family magazine, sees the film as little more than exploitation of the brand name: "The first Shaft was part of an historical moment in America: it was a breakthrough action film with an African-American as the hero. … This new Shaft might be a slam-bang action film, but for young audiences, there is no historical context for why the Shaft character struck such a strong chord in 1971." Other gripes included Shaft's vigilantism—"the film is about little more than street justice," says the Dove Foundation—and villainized ...