Film

Shaft

Name: Shaft
Genre: Action, Adventure, Crime, Thriller
Released: 2000
Cast: Samuel L. Jackson, Vanessa Williams, Jeffrey Wright, Christian Bale, Busta Rhymes

Other titles called Shaft: the 1971 film.

Crime

Samuel L. Jackson revives the '70s blaxploitation icon as a modern New York detective—sharp-dressed, quick-witted, absolutely no-nonsense. It's a stylish crime thriller with Isaac Hayes' theme remixed for 2000, balancing serious racial justice themes with genuine entertainment. For anyone who wants their action heroes confident and their dialogue crackling.

TMDb rating

3.0

If you liked this

Jackie Brown1997

Tarantino's ensemble crime film has the same groove—sharp dialogue, ensemble cast chemistry, and a Black lead who outsmarts everyone in the room. Pam Grier commands every scene with the same effortless authority Jackson brings here.

But It's 154 minutes and deliberately paced. If you want propulsive action, this moves at its own meditative rhythm.

American Gangster2007

Ridley Scott's epic about Frank Lucas has that same New York swagger and moral weight—crime, corruption, and one man navigating systems rigged against him. Denzel Washington and Russell Crowe crackle opposite each other with real tension.

But At 157 minutes it asks patience. The second half slows considerably as it explores institutional corruption over action.

Training Day2001

Denzel Washington's corrupt cop opposite Ethan Hawke's rookie gives you similar moral complexity and crackling dialogue. It's a day in the life of LAPD corruption with real consequences and an ensemble that works in concert.

But The ending tilts toward conventional justice in ways that might feel neat. Some find Denzel's performance almost too entertaining for the film's own good.

Not sure tonight? Get a pick in a minute, starting from Shaft

The wildcard

Something you would not have found on your own.

The Grifters1990

Both explore how systems force intelligence into crime—Shaft is the cop who sees it, The Grifters are people already living it. Same moral clarity from opposite sides.

Scorsese-adjacent but stranger—Stephen Frears' noir about a con artist family has that same moral corruption and New York grit, but told through grifts and betrayal rather than official crime. Annette Bening, John Cusack, and Angelica Huston work together like jazz musicians. It's about survival through cunning.

But It's small-scale and intimate where Shaft is propulsive. The ending is morally bleak in ways some find nihilistic rather than cathartic.

Cop Land1997

Robert De Niro as a deaf New Jersey cop investigating his own precinct's corruption. Like Shaft, it's about institutional racism and dirty cops, grounded and earnest despite the big cast working together.

But It's slow-burn procedural. Expects you to care about systems and relationships rather than action set pieces.

Menace II Society1993

Hughes Brothers' landmark debut about a Compton hustler navigating survival and moral collapse. Brutal, honest, visually confident, with a similar intelligence about how systems destroy from inside. Soundtrack is essential.

But It's relentlessly dark and offers no catharsis. The violence isn't entertainment—it's consequence.

Carlito's Way1993

De Palma's stylish crime saga with Al Pacino as a Puerto Rican ex-con trying to go straight. Same energy—charismatic lead, New York texture, moral complexity, and sequences that move like dance. Sean Penn is magnificent as a scumbag lawyer.

But It's more '80s De Palma than grounded thriller. The style sometimes overwhelms the story.

Dead Presidents1995

The Hughes Brothers again, this time following Vietnam vets robbing a bank in Harlem. It connects personal trauma to systemic failure the way Shaft does—smart, angry, visually striking, with an ensemble cast all executing perfectly.

But The second half's heist plot is conventional. The social commentary sometimes outweighs the narrative momentum.

Out of Sight1998

Soderbergh's crime-romance between George Clooney and Jennifer Lopez has that same cool—stylish, witty, assured. It trusts the audience and lets the dialogue breathe. The ensemble cast (including Don Cheadle and Ving Rhames) is perfectly deployed.

But It prioritizes style and charm over plot momentum. If you need clear story beats, the structure might frustrate you.

The Nice Guys2016

Shane Black's '70s LA noir with Ryan Gosling and Russell Crowe bickering and investigating together. Dialogue-heavy, character-driven action with real warmth. Black understands how to make you care about competent people doing what they do.

But It's deliberately retro and occasionally precious about its period. The plot unravels a bit in service of character beats some find indulgent.

The Last Temptation of Christ1988

Both protagonists are rebels facing systems designed to crush them—one religious institutional power, one racial/legal. Both demand agency in rigged situations.

Completely unexpected here, but Scorsese's controversial biblical epic shares Shaft's core: a protagonist who questions authority and operates outside institutional power. It's visually audacious, deeply spiritual without sentimentality, and Willem Dafoe's Jesus is as iconoclastic as Jackson's Shaft.

But It's three hours, deliberately blasphemous, and approaches faith as doubt rather than certainty. Many find it either too radical or too pretentious.

Moonlight2016

Shaft insists on Black male authority and dignity in a system designed to deny it. Moonlight does the same thing on an intimate, spiritual level. Both refuse diminishment.

Barry Jenkins' film has nothing to do with crime, but it has everything to do with Shaft's core: a Black man's interiority and authority over his own story. Shot in small moments rather than scenes, it builds an unmistakable presence and self-possession. Lyrical, gorgeous, devastating.

But It's the opposite of action—a quiet character study in three chapters. If you watch Shaft for the plot, this will feel glacially slow.