In 1998, NYPD Detective John Shaft II, relative of private investigator John Shaft I, is called in to investigate the grievous assault of Trey Howard outside of a restaurant. Shaft arrests Walter Wade, Jr., the son of a wealthy real estate tycoon, after noticing blood on him and Wade claims he acted in self-defense. However, Trey's friend tells Shaft that when she and Trey entered the restaurant, Wade racially harassed him. Trey humiliated Wade in response and left the restaurant, and Wade followed after him. Shaft notices a waitress, Diane Palmieri, eyeing Wade and tries to coax a statement from her but she claims to have not witnessed anything and disappears from the scene. When Wade mocks Trey after he dies on the ambulance stretcher, Shaft punches him and is suspended. Later, Wade phones Shaft to taunt him that because of the punch, he was granted bail on the homicide charge and has fled to Switzerland. Two years later, Wade returns to the country and Shaft rearrests him. Shaft's friends throw him a party in celebration where the elder Shaft makes an appearance and proceeds to warn him that Wade's wealth puts him at an advantage to beat the case. During his temporary detention at police headquarters, Wade befriends Peoples Hernandez, a Dominicandrug lord whom Shaft previously arrested. At his bail hearing, the judge makes Wade relinquish his passport in exchange for being released on bail again; in frustration, Shaft resigns from the police force, promising to bring Wade to justice on his own terms. Worried that Shaft might find the missing eyewitness, Wade hires Peoples to find and kill her first. Shaft continues his search for Diane, enlisting the help of his friends Detective Carmen Vasquez and taxi driver Rasaan. While visiting Diane's uncooperative mother, Shaft and Carmen realize they are being followed by officers Jack Roselli and Jimmy Groves, whom Peoples has promised a cut of the payment to follow Shaft and get to Diane. In disguise, Shaft and his former colleague, Detective Luger, rob Wade of the money he had gathered to pay Peoples' off by selling some of his deceased mothers 'exclusive' jewelry. They plant the money on Roselli and Groves to make Peoples think he is being double-crossed. However, Roselli and Groves spot Shaft fleeing the scene and realize they are being set up and resume tailing Shaft. Shaft traces a number Diane's mother called and finds Diane being protected by her brothers Mike and Frank. Before they can talk, Peoples' gangbangers attack them. In the shootout, Shaft kills Peoples' younger brother and Mikey is injured. Shaft, Diane, Rasaan, and Frank take shelter at Rasaan's apartment, secretly followed by Roselli and Groves. While at the apartment, Diane admits seeing Wade murder Trey. Wade then made her keep silent in return for a payoff from Wade's father. Meanwhile, Peoples attacks Wade in anger over his brother's death. Peoples and his gangbangers arrive at Rasaan's apartment but Shaft engages them in a shootout and everyone flees through the fire escape. Roselli and Groves try to kill Shaft but Carmen comes up behind them and she kills the corrupt officers at Shaft's command. The shootout spills into the city streets where Shaft and Carmen kill the gangbangers but Rasaan's cab crashes alongside Peoples' vehicle. Peoples takes Diane hostage with an ice pick. Shaft puts his gun down and convinces Peoples not to do Wade's dirty work and instead to have a one on one fight. Peoples releases Diane and drops his ice pick. Peoples makes like he is ready to fight Shaft but then draws his gun from his back; Shaft pulls his backup gun and kills Peoples first. Wade's trial finally arrives. Shaft tells Trey's mother, Carla Howard, that the trial will have a new judge, the D.A. as prosecutor, and an eyewitness. However, before the trial can begin, Carla guns down Wade on the courthouse steps and she is arrested. In the police station, Shaft reiterates to Carmen that he prefers to be a private detective. A woman arrives, asking Shaft for help filing assault charges against her abusive boyfriend. Shaft is initially reluctant, but when he sees her injury, he decides to help her via his methods. Shaft, along with John Shaft I and Rasaan, go together to confront the abusive boyfriend.
On Rotten Tomatoes the film holds an approval rating of 67% based on 115 reviews, and an average rating of 6.1/10. The site's critical consensus reads, "With a charismatic lead, this new Shaft knows how to push the right buttons." On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 50 out of 100, based on 33 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews". Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "B+" on an A+ to F scale.
Box office
The film opened at the box office at #1 with $21.7 million; by the end of its run, Shaft had grossed $70.3 million in the domestic box office and $107.2 million worldwide, against a $46 million budget.
Merchandise
In 2000, McFarlane Toys released a Shaft action figure as part of their Movie Maniacs series three toy line. Accessories included are a handgun, sunglasses and a replica of the film's poster with a skulls and bones base.
Despite having an identical title, the 2019 film Shaft acts as a second remake-sequel to both this 2000 film and the originals starring Richard Roundtree. The 2019 release stars Jessie Usher as John "JJ" Shaft Jr, an FBI agent and the son of Samuel L. Jackson's character. Both Jackson and Roundtree reprise their roles as John Shaft II and John Shaft Sr., respectively, and the film retroactively reveals that Roundtree's character is actually the biological father of Jackson's John Shaft, mentioning that Shaft Sr. spent years pretending to be his uncle. Unlike the 2000 film and the 1970s trilogy, the 2019 installment received mixed reviews and failed at the box office.
