Shaft (2000)
In John Singleton’s Shaft, Samuel Jackson finally takes center stage, and it’s hard to imagine a vehicle more suited to his strengths.
Filed under:
On Movies & Media •
Film Review •
Shaft •
John Singleton •
Samuel Jackson •
Jeffrey Wright
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From the Archives: This post was originally published on the film’s opening weekend in 2000. At this time, the site was an experimental, amateur-hour endeavor. I was just learning to write film reviews. I read them now, and I see that I was an impatient writer, uninterested in revision, and hasty in my editing, but eager to find my own voice in the practice of criticism.
Some actors have the gift of disappearing into a character, so that each role becomes a new revelation. But Hollywood seems to pride itself on developing a different kind of actor, the star that usually plays the same role, with a different name and a different hat each time. These actors often spend their years trying to find the variation on the character best suited to their personality.
Samuel Jackson is of that variety, and he’s about as good as those actors get, a compelling presence who steals every scene he’s in, even if he’s a supporting character.
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