Forgotten Sequels: Shaft in Africa

There is a danger to being topical in Cinema.  Iconic films can do this well, making them benchmark films that define their Generation and/or Era.  Good or bad films can do this, whether they are The Trip, Scream or The Outsiders...and then there's Shaft in Africa.  This film does not exactly seem all that serious or relevant nowadays.  After two films, Shaft had to go big.  To that end, they decided to go to Africa- Lord only knows why.  Shaft in Africa has the titular hero going to the titular continent (which isn't a country- sorry, Sarah Palin) to stop a modern-day slave trade.  Will he be able to do the deed in his final adventure (not counting the 2000 disappointment)?  To find out, read on...

A bad, bad man is keeping the slave trade alive from Paris.  He's such a bad Blaxploitation villain that his lady gives him a hummer in the car on the way to a business deal.  No, really!

Shaft is confronted by a mysterious group of men who try to hire him by force.  When he says 'no,' they...

 ...strip him naked and put him through a series of tests that include defending himself with a stick and trying to survive extreme heat.

He's still wary of their offer- even after the $25,000 pay day- until he realizes that he can 'get some' from the client's daughter.  This is Shaft's 'I'm gonna get me some' face.

 Naturally, he does just that.  It sure was convenient that he could do it mid-mission too.  All that work is hard.  Speaking of hard...

Shaft continues on his mission, working his way up the Slave Labor Ladder.  Despite being known, he continues to elude capture and manages to score with the bad guy's girl.  Classic Shaft.

He gets back to Paris and meets up with this Marty Feldman-looking guy.  He's close to the villain and continues to wrack up pathos from his friends.

Finding the villain's lair, he drives a tiny, European car to the Castle and kicks some ass.

Joining forces with the Africans who broke free, Shaft kills the bad guys and blows up his place.  Not for nothing, his palatial French Estate wasn't evil.  The End.

Shaft is oddly out of place here.  The film isn't bad, but it does a lot of odd things.  For one thing, Shaft is a Spy here.  The jump from Private Eye to Spy is a big one and they handle it kind of sloppily.  He makes a joke about it...but still does it anyways.  Secondly, Shaft is both the world's worst and best Spy.  On one hand, he is discovered before he even leaves Manhattan.  On the other hand, he continues to work on the mission and actually succeeds.  How the hell is that even possible?!?  The answer is that the villains are all idiots who keep trying to kill Shaft, but never seem to quite tell everyone involved to go after him.  It's called a phone- look it up!  This plot device exists to have action scenes every five to ten minutes.  It's a decent excuse, but I would have preferred a different story personally.  As a film, Shaft in Africa is the kind of Blaxploitation Action that you'd expect.  It would have been nice to see something unique, but you don't get it here.  Take us away, magically-appearing pants...

Next up, I wrap up (hopefully) another film series- Lake Placid.  Logic and story be damned- we need to feed more people to shitty, CG creatures!  Stay tuned...

Poor Bastards of Cinema: Shaft in Africa

A dog's world- not to be confused with Mondo Cane- is not always a great place.  This is especially true in the case of Shaft in Africa (review proper to come).

Shaft is on his way to meet his Guide when a cute little dog shows up.  Aw, how sweet.

Shaft, his Guide and the dog get the info they need and move on to the next part of the mission.

However, at the Hiring Spot, one of the Guards decides to just kill the dog.  That's...bleak, movie.

In spite of all that, they get hired and are told to go bury the dog.  No, that's not a euphemism!

As they do that, the same man who told them to go starts shooting at them.  In the process, Shaft's Guide is killed!

That's right- this is the Double Down of Poor Bastards of Cinema.  You get a random dog and a random guy who just wants to help Shaft.

In the grand scheme of things, did a dead dog and a dead Guide affect the plot all that much?  No, not really.  Since only one of them even had a name (hint: it's not the dog), they make the cut.

Sorry, you two.  You really...well, just died pointless deaths.

Forgotten Sequels: Shaft's Big Score

Is it better to leave well-enough alone?  Today's film is Shaft's Big Score and it raises that question.  Before I do the review, let me ask you this- have you heard of this movie?  I'm guessing that the number of hands that will be raised are minimal.  That's kind of my point- everyone remembers Shaft, but that's about it.  Besides Big Score, there is also Shaft in Africa, the Shaft TV show (which lasted one season) and the 2000 Remake.  While the latter is notable for starring a pre-Batman Begins Christian Bale, it is slowly fading into obscurity as well.  It's not a bad movie, but it's not a great one either.  While it is hard to tell a Studio to stop when the money appears to be flowing, maybe it's something to consider.  In the meantime, let's look at the first sequel to the seminal Blaxploitation classic.  Made 1 year later, Shaft is back on a new case that involves murder, money and, naturally, an evil white villain.  We're just terrible people, aren't we?  This is all about 'the man' and Shaft protecting the little guy.  Granted, the film takes a few famous steps to kill his 'every-man' image a bit here, but I'll get to that later.  To find out what the non-fuss is all about, read on...

Shaft is hired by a man who is concerned about his safety and that of his sister.  Well, one of them is taken care of pretty permanently.

The man behind the bombing turns out to be this guy- the whitest guy they could possibly get (since Sheamus wasn't born yet).

Shaft goes into action, which mostly involves him fighting people, shooting people or being shot at by people.  Suck it, Sherlock Holmes!

In a truly Shaft moment, he shows up at the other villain's apartment right after he leaves.  He...well look at this shot and guess what happens.

In a bizarre twist of fate, Shaft is accused of working for a rival businessman (which he's not).  After this, he ends up working for said businessman.

Oh and his lead henchman has the opposite of an Afro.  That's...unique.

In a nice tough, the film proves that it's not racist by giving you boobs of a different shade as well.  Good for you, Shaft's Big Score.

Since the plot is so paper-thin, it gives me a chance to highlight this bizarre dance performance in a Club.  How much time did this have to take to apply the paint and, more importantly, how can I get that job?

Back to the plot, Shaft survives a car chase which turns into a boat chase that itself turns into a normal chase.  Oh and this guy gets super-killed!

The thing that polarizes people towards the film is that Shaft- hero of the every-man- takes out a helicopter with a super-powered shotgun.  It's cool...but maybe not Shaft-like.  The End.

He's a bad mother- shut your mouth!  Damn voices in my head.  Anyways, this is not a bad movie.  It's not a great movie, but it's not a bad one.  The story is simple, but effective.  Bad guys want money, so they go after an innocent woman.  Fortunately, she has Shaft on her side, which guarantees that she'll make it to the end.  The good stuff includes the action- mostly-, the music and the overall feel of the film. Throughout the whole thing, you feel that Shaft is a good guy.  The problem is that by upping the scale of the film, they go away from the core of it.  I liked the car chase- it's a rarity in these days- and even liked the boat chase.  One problem is that the continuity between the boat part and the section with the helicopter chasing it is a bit off.  The helicopter just kind of flies behind it for a few minutes before taking out the motor in one shot, conveniently when it is right near the land.  If you're going to use a helicopter, just use it.  The other big thing is Shaft using that super-awesome shotgun.  It's cool, but it just doesn't feel like something Shaft would do.  The film is honestly worth checking out if you liked the original, since it mostly follows suit with that one.  Take us away, punch that misses by a mile (which they put in slow-motion- bonus!)...

Up next, I celebrate Valentine's Day with my usual brand of twisted film.  You'll see that love is confusing, bleak and...involving a corpse.  Stay tuned...