Shaft (2019)

Shaft (2019) is a film directed by Tim Story and written by Kenya Barris and Alex Barnow. Starring Samuel L. Jackson, Jessie T. Usher, Regina Hall, and Richard Roundtree, it is the fifth installment in the Shaft series and a direct sequel to the 2000 film of the same name. This was also Roundtree’s final performance as John Shaft Sr., the character he originated before his death in 2023. In 1989, Shaft’s life changes when he survives an attempted assassination by drug lord Pierro ‘Gordito’ Carrera alongside his wife Maya and infant son JJ. Following this traumatic event, Maya divorces Shaft, moves away with JJ, and raises him on her own in upstate New York. Fast forward twenty-five years later, JJ has become a rookie FBI analyst while Shaft is now a private investigator. When JJ’s childhood friend Karim appears to have died from a heroin overdose, but Sasha believes otherwise, JJ turns to his father for assistance. Knowing that Karim’s death could be connected to Gordito, Shaft agrees to help his son with the case.

The Shafts delve into ‘Brothers Watching Brothers’, a drug treatment center co-founded by Karim and other former soldiers. Their findings reveal that Karim ditched rehab in favor of frequenting a nearby mosque. Wanting to get to the bottom of things, JJ and Shaft look into Bennie Rodriguez, who made a hefty $500,000 donation to the mosque. Following Bennie’s trail, JJ and Sasha end up at an abandoned warehouse where they uncover the entire scheme: ‘Brothers Watching Brothers’ is a cover for smuggling drugs from overseas, run by Gordito with help from Bennie who launders the profits. It turns out that the ring also bought Karim’s silence before ultimately resorting to murder when he threatened to expose them. During their investigation, JJ is discovered by the smugglers but luckily Shaft comes to his rescue before they can harm him too much; unfortunately, Sasha ends up getting kidnapped in the process.