Critic Reviews
66
Metascore
Generally Favorable
positive
9(90%)
mixed
1(10%)
negative
0(0%)
Showing 10 Critic Reviews
88
Nearly every frame of Shaft is intent on doing one thing: establishing its hero – private detective John Shaft – as a powerful, independent, innately good yet still devilish man in complete control of his own destiny.
80
If you are tired of watching the flatfoots who play by the rules and go home to the faithful wife, just kick back and watch my man Shaft in action. He'll remind you what an alpha male detective was all about, I ain't jivin' you, Bumpy.
75
A hard-hitting action thriller.
70
A hip, cool, entertaining thriller.
70
Directed by Gordon Parks with a subtle feel for both the grit and the humanity of the script. Excellent cast, headed by newcomer Richard Roundtree, may shock some audiences with heavy dose of candid dialog and situation.
70
Directed by Gordon Parks with a subtle feel for both the grit and the humanity of the script. Excellent cast, headed by newcomer Richard Roundtree, may shock some audiences with heavy dose of candid dialog and situation.
70
Shaft is not a great film, but it's very entertaining.
63
Adapted by Ernest Tidyman from his novel, this suffers from some sluggish dialogue scenes, but the movie comes to vibrant life whenever director Gordon Parks hits the streets of New York.
63
The nice thing about Shaft is that it savors the private-eye genre, and takes special delight in wringing new twists out of the traditional relationship between the private eye and the boys down at homicide.
40
If Shaft were indeed a hard-hitting, fast-paced, action-packed detective thriller, as it was meant to be, then it would be an acceptable entertainment. But it isn't.
