Shaft in Africa

Let's face it, none of the Shaft movies are exactly masterpieces but the character Shaft surely is a classic, who delivers some classic one-liners.

In this Shaft 'adventure' the creators obviously wanted to manifest Shaft as the African-American answer to the successful James Bond franchise. For most parts they actually succeeded in this. Shaft is even more sexist than James Bond and he surely is more violent. The violence is not always tasteful at times however.

The story is told messy at times. The action sequences seem to come out of nowhere and are simply just pointless at times. Also the weak editing doesn't help much.

I however wouldn't had mind it having seen more Shaft movies being made. Unfortunately this was the last (unless you also count the 2000 "Shaft" version). The Shaft movies have a certain hip 70's atmosphere, which I like and the main character is reason enough to watch a Shaft movie.

Great character, weak storytelling.

6/10

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Shaft is hired to go into Africa undercover and be taken in as an African slave by the Europeans. Once he is a slave he can find the man behind the slavery ring and shut the ring down. Far more interesting story than the last two, takes Shaft out of his element and puts him in a few new countries. More action packed and with a better director makes this the best Shaft flick of the original three. ** out of ****

The second movie in the Shaft series ('Shaft's Big Score!') was a big disappointment being a tired retread of the dynamic first Shaft movie, a film which basically created the blaxploitation boom of the early 1970s. 'Shaft In Africa' sees director Gordon Parks and creator/writer Ernest Tidyman replaced by John Guillermin and Stirling Silliphant, a safer more Hollywood team which would hit pay dirt the following year with 'The Towering Inferno'. It doesn't have much of a blaxploitation feel to it, it's more of a James Bond thing with a black Bond, but that's okay, it's entertaining enough, and a definite improvement on the lacklustre 'Shaft's Big Score!' Richard Roundtree once again plays super cool private dick John Shaft. This time he is coerced into going undercover in Africa to try and break a slavery ring run by the evil Amafi (Frank Finlay). Roundtree is one cool mutha, and this movie features more sex and violence than the others, so it's easy to watch. Vonetta McGee ('Hammer', 'Blacula') plays Shaft's main love interest, but he also finds time to bed Amafi's sexy and amoral mistress Jazar (Neda Arneric) along the way. It's a pity that there weren't more Shaft movies after this as you could see the series having a lot of life left in it. Instead Richard Roundtree made a TV series which lasted a couple of years, and then his career started to slide into obscurity. By the 1980s he was mostly playing supporting cop roles in dumb action movies. Why this happened is anybody's guess as Roundtree was, along with Fred Williamson, the coolest and most charismatic of the 1970s blaxploitation stars. Both actors deserved a lot more mainstream success.

Why do you ask? Its got more one-liners, better (as in more amusing) dialogue, better action. Shaft becomes the poor man's James Bond in this one, doing what amounts to international spying but without the hi-tech tricks of Bond. Great final "Shaft enraged by the slow working justice system" ending. Great title song by the 4 Tops ("Are You Bad Enough") doesn't measure up to the classic "Shaft" but still delivers.

This violent Shaft (Richard Roundtree) entry begins when he's obligated by threats to pull off a dangerous mission . He must go undercover to Ethiopia . In Addis Abeba , Shaft assumes the identity a native , as he's accompanied by a beautiful African young (Voneta McGee) . His work is to break up a slave trade ring whose origin encounters in Paris and ruled by a tyrannical mobster (Frank Finlay) and his hoodlums (Aldo Sambrell) who are exploiting the immigrants in chain-gang employments and minimum wage . The private-eye eliminates anyone who stands in his aim , battling a variety of nasties and keeping things moving along until the final confrontation into the Château of Montfort .

This thrilling picture packs noisy action , violent fights , brutal killings , nudism and results to be quite amusing . The movie is plenty of suspense , thriller , intrigue , adventures and kinky sex , as usual . Strong , raw screenplay by Stirling Shilliphant (habitual of Irwin Allen's catastrophe movies : Towering inferno , Poseidon , Swarm) and based on the characters created by Ernest Tdyman (French Connection) . Richard Roundtree is good as Shaft , his females are Voneta Mcgee with a wide career in blaxploitation genre and being a distinguished secondary ; besides , Neda Armeric , a Serbian actress ,she was recently elected for Serbian Parliament but she withdrew politics after scandal when her vote were registered in Parliament while she was on summer holidays . Colorful as well as evocative cinematography ; most of the scenes in Africa were shot in Ethiopia . The motion picture was professionally directed by John Guillermin , a known author of disaster movies (Towering inferno , Skyjacked , King Kong). The result is an entertaining entry for action enthusiasts and blaxploitation fans with lots of violence , adult issues and profanities . This third outing (the first titled ¨Shaft¨ and the second ¨Big score¨ by Gordon Parks) is followed by seven TV episodes (1973,1974) and 2000 version by John Singleton with Samuel L. Jackson .