Shaft

"More Shaft than you can handle."

2019 1h 51m EN

👍

6.5

SOLID

🥫

34%

ROTTEN

😬

METACRITIC

⭐

6.4

IMDB

★6.5TMDB · 1,932🥫34%Rotten Tomatoes●40Metacritic★6.4IMDB · 61,486

ActionCrimeComedyMystery

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

JJ, aka John Shaft Jr., may be a cyber security expert with a degree from MIT, but to uncover the truth behind his best friend’s untimely death, he needs an education only his dad can provide. Absent throughout JJ’s youth, the legendary locked-and-loaded John Shaft agrees to help his progeny navigate Harlem’s heroin-infested underbelly.

“More Shaft than you can handle.”

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Where to watch · US

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Cast

Samuel L. Jackson
John Shaft
Jessie T. Usher
JJ Shaft
Regina Hall
Maya Babanikos
Alexandra Shipp
Sasha Arias
Richard Roundtree
John Shaft, Sr.
Jordan Preston Carter
Young JJ
Nyah Marie Johnson
Young Sasha
Matt Lauria
Major Gary Cutworth

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Tim Story
Writers: Kenya Barris, Alex Barnow
Languages: English, Spanish
Countries: United States of America

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Earned back only 71% of its budget on initial theatrical — a commercial disappointment on release.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

ERA

Did you know

Released 7 years ago.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

WORLD

Did you know

Dialogue crosses 2 languages: English, Spanish.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

CINEMA

Did you know

Part of the "Shaft Collection" — so the characters or world continue elsewhere.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Tim Story, shot by Larry Blanford. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Christopher Lennertz. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Peter S. Elliot shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Samuel L. Jackson and Jessie T. Usher and Regina Hall carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Tim Story directs. Larry Blanford behind the camera. Christopher Lennertz scores. Peter S. Elliot cuts. A commercial under-performer on release. Produced in United States of America. Dialogue in English, Spanish.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1Earned back only 71% of its budget on initial theatrical — a commercial disappointment on release.
2Released 7 years ago.
3Dialogue crosses 2 languages: English, Spanish.
4Part of the "Shaft Collection" — so the characters or world continue elsewhere.
5Directed by Tim Story, shot by Larry Blanford. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
6Original score by Christopher Lennertz. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
7Editor Peter S. Elliot shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
8Samuel L. Jackson and Jessie T. Usher and Regina Hall carry the top of the cast.
9Marketing tagline: "More Shaft than you can handle.".
10IMDB entry: tt4463894 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

The technical file

Cinematography: Larry Blanford
Original score: Christopher Lennertz
Editing: Peter S. Elliot
Production design: Wynn Thomas
Costume design: Olivia Miles
Makeup / hair: Shunika Terry-Jennings
VFX supervisor: Chris LeDoux
Runtime: 111 min · 1h 51m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Budget: $30,000,000
Box office: $21,360,215
Return: 71% of budget
Original language: EN
Certification (US): R
IMDB: Shaft (2019)
Rotten Tomatoes: 34% 🥫 Rotten
Metacritic: 40/100
IMDB rating: 6.4/10 · 61,486 votes
MPAA: R

Part of

Shaft Collection

The Shaft trilogy is composed of action-crime films centered on an African-American police detective named John Shaft, who over the course of the films have altercations with a variety of crime. The films are characterized by their blaxploitation characteristics.

Also by

Tim Story

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Trailers & featurettes

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Community reviews

What people are saying

JPV8522019-10-01
★ 6/10
Unnecessary and forgettable but still somewhat entertaining flick that excels due to Samuel L. Jackson, while Jessie T. Usher shows he's a really bad actor. Nothing special but still managed to beat my low expectations. 3.0/5
Cuzonair2020-11-06
★ 10/10
I loved this movie
Chandler Danier2025-12-26
★ 6/10
The plot is thin. You’d be best served to come in when Roundtree does. He is Shaft. Sam’s not Shaft and neither is this kid. This film is 2 hours. Not worthy of 2 hours. Getting in with Roundtree would give you ~40 minutes? That’s probably the right amount of this Shaft. Definitely one of those movies where at 1 hour something happens where you think “this was really good. I can’t believe it’s over. It felt so fast!” You then watch it bleed out for another hour.