Shaft is outstanding, doing justice to the character in the book and the original series. The hand-over from Richard Roundtree to Samuel L. was handled very well, without getting sappy and without relying on the old man to fix everything. The casting was excellent, and the actors played their parts well. The writing was a little predictable (especially the You killed my brother bit). A lot of great one-liners are laid down with precision timing. The gunplay was handled professionally, with only a couple of very obvious mistakes (Semi-auto handguns don't go click click when the slide is locked back, and the Kahr (excellent choice, BTW) only holds 7 rounds in the mag and one in the chamber...in the scene running from the house Shaft pops off 9+ rounds without reloading. But, on par, they did a good job showing him going empty and reloading the firearm. The final error I would note is that, after being shot in the chest at close range, Vanessa R. would not be running around like nothing happened...vests impede bullets, but you still get a heck of a punch in the sternum) An all-around cool movie, and Samuel L. is a bad Mother. NOTE: This is a Samuel L. film; expect blood, violence, guns, and more blood. 