Directed by Tim Story. Starring Jessie T. Usher, Samuel L. Jackson, Alexandra Shipp, Regina Hall, Richard Roundtree, Titus Welliver, Matt Lauria, Clifford "Method Man" Smith Jr., Avan Jogia. (R)

Unnecessary fifth entry in the blaxploitation series (and third one simply titled "Shaft") now has three generations of John Shaft, the latest being an FBI data analyst (Usher) who doesn't care for violence or womanizing, which puts him at odds with macho, deadbeat pop Jackson. Barely resembling the early movies, this insipid blend of embarrassing comedy and unremarkable action has no good reason to exist, and serves as character assassination to boot. Roundtree brings a little of the old effortless panache, but he doesn't show up until the last fifteen minutes (somehow, he's less of a behavioral dinosaur than Jackson, and at least he has the screen presence lacking in his "grandson"). Pedestrian direction and sitcom-level cringe writing...was everyone involved just here for the paycheck? Even the theme song is botched, giving all but the most forgiving fans the shaft.

32/100