The brother man in the motherland.
Go ahead. Slug, drug, kidnap and leave John Shaft (Richard Roundtree) buck naked in a sweltering hell hole. It's still no deal. If you want to recruit this tough-minded Manhattan detective for an overseas assignment you'd better use a language he understands. One that offers a fat up-front fee. And a drop-dead gorgeous accomplice.
John Shaft poses as a slave, unmasks the leaders of an Africa-to-Europe slavery cartel and, for good measure, mixes his business with amorous pleasure involving the beautiful Princess Aleme (Vonetta McGee).
Special Agent Matti
Shaft on holiday. Nice suntan, John!
Shaft in Africa is an only slightly unbelievable look at a "modern" man returning to his "primitive" past. Every black American was stolen from the dark continent and sold into slavery in the land of the free, or is their direct descendant. Because of the repressive policies of the slave owners none of them is able to say to which part of Africa they belong (like all colonising forces, the post-imperials made short shrift to eliminate any traces of previous civilisations and thereby any threat to their rightful annexation of someone else's land). For any African-American even knowing the location of Africa is an accomplishment and an act of defiance. John Shaft's return to the motherland is as much about education and enlightenment as it is about education.
That said, it's a bit of a coincidence that a man who's never been out of the New York jungle just happens to be skilled in the ways of the African outback. I reckon that that's where your willing suspension of disbelief will come in handy.
As an action movie, Shaft in Africa rises to the occasion admirably, with plenty of hitting, fighting, bleeding, rooting and mystery to keep things interesting along the way. It should be noted, however, that whatever you do to a man's pride or to his women or to his friends, don't even think about touching his dog.
R 18+ (Medium level violence)
108 minutes (1:48 hours)
DVD retail: 13 June 2001