• Latest entry in the titular detective series is pretty standard stuff, but worth a look for followers of the character and the actors involved. The focus this time is on John 'JJ' Shaft, III, a timid analyst with the FBI who's forced to team up--and clash with the "old school" methods of his father John Shaft, II while investigating the death of a close friend. It's a waste of time to get into the intricacies of the plot because most of it makes little sense, and is not of any real significance since the goal is to watch and enjoy the banter between the actors, plus throw out lots of in-jokes and a colorful soundtrack to liven things up. Usher lacks charisma (possibly by design) but Jackson's in full badass mode making for more enjoyable moments than you'd expect, and Roundtree's also on hand as an added bonus for devotees of the original series. While it's somewhat fun to see three generations of the same character on screen, there's nothing really special here for them to work with. **