Shaft is back, and he's still one bad dude.  After his friend is murdered, Shaft tries to figure out why, and get some revenge at the same time.  The action bounces between Shaft, his friend's partner, and the Italian mobsters, the leader of whom sports a greasy wig and plays a damn fine clarinet.

The attitude and style of the first movie is here, although a little subdued, but the action is stronger and grander in scale.  However, there are the same long slow scenes in between the action.  If nothing else, we learn how Shaft orders his coffee ... "Make mine black."
 
 

Quality: 4.0  Visuals: 5.5  Intensity: 5.5 Laughability: 3.5
OVERALL RATING: 4.6