We also see Christian Bale as a racist rich white kid who gets himself on the wrong side of Shaft, and is handsomely rewarded with punches to the face. Bale's performance is solid, but overshadowed by the fact that his character's main development happens when he's granted bale (gettit?) from a crime he almost certainly did commit.

Family fun

☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ Ha ha ha! Seriously? It opens with a race crime! Not suitable for kids, parents, grandparents, white people, or those with an aversion to swearing.

Jingle Bells

★ ★ ☆ ☆ ☆ Whilst the music isn't at all Christmassy, it is fantastic. If you haven't heard Shaft's theme then you've been missing out, and the rest of the film continues in a similar 80s cop vibe. It's a marvellous soundtrack which, while not very Christmassy, deserves a few points here for the sheer goddamn quality of it.

Overall

★ ★ ☆ ☆ ☆
Shaft is by no means a Christmas film. The music, the plot, the atmosphere; it's all fantastic, but distinctively not festive. I enjoyed this movie, but including it in the Christmas season was a foolhardy movie.

English, Muckle Flugga, do you speak it?