Shaft's Big Score!

Disappointing sequel to the likeable Shaft, with Roundtree's black private eye - here up against rival takeover bidders for an illegal numbers racket - now operating from a lavish love nest instead of his fly-blown office. The film, in other words, has developed an 007 complex, and instead of being Chandler in Harlem, threading its way through a maze of quirky characters and dark mysteries, it makes a dreary beeline for its prolonged climax: a duel between superman Shaft and a hovering helicopter.