The film is ridiculous, over the top, dated, and rough around the edges, but it’s also one of the most grounded and mature films to surface from the blaxploitation movement. In a lot of ways, Sheba has a verve similar to Jackie Brown, which mainly shines through Grier and Stoker’s complex and bittersweet relationship. It’s slow to get moving and plays a little soulless and flat, but as it wears on, the film begins to exhibit enough personality and flavor to make for a decently enjoyable and surprisingly charming experience.

A lot of the charm can be attributed to Grier, who carries this film like a fur around her shoulders with her usual cheerful abundance of stamina. She’s not at her best here, but has some really great moments (as seen in her first real shootout with the thugs at her dad’s business). She brings a natural attitude to her performance, a staggering amount of complexity to her character, and gives Sheba an effortless air of cool that never comes off as forced or cocky. Her beauty is as radiant as ever without being on full display, which proves she doesn’t need to stoop to nudity to demonstrate her overflowing sex appeal. Despite all the shortcomings of Girdler’s inadequate script, Grier manages to make Sheba into genuinely compelling and complicated character.