Jade
review by Bobby Blakey
Director James Bamford has a expansive career in Hollywood working in the stunt world, producing and directing numerous projects including the series Arrow, Superman & Lois, Batwoman and so many more including some feature films such as Air Force One Down. His latest film Jade looks to bring martial arts action and stars Shaina West, Mickey Rourke, Katherine McNamara and martial arts action icon Mark Dacascos. Could this film bring the vengeful action fans hope for or will it fail to hit its mark?
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Jade follows Jade who swore she’d never pick up another gun after her brother’s untimely and accidental death at her own hands, but when she unknowingly comes between powerful businessman “Tork” and her former gang leader in their urgent search for a valuable hard drive that could single-handedly take down Interpol, she may not have a choice. With the guidance of Reese, an old friend at Interpol, Jade must come to terms with all she’s faced in the past and present to safeguard her growing family’s future.
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Being a fan of Dacascos I was instantly interested in seeing this film just to get to see hm in action. After watching the trailer, it’s a lower budget film so you adjust your expectations of what they put together and how it is executed. I had simple hopes for this film with most of it hinging on the action to hold it all together. There is plenty of action here and it is handled petty well but with nothing that you haven’t seen before.
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The film works decent enough for what they put together, but it’s not without its faults. The story itself is simple, but often all over the place. It’s really trying to be something deeper than it is and bringing in twists and turns, but it doesn’t fully work all the time. An even bigger issue for me was an ongoing issue within the
action. There are numerous moments where characters, most of the time Jade is being shot at while running. This is a simple thing, but she keeps stopping while being shot at to look around and they never seem to hit her. It makes zero sense and becomes annoying at times.
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The forced attempt at trying to infuse a big twist lacks the impact it looks to try and deliver. Had it happened earlier in the film and had some sort of bigger resolution then it would have been so much better. Despite the decent enough fight choreography and execution none of the action here is ever outside of the generic and fails to elevate the rest of the film. The shoot outs are basic and unexciting so hard for you to ever get fully invested. Even more annoying for me personally is little to no Dacascos in on the action, but that is more of a personal disappointment than the film itself.
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I applaud the filmmakers and what they put together here and with a little more tinkering and development could have been something special. I do hope it gets the attention it deserves because the filmmakers behind it have some skill and bigger things possible in their future, but only time will tell.
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Decide for yourself and check out Jade on digital now from Well Go USA.