Shaina West is the coolest looking mutha fucker on the planet earth. I remember seeing her on twitter a few years back, rocking an epic Afro-Samurai sized hair-do and swinging around a bo-staff, with lightning fast movement and precision. It was love at first sight and an instant hit of the follow button.

Jade is an attempt to bring Shaina's aesthetic to the big screen but is unfortunately a poor showcase of her talent.

The titular character (West) is a reformed crim, who comes into possession of a sought-after hard drive after a meet with an old acquaintance. In typical action movie fashion, Jade is pursued by thugs, corrupt cops and...Mickey Rourke in a tight shirt and even tighter leather pants. Her mentor Mark Dacosta may hold the key to her survival - but is he to be trusted?

This should have been a no-brainer, a straight forward Cynthia Rothrock 80s actioner, instead former stuntman and Arrow-verse director James Bamford goes the sub-sub-sub Tarantino route, crafting a crime thriller with disinterested twists and turns and a grab bag of trick shots that look slick but soon become tiresome. I am not sure how many slow motion tracking shots a movie needs but I am pretty sure that number isn't 702.

When West is able to break out her moves it is pretty impressive stuff, particularly anytime she has an edged weapon in hand. The final compound assault with it's Raid level of escalating infiltration is a fun watch, but sadly not enough to save the movie.

West has undeniable screen presence, lets hope she is able to find a vehicle that is more suited to her considerable talent.

Shaina West is the coolest looking mutha fucker on the planet earth. I remember seeing her on twitter a few years back, rocking an epic Afro-Samurai sized hair-do and swinging around a bo-staff, with lightning fast movement and precision. It was love at first sight and an instant hit of the follow button.

Jade is an attempt to bring Shaina's aesthetic to the big screen but is unfortunately a poor showcase of her talent.

The titular character (West) is a reformed crim, who comes into possession of a sought-after hard drive after a meet with an old acquaintance. In typical action movie fashion, Jade is pursued by thugs, corrupt cops and...Mickey Rourke in a tight shirt and even tighter leather pants. Her mentor Mark Dacosta may hold the key to her survival - but is he to be trusted?

This should have been a no-brainer, a straight forward Cynthia Rothrock 80s actioner, instead former stuntman and Arrow-verse director James Bamford goes the sub-sub-sub Tarantino route, crafting a crime thriller with disinterested twists and turns and a grab bag of trick shots that look slick but soon become tiresome. I am not sure how many slow motion tracking shots a movie needs but I am pretty sure that number isn't 702.

When West is able to break out her moves it is pretty impressive stuff, particularly anytime she has an edged weapon in hand. The final compound assault with it's Raid level of escalating infiltration is a fun watch, but sadly not enough to save the movie.

West has undeniable screen presence, lets hope she is able to find a vehicle that is more suited to her considerable talent.