Stylish but barely mediocre overall

Awesome Movie

An absolute waste of money

The movie's not perfect, but it sticks the landing of its message. It was engaging - thrilling at times - and I personally thought it was a great time.

There is too much gratuitous sex.There is too much gratuitous sex.The climax, shot in half light, is confusing since four or five cops, DA's, killers, suspects, are wrestling around. Who's fighting with whom?Someone said it was a "Mess." In truth, it wasn't that good.The film was short on story. Friedkin like cars chases. "Jade" has 3. Uh, maybe 2. Uh, maybe 1. If you see this film, you'll quickly understand why I'm unclear about the chases. At least I know this: About 20% of the running time deals with cars in trouble and David Caruso violently swinging the steering wheel, yelling in fear, screaming in anger. Or is it the other way around?Of course, the sound editor used the stock horn sound, the one that echoes as it fades.I gave this a 1 because they don't allow negative numbers.In summary: "Jade" stinks.

Not really sexy. Shows actors pretending to have sex. The intent is to be exciting and the result is only dull. Not really gritty. Oh, they try to be gritty and raw and in-your-face, the result is instead silly. Jade was made, I'm assuming, to cash in on Basic Instinct's success , they are after all similar movies by the same people. Interestingly enough, for me anyways, both Jade and Basic Instinct share the same exact problem- they are boring. The characters in both movies are all clinically psychopathic, hate-filled amoral d-bags incapable of empathy or honesty, and people like that are boring- the gritty lives they lead and the raw in-your-face sex they have is boring. Jade is populated by flat dead-eyed characters whose motivations and words have no meaning, no weight, no power. Its not.

Jade has a pretty straight forward story with a murder and a love triangle between the three main characters. Because of the love triangle, it creates a conflict of interest between the two male characters. The plot sounds interesting enough. However, the way the final product was executed did not deliver an exhilarating or satisfactory story, conclusion, or thriller. Although, the unrated version, which is 12 mints longer, does assist in creating additional development for some of the characters.The film does inhabit i think some of Friedkin's finest work. An example would be the car chases sequence, which is in fact one of the most spectacular and thrilling chases ever filmed. I think it's his best to date. Cinematography for the film is beautiful and very noir like in the night scenes. Although he did a decent job with directing the leading characters, only Chazz Palminteri came across as really inhabiting his character. To me the problem with the film is that the story probably got lost in the editing or through rewrites.The bluray for this film, by Lionsgate, is one of the worst transfers I've ever seen. I wish paramount would put out both version of the film on a bluray. The theatrical version is not impressive at all but the unrated cut does a better job.

Ignoring a plot line that is recycled, a climax that is a bit shaky with a twist that is strangely predictable, I'd say Jade could pass for an entertaining neo-noir. Starting with a delicious title sequence, the movie is stepped mostly in style. Something about it recalls Brian de Palma. Within the frame, it is staged quite theatrically, and it works. Jade maintains enough coherency to keep us involved, and director William Friedkin avoids overselling the sex factor (which was the mistake Paul Verhoeven made when adapting Joe Eszterhas' previous script, Basic Instinct, and also Showgirls). It is definitely worth noting that Jade is exceptionally well shot. Everything looks rich and elaborate, including a car chase sequence that feels like a roller coaster ride. Based on the appropriate lens choice and camera angles, cars appear to leap into mid air when driving over San Franscso's many street bumps. The film is also well scored, even though it borrows a bit much from Igor Stravinski's Rite of Spring. The only thing I wasn't too comfortable with was the story. It is derivative and cheesy, but even at that, it could've been worse. When all is said and done, Jade (even with its problems) has enough to sell to make it worth a ninety minute time investment for noir fans.