True appreciators of 1970s blaxploitation will find a lot to love about the low-budget but highly entertaining “Jade”. Writer-director James Bamford makes no attempt to hide his inspiration, treating us to a buffet of blades, bullets, and bodies that decades ago would have felt right at home on New York City’s notorious 42nd Street. 

As with some of the movies that inspired it, “Jade” has its shortcomings. The story is lightweight at best, some characters are paper-thin, and at times the movie finds itself wandering in an effort to make it to the next big action scene. Yet fans of the pulpy throwback subgenre will eat up the steady diet of cool split-screens, gratuitous slow motion, fun Mexican standoffs, and glorious gun fu action.

Martial artist and stunt performer Shaina West gets a starring role as the film’s titular lead Jade, a young woman burdened by grief and guilt following the unfortunate death of her brother by her own hand. It’s a seemingly significant bit of backstory that never gets fully explained to us. The closest thing to family she has left is her late brother’s pregnant girlfriend, Layla (Katherine McNamara) who is still struggling to forgive Jade for what happened.

What story there is kicks off after Jade ends up with a mysterious hard drive that’s wanted by a crooked businessman named Tork (played by Mickey Rourke who phones in his performance in what is a very Mickey Rourke type of role). Also hungry for the drive is an Interpol agent named Reese (Mark Dacascos) who happens to be Jade’s former mentor and a close friend of the late parents.

But figuring out who to trust isn’t easy for Jade, especially when shooting and slicing her way through waves of thick-skulled baddies, all with really bad intentions. And that’s basically the story in a nutshell. The hard drive turns out to be nothing more than a MacGuffin. We only get a few mild twists. And there are only a couple of scenes that could qualify as reveals. Mostly it’s Jade moving from one ferocious and stylish action sequence to the next.

Those looking for a meatier script may be tempted to write the movie off. But “Jade” has much more to offer, mainly from the electric Shaina West. She’s a physical and charismatic force of nature, dishing out bloody retribution with a twinkle in her eye and a glorious full volume afro that’s as big as her body count. Memories of Tamara Dobson’s Cleopatra Jones and Pam Grier’s Foxy Brown immediately come to mind as Bamford gives West one action highlight after another.

“Jade” is a cool, straightforward, and unabashedly violent throwback to the exploitation era of the 1970s. It’s full of razor-sharp quips, hilarious genre nods, and enough shooting, kicking, and slicing to satisfy the cravings of any fan who truly gets what Bamford and company are going for. It’s light on story and the characters are mostly archetypes. But there’s a good chance you’ll be having too much fun with everything else to bother noticing. “Jade” releases on digital February 18th.

VERDICT – 3.5 STARS