A new action hero has arrived in the form of the titular character in this indie spy thriller with a bit of an edge.
Agent Jade Black is the latest recruit of a covert operation for trained assassins. While she gets the job done, her issues fall with her attitude and her brash efforts to follow orders. However, despite her attitude, her efforts to get the job done successfully enable her to take her most dangerous mission yet. The mission involves a virus that has been targeting rich people involved in the world of human trafficking.
When Jade successfully rescues the biochemist who created the virus, he is more than willing to help with the mission. During a recon mission to infiltrate prime suspect Damien Hawthorne, she is caught and interrogated not only by Hawthorne, but by his partner Elle, who much to Jade’s horror, is a rogue agent who came from the same program as she. Jade narrowly escapes but now is hellbent on not only completing the mission at hand but in the midst of everything, make a decision that could change her forever.
From the director who brought you The Jurassic Games comes this indie spy thriller that is meant as a vehicle for actress Katie Burgess, who plays the titular role quite well. The role seems to fit Burgess quite well as she proves herself to perhaps get a head-start in the genre. As the titular Jade Black, Burgess plays the character as a brash naïve agent who despite her youth has the determination to get the job done despite having a bit of an attitude, which tends to draw the wrath of her superiors. However, she proves herself to be a hero in overcoming the odds.
Connie Franklin brings the character of Elle as a very slick rogue agent who not goes rogue and is responsible for the virus’ impact, but as the film continues, it’s more than just simply killing rich men who are involved in the trafficking rings. As for Luke Wyckoff’s Damien Hawthorne, he’s the partner who tends to get in on the action as well but tends to mostly get the lower hand when it comes to going into combat against Jade on numerous occasions, much like Donal Logue’s vampire character in Blade.
Of course, what’s a spy film without some twists and turns mixed in? Some of the twists involve Elle’s involvement, Jade and Elle’s mentor Malcolm, and a filler scene in which Jade is tasked with taking down a small-time militia to rescue a fellow agent. And Burgess, under some training for the film, handles herself well in the action scenes, including a fist fight where she wears high heels and relies on low kicks mixed in with boxing techniques.
Agent Jade Black is a pretty fun indie film that makes the most of its budget and with the right training, we could see a potential female action star in Katie Burgess.
WFG RATING: B-
High Octane Pictures presents a 19 Artists Development film. Director: Terry Spears. Producers: Terry Spears and Kris Young. Writers: Terry Spears. Cinematography: Titus Fox. Editing; Terry Spears.
Cast: Katie Burgess, Connie Franklin, Sidney Flack, Luke Wyckoff, Caleb Fellenstein, Rane Thomason, Greg Williams.
The film comes to DVD and On Demand on January 7.
WorldFilmGeek 