Eszterhas seems as bored with them as we are. He's just moving his dopey plot along, leaving Friedkin to fill in the gaps with car chases and irrelevant chinoiserie.

Writer Joe Eszterhas's follow-up to his Showgirls fiasco is every bit as hopeless, and this time he takes some good actors down with him.

Car-chase aficionados are advised not to miss out on Jade, but others can safely give it a pass.

William Friedkin's director's cut may hew closer to his original vision for the film. But no version featuring such fatally miscast lead characters as these is going to work, and "Jade" remains a vacuous delivery system for several cool car stunts.