Safe
Rating:
Cast: Jason Statham, Catherine Chan, Robert John Burke, James
Hong, Reggie Lee
Director: Boaz Yakin
When cage fighter Luke (Statham) doesn't throw a fight he's supposed to, he finds himself in trouble with the Russian Mafia.
Things get worse when Luke's wife is murdered by the mob and told he must spend the rest of his life looking over his shoulder, waiting for the bullet that will end his days.
Near the end of the line, and with nothing to lose, Luke is about to commit suicide on the New York subway, when he sees a young girl and maths prodigy Mei (Chan) followed by the mobsters who killed his wife.
Deciding to intervene, Luke grabs Mei and saves her life. But, things get worse for Luke when he discovers Mei is on the run from the Chinese Triads...and with corruption all around in the police, Russian mafia and Chinese triads, they soon discover nowhere is safe.
If you're looking for a film that pushes the boundaries and redefines the action genre, then Safe is not it.
If, however, you're looking for a film which adheres to the action formula and expands Statham's limited range as a UK equivalent of Bruce Willis / Stallone, then congratulations, Safe is for you.
With its "when you've lost everything, you've got nothing to lose" mentality, it's really a case of formulaic action thriller with set pieces and smack downs. And to be fair to both Yakin and Statham, that's exactly what they bring through a series of quick cuts, action sequences and loud bone crunching beatings.
And yet, there's a reasonable enough bond between Statham and the young girl played by Chan that you feel connected to this - well, enough of a bond to put your brain on hold and sit through the unwinding cliched conspiracy and corruption yarn that unfurls in front of you.
Statham's carving out quite the celluloid career here in this genre and this latest will merely chalk up another notch on the action belt; he doesn't push himself and his director doesn't do the same; but each action sequence is well handled and smartly put together that it's never too overwhelming with bullets, fights and explosions.
With improbable twists, some relatively bland acting from the faceless supporting cast, Safe is a fairly solid, if relatively unmemorable and occasionally rough around the edges, action thriller / filler for a cinematic night out.