Safe is truly for Jason Statham fans. Those who appreciate the action star’s work will relish the candied violence throughout the film’s 95 minutes.
Statham stars as Luke Wright, a former cop who went underground after ratting out some detectives. We meet him fighting in a cage match in New Jersey and it is established his life is not where he would have liked it to be. He is happily married, and that is all.
Meanwhile, director Boaz Yakin introduces us to Catherine Chan’s Mei. She is a genius with numbers, a talent that gets her sent from her small village to a prestigious Beijing school. Before she can ever get there, she’s kidnapped by the Chinese mafia and put to work memorizing their books so there is no paper trail.
Mei and Wright’s fate are set to meet when she makes a trip with her “adoptive father” Mafioso to New York. She sees a chance to escape… and does. Only, she is followed by not only the Chinese organized crime syndicate, but also the Russia Mafia who want what’s inside her head. Oh yeah, and the NYPD wouldn’t mind speaking with her either.
When the baddies make their move on Mei in a crowded Manhattan subway, Statham happens to be on the scene and swings into action and saves the day… for now.
Yakin knows his element when it comes to the story and its star. There is no reason to sugar coat this actioner from what it is and all it tries to be. At times the dialogue is a little painful, but with the heart that is exhibited through the paternal relationship Statham strikes with Chan, we forgive it.
The director also knows how to step aside and let Statham do his thing. One particular stunt produced a roar from our screening crowd as it was something we’d never seen before. And it wasn’t!
For fans of the UK actor, Safe could easily be a five-out-of-five film. For the rest of the movie-going world, the film is much less than perfection. But for good popcorn fun, with the budding action superstar wielding his talents with priceless effort, it adds up to a pretty good time.