Safe

This film tells the story of a fighter in trouble with the mobsters because he fought other than he was told to. He was driven to the point of suicide, but is saved by a girl with photographic memory who holds an important piece of information. They help each other navigate the dangerous underworld.

"Safe" is a very good old school action film. The characters really fight hard, and they keep fighting throughout the film. There is no fancy effects or crazy explosions, they fight only using their fists and guns. It's been a while since I watched a no frills action film. The number of deaths is disturbing but it doesn't feel ridiculous like some films where the lead hero is invincible. The girl who plays the whiz kid is really good in her role, she's very believable. I enjoyed the film. The title is very clever too!

Mei (Catherine Chan) is a little genius when it comes to numbers. She can remember everything and calculate anything in her mind. That's why she's very valuable for the Chinese Triads, who use her as a computer that can't be hacked or traced. One day, she's asked to memorize a long number and drive to another place to learn a different one. But the Russian mob steps in and assaults her ride, killing almost everyone. Mei can escape and this is when she meets Luke Wright (Jason Statham). Former elite cop, former small time MMA fighter, on the run from the Russian mob who lost a bunch of money for betting against him in a match and killed his wife in revenge. The will to protect this little girl gives him a new will to live, a drive to go on. And so they run away; away from the Triads, the mob and the corrupt NYPD, trying to figure out why everyone wants either those numbers or her death.

It's a bit of Mercury Puzzle and 16 Blocks. And despite my usual fears, the story did not turn cheesy due to the kid. But the girl didn't turn into an unrealistic bad ass as well. Also they did not develop a forced deep relationship between Luke and Mei, which would be unrealistic, considering that the story doesn't go that long. The film is featuring fast paced action, wrapped into a decent (though not great) story and is supported by good acting. Well, at least good acting from the leading characters, but the supporting ones weren't that bad as well, so you don't have to suffer from it. So overall, a quite enjoyable movie, which I would recommend to fans of story driven action movies and especially to all Statham fans.

Just for fun, let's check the Statham clichés. Shirtless? Yep, first time you see him in the movie. Car-chase? Of course. And when Mei was a bit concerned about his driving style, I was just waiting for a comeback from him that was like "Don't worry kid, I've been doing this for several movies now."

Cast: OK, I love Statham. Every role he has done, yes even in "In The Name Of The King", is almost perfection. Now just because he is awesome , doesn't mean that the movies he is in are, just like "In The Name Of The King". Recently though his movies all seem to be the same kind of film and that isn't necessarily a bad thing. Lots of action, lots of cheese and some story that involves a rogue badass, aka Statham. I say all that but anyone else in this/those roles and the film wouldn't work. But anyway more on the film in a mo, Statham plays against a little girl played by Catherine Chan, who is awesome, to say she is a child actress. Not much on the rest of the cast, but mentions for James Hong's (known for Kung Fu Panda, Balls Of Glory) mob boss and Robert John Burke's Captain Wolfe.

Overview: Like i mentioned earlier, fans of movies like The Mechanic, Blitz, Crank or Transporter, will probably keep on liking this. It's packed full of gun fights, karate/fist fights, explosions, car chases and Statham's signature grunting voice. The story itself is mixed. the whole thing with the girl, i like. People do have photogenic memories, and like James Hong says sending messages via computers is risky. So using the girl i get. The whole gangs fighting each other and corrupt cops is old news so all is right there. The one thing that troubled me was when the explained Statham's history. At one point he was just a cop, then he's some kind of Bane like experiment, didn't get that at all, but other than that the film is very fast paced, and wraps up nicely.

The opening 10 minuets of this film i really liked. They managed to set the story up of the two leads by mirroring their plot's. The girl is in a car, Statham is in a car, they both go to sleep…etc and i really enjoyed it. This movie doesn't really offer anything new to the action genre, but neither does it fail.

Recommend: Statham fans yes, everyone else meh.

Overall: 7/10 For more of my reviews head to http://www.facebook.com/noelfilmreviews

Safe - Quick Review: Safe is a very interesting movie starring Jason Statham who gives a very good performance.Also this movie has good directing with not-so-well shot action but the sound effects are awesome nonetheless.The story while a bit cliche,is still very interesting until the very end.I really enjoyed this movie it's certainly one of the better Statham action flicks overall.

After a decade of indifference, I've started to come around a bit on Jason Statham. He's like the McDonald's of actors. Let me explain.

McDonald's makes Big Macs, each and every one identical in looks and taste to the other. Jason Statham makes Jason Statham movies, each and every one identical... you get the idea. And also like Big Macs, some of his movies are fresher than others. Safe qualifies as one of his fresher efforts. Not hot off the grill fresh, but not 20 minutes under a heat lamp either.

Tightly paced, competently acted and filled with slightly above average fight scenes, Safe is the kind of movie that will satiate you until a tastier movie comes along.