O Código

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' is the latest vehicle to showcase Jason Statham's ability to punch, kick, and shoot various henchmen. The plot here plays more of a role than compared to past JS films, as this one involves a young Chinese girl with a brilliant memory who's wanted by both the Russian and Chinese mob, aided by corrupt cops, and it's just to a down-on-his-luck Jason Statham to save the day.

When watching a film like this, suspending your disbelief is a must, which is just a given. Things happen in this movie that not only wouldn't be possible, but you wonder how some characters can escape out of situations not only alive, but untouched. But this was actually one of my favorite Stathom movies in a while. I despised his recents efforts in throwaway films like The Mechanic and Killer Elite. It hasn't been since Transporter 3, another mindless romp, that I've enjoyed one of films this much.

The film's worth seeing if you're an action movie fan with some time to kill, in sort of a Sunday afternoon stay at home type of way. You'll cringe at the acting and dialogue of the little Chinese girl, but you'll be entertained.

In China, the girl Mei (Catherine Chan) is a genius that looks like a computer in numbers. She is abducted by the Chinese Triads and the boss Han Jiao (James Hong) sends Mei to Chinatown, in New York, to help him in the control of his activities.

Meanwhile, the fighter Luke Wright (Jason Statham) has his life destroyed when he wins a fight against the will of the Russian Mafia and accidentally kills his opponent. The Russian mobsters kill his wife and the alcoholic Luke wanders on the streets and hostels with no objective in life.

One day, Han Jiao asks Mei to memorize a long number and soon the Russian Mafia abducts the girl from the Chinese mobs. She escapes from the mobsters she is chased by the Russians; by the corrupt detectives from the NYPD; and by the Triads. When Luke sees the girl fleeing from the Russian mobs in the subway, he protects the girl and discovers that the number she had memorized is the combination of a safe where the Triads keep 30 million dollars. Luke is an elite agent and uses his skills to protect the girl.

"Safe" is a great brainless action movie with a messy lead character. The situation of an old boss from the Chinese Triads that does not trust in computers but trusts in the ability of a young girl that has been abducted from her family is stupid. But the lead character Luke Wright is a complete mess: the guy is a killer and elite agent that has his life completely destroyed when he feels sorrow for killing his opponent and irritates the Russian Mafia. Then he passively accepts the death of his wife by the Russian mobsters. But out of the blue, he rekindles his personality to protect a stranger Chinese girl in the subway. This situation is laughable when the viewer sees the past and connections of Luke with the corrupt detectives of the NYPD. My vote is six.

Title (Brazil): "O Código" ("The Code")

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."

After watching the trailer when it was first released, I didn't feel what I always feel when I see Jason Statham in an action movie, which is giddy. There was something missing, but how can I say no to Jason Statham in an action packed movie? I just can't. 'Safe' ended up being good. Not great, just good. The beginning was a little slow, but the way they told the story, was a bit of bouncing back between Luke Wright (Jason Statham) and Mei (Caroline Chan), so it didn't really come out running, but I guess I can't complain too much about it because it definitely picked up after. As I stated earlier, how can I say no to Jason Statham in an action movie. The action was amazing. It's that kind of action where the audience is either clapping or yelling, "Ooooohhhh snap!!!" followed by some laughing. The storyline was decent, I mean, it didn't really stand out and there are a few scenes where you can probably figure out what's going to happen, but it got the job done. The acting was sub-par once you take out Jason Statham and Catherine Chan (Mei), who I thought did a really good job for her first Hollywood movie. There were a few cheesy lines, some epic quotes, one of which I put in the subject title and I'm sure you'll enjoy it too when you hear it and some funny moments; more than you usually expect from an action movie, which wasn't so bad.

'Safe' is your typical Jason Statham action flick. I think it's fair to say, we don't watch Jason Statham movies expecting Oscar nominations; we watch his movies mainly because the action is phenomenal. If you want to watch a good, action packed movie, then 'Safe' is a safe bet this weekend. See what I did there?