SAFE is not a bad film, nor is it a particularly good one. It is, however, a Jason Statham film, which means that while the story is predictable and the direction is competent but unremarkable, it has a star who can almost, but not quite, toss the flick on his brawny shoulders and carry it all by himself. It is the persona that he brings to every film, ironic rather than wisecracking, ruthless yet sensitive, and above all, coolly efficient, even when cut to the quick with a tear manfully spilling from one steely blue eye.
The tear is for a pregnant wife, who paid the price for Luke Wright (Statham) not taking a dive in the second round of a steel cage match. And maybe a little for accidentally putting the kid he was fighting in the hospital. It has left Luke with the Russian mob so angry with him that instead of killing him, too, they decide to let him live and kill anyone he gets close to, which includes casual conversations. Luke is tough, and it takes a year of living on the streets to convince him that a life this lonely is not worth living, and this is when he spots Mei (Catherine Chan), an 11-year-old running away from the Russian thugs chasing her through a Brooklyn subway. Luke, being the sensitive type, rescues her, thus bringing the ire of the Chinese mob on him, as well, and, in due course, the dirty elements of the NYPD. Mei is no ordinary little girl, hence all the chasing. She is a numbers whiz who is the only one on the planet with a string of numbers in her head for which many people are willing to kill.
Naturally there are twists and turns and the standard sorts of revelations about who is really doing what to whom and why. It doesnt really matter. Its an excuse for Statham to shine at what he does so very well. From the first shot of him flexing his pecs and abs before the benighted cage fight, right through the expected tropes, its his controlled physicality that makes the action more than just another action flick with a high body count and a sound design rife with cracking bones and bloody gurgles. There he is, flying across tables draped with elegant linens, his guns blazing and an expression of sublime concentration. There he is speeding down a one-way street, the wrong way, of course, showing the calm detachment of being in complete control while Mei does the sensible thing and panics. And there he is methodically and single-handedly taking out a nest of bad guys from all the competing factions during a climactic scene in a Chinatown gambling den. And much of it accomplished while wearing a natty pinstripe suit. Its what Statham fans pay their money for and SAFE delivers.
It also delivers a script that, while not original in the least, is respectfully complicated, devolving into silliness only once or twice. There is also a good performance by Chan, which never goes for the obvious, but instead gives the audience a smart and tough little cookie who knows when to mouth off and when to keep her own counsel. The relationship between her and Luke is steadfastly unsentimental but not without emotion, which is also a nicely unexpected touch. The rest of the cast give good performances as characters that are as cliché as they come. In a way, it makes Statham seem all the better in comparison, but mostly, its just an irritating framework in which he is forced to work.
Your Thoughts?