In China, the girl Mei is a genius that looks like a computer in numbers. She is abducted by the Chinese Triads and the boss Han Jiao ends Mei to Chinatown, in New York, to help him in the control of his activities. Meanwhile, the fighter Luke Wright 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 and 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. Mei, a young girl whose memory holds a priceless numerical code, finds herself pursued by the Triads, the Russian mob, and corrupt NYC cops. Coming to her aid is an ex-cage fighter whose life was destroyed by the gangsters on Mei's trail. Safe is a safe bet if you are looking for a lot of mindless action and a script that is riddled with a bunch of clichés. This film was filled with so many bad guys that it was sometimes hard to keep track of what the heck was going on. Once the killing starts, it does not stop, which helped in establishing a consistent pace in this very trim action adventure drama. I have to say that I don't normally like films that contain subtitles, but it worked for this film. From the trailer we know that the film centers on a little Asian girl who has a gift for remembering numbers and I have to say that all through the film I wanted to know what the heck the numbers meant too. Catherine Chan (Mei) did very well in her big screen debut. I think that she was engaging and captivated the audience into feeling very sorry for this little mathematical genius. Jason Statham (Luke Wright) did not disappoint as the protector, although I have to say that it took some time to get him there. I became a Jason fan when he played Arthur in the remake of The Mechanic. His martial arts ability along with the fire power is skillfully used to leave his enemies either badly disabled or dead. The one thing that is different about Jason in this film is that writer/director Boaz Yakin tried to inject some vulnerabilities into his character, which I guess made him a little more human and not just a killing machine. Speaking of Mr. Yakin, he seems to be on a bit of a roller-coaster with films like Hostel, Remember the Titans and Uptown Girls. I guess he just wants to try all genres of film. This is definitely one of those shoot first; ask questions later type of films. I think that guys would really like this film since it touches a bit on roles that men can embrace such as father, husband, and friend and of course, cage fighter (smile). I did like the film, but was I jumping out of my chair with excitement? No. I definitely think that this is one of those films to go see if you are just looking to get out of the house; otherwise I would wait until it comes out in redbox. I am giving this film an amber light. I never cease to amaze how brain-dead are most of the audience: 6.5 stars, really!?<br/><br/>It's been a while since an action movie hooked me this way right from the beginning without loosing it's pace to the end; in fact, "Safe" is a very good action movie that grabs your attention as story unfolds - and guns are shoot!<br/><br/>{Not a real SPOILER} Just a note: I've found two filming errors, very funny both of them. For the first one take a look at the interior of the truck that is hit by the bus at the beginning of the movie. I leave to you to find the second one :D {/Not a real SPOILER} Safe has more action than intrigue (or logic), and it's boilerplate vicious. It may satisfy Statham's fans, but they - like he - would do well to enlarge their expectations.
Darnbirt replied
354 weeks ago