Login / RegisterThe bodies just keep piling up in Safe
Starring Jason Statham and Catherine Chan. In English, Russian, and Mandarin with English subtitles. Rated14A.
You certainly can’t accuse this movie of being dull. For one thing, it has a John Woo body count. For another, it stars Jason Statham, which means there isn’t much on-screen soul-searching (which is surprising, considering the story line, but there you go). And, finally, Boaz Yakin’s latest feature looks like it’s the first entry in a new Luc Besson action franchise (although it is not).
So—because this is essentially what Safe itself does—let’s dispense with the plot as quickly as possible. Mei (Catherine Chan) is a 12-year-old Chinese genius whose computerlike memory permits her to retain an astonishing quantity of data. For this reason, she is recruited by the triads, who like the fact that this orphan doesn’t leave a paper trail. This far-from-idyllic situation becomes still worse when both the Russian mafia and a squad of corrupt New York police detectives decide that they, too, want access to this walking abacus.
Enter Luke Wright (Statham). Now a Bowery bum grieving the death of his slaughtered wife, he was once something far more potent and lethal. Thus, when he accidentally crosses paths with Mei, his long-term depression miraculously dissipates and he starts kicking ass and blowing brains out in all directions without consideration for race, creed, or anything else.
What need has he to be fussy, after all? He’s the good guy, and everybody who crosses his sights is bad (Mei, obviously, excluded).
So, no, Safe is not riddled with philosophical subtexts. On the other hand, because it is also an equal-opportunity executioner, it seems less racist than movies of this kind usually do. And, yes, it is very fast-paced.
Is there any other positive thing I can say about Safe?
Nope. That’s pretty much it.
Watch the trailer for Safe.
May I respectfully suggest you reread the above review.
It is NOT a positive review.
As a matter of fact, one of the few "good" things reviewer Mark Harris can bring himself to write is that the film is not quite as racist as other films of this genre tend to be.