Safe

Dir: Boaz Yakin
Cast: Jason Statham, Chaterine Chan

Jason Statham is back to kick some ass. One has started to believe that he can do just that. Not that we are complaining because he’s made it into an art form. Refer to his earlier films; Transporter series, Cellular, Crank, The Italian Job, The Expendables and one would know how he’s perfect for action adventure films. His latest outing Safe, too doesn’t disappoint.

Boaz Yakin’s Safe is high-octane silliness, a film whose individual parts are greater than their sum. The film moves at breakneck speed and manages to narrate a riveting story about an orphaned genius girl Mei (Catherine Chan) who has memorized the ‘secret code’ to $30million and a disk that holds high-profile American intelligence information.

Statham plays Luke Wright, an ex-cop reduced to earn a living by cage fighting. His life is on a downward spiral and when he’s just about to commit suicide he comes across a lifeline – a young Chinese girl who is being chased by the bad guys. Luke cancels his suicide plans, saves the girl and finds a reason to live.

Safe could be perceived as a sweet story of Luke who protects Mei from the mafia. In that case, Statham’s character runs parallel with his earlier acts in the Transporter series. But what sets Safe apart are the multiple plot points that it holds. The film explores the intertwined corrupt agencies in New York City. There are moles seeped into the system.  The story exhibits how the malevolent Russian mafia and the Chinese drug traders are hand in glove with the city police. People are connected at various levels and their equations and malpractices make for an interesting watch.

Also, the editing strongly backs the riveting story. Instead of adopting a streamlined narrative, Yakin goes back and forth till a certain point and interestingly that keeps you gripped.
Mei is actually the central character of the film; still the main draw is Statham alone. And he delivers everything you want in an action hero.

Safe sucks you into its story and its action sequences from the word go. Not to forget, it has to have the right actor to pull it all together.