Safe is one of the latest servings of the “Stathe Man” in a pretty standard action film, with a pretty standard plot.
You’ve got Luke Wright, played by Jason Statham, who is a former police officer turned cage fighter. After a fight he was supposed to take a dive in, Luke accidentally knocks out his opponent and pisses off the Russian Mob. Killing his wife and threatening to kill anyone he comes in contact with, the mob rob Luke of his life, as he becomes homeless and suicidal.
Meanwhile a young Chinese girl named Mei has been kidnapped. This girl is a genius who can memorize any thing she is taught – so naturally some criminals use her to memorize a rather long number. After her mother dies she tries to escape after memorizing this number, and ends up running from a bunch of of these gangsters.
Coming across Luke, who is considering throwing himself in front of a train, Mei’s innocence and noticeable fear of these men chasing her catches his attention. Recognizing the men going after Mei, Luke decides that rather than kill himself, he’s going to help this innocent young girl escape and return to a good life.
Finding a purpose and no longer considering suicide, Luke decides that since Mei saved his life, he will save hers.
From there Luke digs into his highly skilled arsenal, and takes on the gangs and police head on all in the name of protecting and freeing Mei from a life mixed up with criminals.
There’s more to Luke than we first see…
Luke starts fighting and taking apart groups of guys, as well as manipulating these people with a high level of precision and skill. As we’re lead to believe his suicide and downward spiral at the beginning of the film is brought on by the threat of the mob, it turns out that it’s something more.
Luke is an elite solider/fighter and could have taken apart the men surrounding him at any time – his dilemma is a moral one.
Being an elite killer with a great level of morality, is what leads him to his situation. After all you can’t believe in right and wrong while killing people constantly!
The death of innocent people and eventually his wife cause him to stop using his skills and accept the threats by the gang. It isn’t until the threat on Mei that he realises he can use is skills for something good – to protect innocence and kill the threatening low lives trying to to take her.
This movie gives Jason Statham a slightly deeper character than others and he even showcases a little more acting talent than usual – demonstrating a bit more emotion than his other films.
Other than that – pretty standard.
You’ve got bad guys, some elaborate number which is actually the combination to a safe holding 30 million dollars. Threats from all sides and a highly skilled front man twisting them all around his little finger – reminds me of a few of Jason’s films as well as a majority of other American action movies.
It all takes place in the city, and naturally Luke, once he finds his new motivation in life, gets himself a fancy suit and trims himself up to look the part. While the first half of the movie is all head on action, it all changes when he uses his brain, and plays certain parties against one another and outsmarts his way to victory.
Like I said – pretty standard. But I still enjoyed it.
The Action & Martial Arts
This is a movie which shows off some pretty cool fight scenes with Jason Statham’s smooth onscreen skill. But it’s not really a pure ‘martial art movie’.
It’s more of a standard action film.
There’s gun fights, chases and a wide range of action which includes martial arts. Each action scene is thought out pretty well and maintains the level of excitement Jason Statham is known for. But me being me, the martial arts was still the highlight I enjoyed most.
There are few scenes, early on which really show off Jason’s stuff. It fast, precise and just plain awesome… …but also quick and over with pretty quickly.
The one scene I felt was starting to look good was right at the end. Beware: SPOILER ALERT: As Luke meets his match at the end of the film, both men put their guns down, walk aside and shape up. About to explode into a frenzy of martial arts action, and me feeling all pumped and ready to see what I thought would be the most exciting fight of the film – the little girls picks up the guns and shoots down Jason’s opponent just when you expect the fight to start….LAME.
It’s smart, and more realistic – who in their right mind wouldn’t mow the prick down? But for cinematic and entertainment purposes, an awesome fight would have made this move a lot better. But shit happens.
Should you see it?
Yeah, its alright. a good balance of all sorts of action with the Stathe man – can’t complain! 🙂
On Blu Ray –
Region A (US & Canada)
Safe [Blu-ray]
Region B (UK, Australia, New Zealand, Europe etc)
Safe [Blu-ray]
On DVD –
Region 1 (US & Canada)
Safe [DVD]
Region 2 (UK, Europe, etc)
Safe [DVD]
Region 4 (Australia, New Zealand, etc)
Safe [DVD]
