"Safe (2012)" Review

In this buddy-comedy, Jason Statham teams up with a little girl.

Wait, this isn't a comedy...

    I like Jason Statham. I just wished he picked better movies. Sure, his older stuff, like Snatch and The Transporter are great, but recently, he's been in just okay films, or even worse, even terrible films. It's admirable that he hasn't done a Pacifier-style film, but still, he did Crank 2, so he has nowhere to go but up. And, thankfully, Safe is a step-up from some of Statham's more recent movies, but it still isn't all that great.

    Jason Statham is Luke, a former fighter who falls into a depression after his wife is killed by the Russian mob. While being homeless in New York City, Luke discover Mei (Catherine Chan), a Chinese girl who is being pursed by the Triad, some corrupt New York cops and the same Russian mobsters that killed Luke's wife. As it turns out, Mei was forced to remember a series of numbers, so Luke decides to redeem himself, keep Mei safe and figure out what the numbers mean.

Somebody please call the police.

    Now, I could make the incredibly easy pun that Safe plays it safe... which it does. But I'm above that (Not really though). Safe is in no way, shape or form a challenge for Statham. It has all the same beats as the other movies he's done in the last few years. There are some upsides though. Director Boaz Yakin (Remember the Titans) makes a very well-made and interesting movie. The visuals are creative and give the film a more dynamic feel and less like the "been-there-done-that" fair the Statham usually does. Statham, of course, brings his A-game and Chan seems like she could have a very promising career if she does movies better than this. 

    But still, what happens in Safe has happened in countless other action films this year, let alone in all of time. The action scenes are brutal and let Statham do more than he has in a while, but that still can't make up for the dry, has-been story. This is one of those movies where you never learn the bad guys names. I mean, you are told them, but you forget them almost instantly and go straight into calling them by the personality and appearance. That is, if they even have a personality. Nothing about Safe is offensively bad, but there's nothing outright great about it either. It just exists. 

When Jason Statham plays Pattycake, he
really plays Pattycake.

    Rent it if you really like Statham, or need a cheap way to kill a hour and a half. Safe is by no means one of the worst movies of the year or even one of Statham's worst movies. It shows you some actions, gives you vague villains and a vague story and let's Statham kick some ass. And for that, it's not that bad at all. Safe (2012) gets 3 and a half stars out of 6.