Safe (2012)

In China, the girl Mei (Catherine Chan) is a genius that looks like a computer in numbers. She is abducted by the Chinese Triads and the boss Han Jiao (James Hong) sends Mei to Chinatown, in New York, to help him in the control of his activities.

Meanwhile, the fighter Luke Wright (Jason Statham) 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 she 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.

"Safe" is a great brainless action movie with a messy lead character. The situation of an old boss from the Chinese Triads that does not trust in computers but trusts in the ability of a young girl that has been abducted from her family is stupid. But the lead character Luke Wright is a complete mess: the guy is a killer and elite agent that has his life completely destroyed when he feels sorrow for killing his opponent and irritates the Russian Mafia. Then he passively accepts the death of his wife by the Russian mobsters. But out of the blue, he rekindles his personality to protect a stranger Chinese girl in the subway. This situation is laughable when the viewer sees the past and connections of Luke with the corrupt detectives of the NYPD. My vote is six.

Title (Brazil): "O Código" ("The Code")

Fmovies: This film is the most fun I had at the theaters along with "Haywire" and The Hunger Games; films that have thrilled me while at the same time giving me food for thought. Safe doesn't exactly fit the above criteria, but what it does is deliver a well-written action thriller with twists and turns in the plot to get any interested viewer bang for their buck.

Statham stars as Luke Wright, a down-on-his-luck cage fighter who gets caught up in a dangerous situation that leaves him with no will to live any longer. At first he appears to want to give it all up, but a chance encounter with girl with a secret gives him his second calling and he unwittingly becomes her guardian angel. But the two are entangled in a power struggle over the girl's gift. Thus the ride has begun.

Boaz Yakim handles the action and script really well. it's only that some of the dialog that becomes contrived and forced, but that doesn't slow down the film at all. The action scenes are, however, really impressive; showing off Statham's mad skills as an action star and he's really good at being both formidable and vulnerable at the same time. With his steely stare and narrow eyes, he's one mean man you don't want to mess with unless you value your very life. But it's newcomer Catherine Chan that really shines in her first ever feature-film role. With a wide variety of emotions, she is horribly confused and scared at what's unfolding before her very eyes. And Reggie Lee is simply good as the villainous lackey to an ever deliciously evil James Hong as crime boss Hang Jiao.

But even with all that, if the filmmakers stripped it of it's action film hijinks, at it's core is a story of two complete strangers coming to each other's aid. Sadly the film never delivers more on the sentiment between the two characters's personal emotions. There are hints of a developing relationship, but it's overshadowed by the action scenes, which are impressive, undermines the emotional aspect between Luke and Mei. The ending(which I will not spoil) leaves it open to the possibility of a sequel. I really wish to see a follow up to this film because the film has a really fascinating dynamic on which to build on.

But despite all it's problems, Safe is a good action thriller with twists that keep you guessing and action scenes that will marvel you.

SAFE marks another step up the career ladder for action star Jason Statham, who also made 2012's above-average KILLER ELITE with Clive Owen and Robert De Niro. SAFE steps away from the teen-friendly hijinks of THE TRANSPORTER and DEATH RACE in favour of a more focused and realistic storyline which sees Statham and his young charge (newcomer Catherine Chan, and very good she is too) on the run in New York from not only the Russian and Chinese mafia but the city's police force, too!

The film works as pure action spectacle, with never a flagging moment. Statham growls and spits his dialogue, headbutts bad guys with abandon, and shoots his way through a small army in his attempts to save Chan from harm. It's a bit like THE MAN FROM NOWHERE, eschewing all that film's careful build-up and painstaking plot progression in favour of more breakneck action bits and scenes of Statham throwing guys through windows.

Statham provides a masterclass in thuggery, while the action, refreshingly free of the shaky-cam for once, is masterful and exciting. There are some nice supporting turns from the likes of DRAG ME TO HELL's Reggie Lee as the bad guys, along with former leading man Robert John Burke (DUST DEVIL) nowadays unrecognisable thanks to the ageing progress.

Of course, SAFE will never win awards, and those who don't "get" action films will give it the cold shoulder. On the other hand, those of us who remember the good old days when Van Damme and Seagal were churning out hit after hit will probably enjoy it.

Safe fmovies. Cast: OK, I love Statham. Every role he has done, yes even in "In The Name Of The King", is almost perfection. Now just because he is awesome , doesn't mean that the movies he is in are, just like "In The Name Of The King". Recently though his movies all seem to be the same kind of film and that isn't necessarily a bad thing. Lots of action, lots of cheese and some story that involves a rogue badass, aka Statham. I say all that but anyone else in this/those roles and the film wouldn't work. But anyway more on the film in a mo, Statham plays against a little girl played by Catherine Chan, who is awesome, to say she is a child actress. Not much on the rest of the cast, but mentions for James Hong's (known for Kung Fu Panda, Balls Of Glory) mob boss and Robert John Burke's Captain Wolfe.

Overview: Like i mentioned earlier, fans of movies like The Mechanic, Blitz, Crank or Transporter, will probably keep on liking this. It's packed full of gun fights, karate/fist fights, explosions, car chases and Statham's signature grunting voice. The story itself is mixed. the whole thing with the girl, i like. People do have photogenic memories, and like James Hong says sending messages via computers is risky. So using the girl i get. The whole gangs fighting each other and corrupt cops is old news so all is right there. The one thing that troubled me was when the explained Statham's history. At one point he was just a cop, then he's some kind of Bane like experiment, didn't get that at all, but other than that the film is very fast paced, and wraps up nicely.

The opening 10 minuets of this film i really liked. They managed to set the story up of the two leads by mirroring their plot's. The girl is in a car, Statham is in a car, they both go to sleepÂ…etc and i really enjoyed it. This movie doesn't really offer anything new to the action genre, but neither does it fail.

Recommend: Statham fans yes, everyone else meh.

Overall: 7/10 For more of my reviews head to http://www.facebook.com/noelfilmreviews

Mei (Catherine Chan) is a little genius when it comes to numbers. She can remember everything and calculate anything in her mind. That's why she's very valuable for the Chinese Triads, who use her as a computer that can't be hacked or traced. One day, she's asked to memorize a long number and drive to another place to learn a different one. But the Russian mob steps in and assaults her ride, killing almost everyone. Mei can escape and this is when she meets Luke Wright (Jason Statham). Former elite cop, former small time MMA fighter, on the run from the Russian mob who lost a bunch of money for betting against him in a match and killed his wife in revenge. The will to protect this little girl gives him a new will to live, a drive to go on. And so they run away; away from the Triads, the mob and the corrupt NYPD, trying to figure out why everyone wants either those numbers or her death.

It's a bit of Mercury Puzzle and 16 Blocks. And despite my usual fears, the story did not turn cheesy due to the kid. But the girl didn't turn into an unrealistic bad ass as well. Also they did not develop a forced deep relationship between Luke and Mei, which would be unrealistic, considering that the story doesn't go that long. The film is featuring fast paced action, wrapped into a decent (though not great) story and is supported by good acting. Well, at least good acting from the leading characters, but the supporting ones weren't that bad as well, so you don't have to suffer from it. So overall, a quite enjoyable movie, which I would recommend to fans of story driven action movies and especially to all Statham fans.

Just for fun, let's check the Statham clichés. Shirtless? Yep, first time you see him in the movie. Car-chase? Of course. And when Mei was a bit concerned about his driving style, I was just waiting for a comeback from him that was like "Don't worry kid, I've been doing this for several movies now."

saw the public screening of Safe in a film festival.Frankly speaking I was stunned by the movie.Simple plot but the twists and turns in the movie were amazing.I will not reveal the plot details because you will loose interest in it.It's slick,stylish and high on acting and visual effects.

Jason is the man who reigns supreme in this film and leaves a strong impression on the audiences mind with his stellar performance. His smile, dialogue delivery and every expression deserves a bow.

The director Boaz Yakin handles the scenes well and never lets the adrenaline rush or the script to fall flat. He keeps the audiences glued to their seat and this versatile man gives as a slick action thriller which is far better than Haywire,The Mechanic or Killer Elite.

The script is well written and every scene is well handled. Dialogues are brilliant and none of the scene fall flat. No unnecessary toilet humour and soundtracks have made the film even more appealing.

Safe is an amazing movie with unforgettable action scene and car chase sequences and one of the best of Jason Statham. Highly Recommended.