Safe (2012)

Starring: Jason Statham, Catherine Chan, & Robert Burke

Rating: 3 out of 5 stars

I've been on a bit of a Jason Statham kick lately and by now you all know how fond I am of his films. The man really has the action junkies raving and each film is better than the last, but even he has a hard time making Safe worth watching. Former New York City Police Detective, Luke Wright (Statham), has lost his job, his family, and his respect. He's down on his luck and on his way out, when he finds a lost Asian girl in the subway. That girl is Mei, a numbers servant from China, who has been kidnapped and forced to work for an organized crime syndicate. As it turns out, Mei is holding a secret in her head that the Chinese, Russians, and even the New York City Police are willing to kill for, so when she runs away all hell breaks loose. The story here is actually pretty solid and Jason Statham is once again terrific, playing a deep character with a great back story. Had this film expanded on the story and flashed back to the past, it may have been a lot better, but as it was, Safe quickly turns into to one big chase, with lots of bullets and bodies. Newcomer Catherine Chan plays Mei and she was horrible. This girl has been kidnapped and seen horrors that most of us couldn't even imagine, yet she's always stone faced. She is emotionless and clearly using a fake accent, making her performance dry and full of mumbled lines that do nothing but confuse the audience. Jason Statham gives his usual high energy performance, with amazing moves, and terrific one-liners, but without any support, in a film that goes from one chase to another, it really is just a wasted effort.