Playing it 'Safe'

'Safe' is about a corrupt mixed martial arts fighter who blows fights for the Russian mafia’s betting racket.

For some movies, it is just not Safe to have the same filmmaker write and direct. Boaz Yakin is a skilled director (Remember the Titans) but a mediocre screenwriter (Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time). This has resulted in Safe being an unfortunate film that is extremely uneven to say the least.

On one hand, with its slickly choreographed action sequences and nippy editing, the gritty looking Safe is full of energy. On the other, the script is dull and overflowing with action movie clichés. The movie carries a tedious narrative that is almost as painful to absorb as the punches fired by its star, Jason Statham.

The film is about Luke Wright (Statham), a corrupt mixed martial arts fighter who blows fights for the Russian mafia’s betting racket. After Wright messes up, the mafia makes an example of him by murdering his entire family, and threatening to kill any person he gets close to. Luke, banished to New York, quickly learns of the seriousness of his predicament when a homeless person he befriends is slaughtered by morning.

At this point Luke witnesses the pursuit of a little Chinese girl, Mei (Catherine Chan), by the Russian mob. Unsurprisingly, these are the same gangsters who killed Luke’s wife, leaving him unable to resist interfering in the situation. Mei, an orphan and a math prodigy, was brought in from China by the Triads to help the Chinese mafia work their business. Being a prized asset, Mei is soon sought after by not only the Chinese and Russian mobs, but corrupt members of the NYPD as well, with whom Luke has history. Eventually, both Luke and Mei are caught in a violent war between the three factions.

With logic from ‘Actions movies 101’, the three warring factions in the film destroy half the city with ease and with little concern for discretion. It is regrettable that Jason Statham, a talented and charismatic action movie star, continues to add mediocre flicks to his resume. Action film fan or not, for your money, this Safe is simply not worth cracking.

Published in The Express Tribune, Sunday Magazine, May 20^th, 2012.