Blu-ray Review: SAFE Is Statham In Full On '90s Action Mode
The nostalgia train seems to board about every 25 years. That's roughly the time it takes for the presently awesome to become kooky and dated. For the last decade or so, we've seen a resurgence of the action films of the '80s. Everything from an ecstatically violent sequel to the Rambo series in 2008's Rambo and the glorification of that muscle-headed killing machine by children in 2007's Son of Rambow, to the 2011 remake of Conan the Barbarian have proved to be fairly popular with fanboys. However, little is said about the crazy wave of late '90s action films starring the likes of fresh imports Jackie Chan (Rush Hour, Rumble in the Bronx) and Jet Li (Lethal Weapon 4) that fed into the '90s with films like Cradle 2 the Grave. These films have a lot of fans, and those are the guys who'll want to check out Safe.
Safe stars the man among men, Jason Statham. He is a cross between '80s Bruce Willis and '70s Michael Caine, which is just about perfect. In fact, I find it somewhat difficult to believe that all of those Caine remakes of the last 15 years (The Italian Job, Alfie, Get Carter) didn't just plunk him down in the roles. I suppose it's all for the best, as Statham has managed to stay comfortably on the B-list while making exciting films like the Crank series, the Transporter films, The Bank Job, and his killer turn in Snatch. Safe takes Statham into more familiar turf, especially for anyone who is a fan of those action films of the last 15 years I mentioned above.
A little girl with a photographic memory is kept by the Chinese mafia as a bookkeeper. When she is given a code that will unlock a $30 million jackpot, she suddenly becomes a hot item and everyone is out to get her. Luckily for her, she stumbles into the lap of Luke Wright (Statham with a very strange American accent), who becomes her protector after everything else he cares about is taken from him. He doesn't want the money, he just wants something to live for, and this little girl is as good a reason as any. The film piles one crazy action sequence on top of another as crooked cops, the Triads, and the Russian mob vie for the numbers in the little girl's brain while Luke Wright, surprisingly a former special forces agent, clicks them all off like flies in a non-stop explosion careening toward a unexpected ending.
There's nothing new about Safe. However, director Boaz Yakin knows his genre and his audience. The film is written to be a crowd-pleaser, and that it is. There is no great deep connection to be made with the characters, though Yakin may think otherwise, but there is a lot of fun to be had between the dialogue scenes when shit is exploding, cars are crashing, and guys are getting shot. Safe is exactly what the title says, it is a safe action film. No big risks are taken and no great rewards attained, but satisfaction is there, as long as you don't look too hard.
The Disc:
Lionsgate does great work, and this Blu-ray of a brand new film is an easy slam dunk. The film looks great and the numerous action sequences sound FANTASTIC through the DTS-HD MA 5.1 surround track. You'll cringe, you'll duck, and you'll jump and cars, bullets, and bodies whiz by you from every angle.
Safe on Blu-ray doesn't have a whole lot in the way of extras, though. There is a self-congratulatory director's commentary, and an EPK styled making of featurette. Neither of them are particularly in-depth, but perhaps we can wait for the 20th anniversary holographic edition for that stuff. Honestly, I don't really think there's much to say, everything is pretty much out there for the world to see. Safe is a lot of fun, but not a lot more.
Safe stars the man among men, Jason Statham. He is a cross between '80s Bruce Willis and '70s Michael Caine, which is just about perfect. In fact, I find it somewhat difficult to believe that all of those Caine remakes of the last 15 years (The Italian Job, Alfie, Get Carter) didn't just plunk him down in the roles. I suppose it's all for the best, as Statham has managed to stay comfortably on the B-list while making exciting films like the Crank series, the Transporter films, The Bank Job, and his killer turn in Snatch. Safe takes Statham into more familiar turf, especially for anyone who is a fan of those action films of the last 15 years I mentioned above.
A little girl with a photographic memory is kept by the Chinese mafia as a bookkeeper. When she is given a code that will unlock a $30 million jackpot, she suddenly becomes a hot item and everyone is out to get her. Luckily for her, she stumbles into the lap of Luke Wright (Statham with a very strange American accent), who becomes her protector after everything else he cares about is taken from him. He doesn't want the money, he just wants something to live for, and this little girl is as good a reason as any. The film piles one crazy action sequence on top of another as crooked cops, the Triads, and the Russian mob vie for the numbers in the little girl's brain while Luke Wright, surprisingly a former special forces agent, clicks them all off like flies in a non-stop explosion careening toward a unexpected ending.
There's nothing new about Safe. However, director Boaz Yakin knows his genre and his audience. The film is written to be a crowd-pleaser, and that it is. There is no great deep connection to be made with the characters, though Yakin may think otherwise, but there is a lot of fun to be had between the dialogue scenes when shit is exploding, cars are crashing, and guys are getting shot. Safe is exactly what the title says, it is a safe action film. No big risks are taken and no great rewards attained, but satisfaction is there, as long as you don't look too hard.
The Disc:
Lionsgate does great work, and this Blu-ray of a brand new film is an easy slam dunk. The film looks great and the numerous action sequences sound FANTASTIC through the DTS-HD MA 5.1 surround track. You'll cringe, you'll duck, and you'll jump and cars, bullets, and bodies whiz by you from every angle.
Safe on Blu-ray doesn't have a whole lot in the way of extras, though. There is a self-congratulatory director's commentary, and an EPK styled making of featurette. Neither of them are particularly in-depth, but perhaps we can wait for the 20th anniversary holographic edition for that stuff. Honestly, I don't really think there's much to say, everything is pretty much out there for the world to see. Safe is a lot of fun, but not a lot more.
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