SAFE
US, 2012, 94 minutes, Colour.
Jason Statham, Catherine Chan, Robert John Burke, Chris Sarandon, James Hong, Anson Mount, Reggie Lee.
Directed by Boaz Yakin.
It’s a Jason Statham film. That is enough for film fans to know whether they want to see Safe or not. Statham, formerly a champion British Olympic diver, has made a name for himself for more than a decade as an action hero. Acting is not his forte but he is certainly a screen presence. He is strong (very strong in Safe with multi-martial arts), not exactly silent but pretty laconic, somewhat stolid in his approach to life but invigorated by what he sees as injustice and is not inhibited by scruples about a vigilante approach to life and death –generally, death – for the crooked and the corrupt.
And that is what happens here. Actually, there are two initial premises which are interesting though quite disturbing for an action thriller. On the one hand, there is a little Chinese girl who is ultra-gifted in memory and maths. She is taken to the US to be a human computer for a powerful Triad group. They are in conflict for power and money with a brutal Russian gang. And a crack squad of New York’s not so finest are in on the deals. When the Russians abduct the little girl (Catherine Chan is quite effective in the role), she is rescued by Statham.
The Statham sub-plot has tensions in it. In a fixed multi-martial arts fight that he wins instead of losing, the Russians lose money, kill his wife and leave him alive, threatening to kill anyone he gets close to. On the edge, he contemplates killing himself until he notices the little girl hiding on a subway platform. And…. off they go.
The Chinese want Mei back with the important numbers she has memorized for them. The Russians want her. The police want her. This leads to some massive shootouts in Manhattan. The body count is more than excessive, making the action more cartoonish than realistic and so runs the danger of seeming ridiculous.
But, that’s the Jason Statham action genre. This one is fast-paced, introduces a couple of feeling elements (and a tear or two in Statham’s eyes) and is designed to please the fans – which it will.
1. A Jason Statham action movie? Real? Beyond real? Cartoonish? Audiences accepting this?
2. The Beijing story, the atmosphere of China? Ordinary life, school, family? The triads? Abduction?
3. The New York story, the Chinese versus the Russians, the restaurants, the offices? The streets? The police involvement? The subways? The musical score?
4. The title, Mei and her safety? The risks? Luke and his not being safe? Mei and Luke together?
5. The Mei premise, her skill at maths, her memory, the report by the children, the teachers? Han Jiao and his wanting to use her? Appointing his deputy her adopted father? Checking with the police for the visa? The payoffs? Protection rackets? Mei, New York, memorising the lists? Her being an accurate ledger for the protection money?
6. Luke, in the multi-martial arts, winning the bout, its being fixed, his style? His wife, the Russians, murdering her? Confronting him, the son of the chief and his brutality? Making his way in the rackets? Letting Luke live, warning him that he endangered anyone who came in contact with him, Luke in the crowds, alone in the restaurants? At the shelter, the man wanting the shoes, his death? His meeting with the police, the revelations about his past? His decision to kill himself, the subway?
7. The introduction to Mei, the subway, the Russian pursuit, her abduction, Luke seeing her, the chase in the trains, Luke on the back of the subway train, getting Mei, eluding the pursuers? Their puzzle about him? Mei and her growing trust, the bond?
8. The drama and editing of the chases, the hotel, the tracking device, the mayhem in the hotel, the fashionable guests, the restaurant, the escape?
9. Luke, the truth about his past, the special squad, living by his wits, the vigilante authority? His speaking Russian? His being part of the squad? The Chinese versus the Russians, the police chief playing them off against each other, the setups? The phone call and Luke pretending to be a Russian?
10. The restaurant, the boss, the police, the massacre, the escape?
11. The police squad, their corruption, their link with the mayor?
12. The character of the mayor, his dependence on his assistant and relationship with him? The plan, Mei and the memorising of the numbers? To rob the safes? The casino? Getting the money, the CD with the information list? The payoffs?
13. Luke, playing the Russians off against the Chinese and vice-versa? The confrontation with Mei’s adoptive father? Mei and her danger? His gathering the police together, playing them off as well?
14. The police, the final help, the raid, the restaurant, the deaths, the deaths of the police, Luke using the chief – and letting him have the money to retire?
15. The mayor’s assistant, the meet-up, the fights, Mei shooting him, the expose of the mayor?
16. Luke and his choices, with Mei – going to Seattle and the future?
17. The overall effect of this kind of action show, the recklessness of the hero, the arbitrary deaths – in the name of justice? Beyond reality?
