Cracking Safes And Skulls

My dad and I both really dig the action movie output of Jason Statham, so yesterday we headed out to see his newest movie, Safe. And although I didn't feel it was as good as I'd hoped it would be, mostly because I thought the plot was poorly handled, I still thought the flick was an entertaining way to spend 90 minutes.

Considering that the movie didn't perform so well at the box office this past weekend, I doubt you've seen it. But if you enjoy action movies where one guy beats the everloving crap out of the cops and two different gangs of mobsters, then it's definitely up your alley. It might seem like a bad knockoff of Leon: The Professional, considering the plot centers around a total badass protecting an endangered little girl, but Safe still manages to deliver some solid action. The only truly bad part is that director Boaz Yakin falls back on that damnable action trope of quick editing and shaking the camera around all over the place. Is it so hard to let the audience see what the heck is happening?! The whole thing didn't make it any more exciting, just headache-inducing.

But although I left the theater feeling a little disappointed, I can't say that I didn't like Safe. I mean, I wanted to see Jason Statham beating up bad guys, and I got it. So in spite of the annoying shaky-cam stuff and the story that brings up intriguing plot setups then completely forgets about them 30 minutes into the movie, I'm going to give Safe three stars on my typical scale. Maybe give it a rental when it hits Redbox or Netflix, but don't feel too bad if you miss it during its theatrical run.